Sprague said that he’s also concerned about the city’s stewardship of taxpayer money. Cost overruns on the King’s Inn demolition project and the Pike Plan restoration illustrate the need for tighter controls on city spending and more reliance on in-house labor instead of contractors.
“We don’t know where the money is coming in or where it’s going out,” said Sprague. “Taxpayers want some checks and balances and some accountability.”
Ryan is fed up
Ryan, a 50-year-old flight attendant who moved to Downs Street from New York City in 2005, said he’s running a long-shot write in campaign because he’s fed up with what he says is Whitlock’s inattention to serious problems of crime and quality of life in the neighborhood. Ryan said that Whitlock has been largely silent on a series of shootings over the summer, a food-stamps-for-cash scam at a local gas station and other issues that demand an alderman speak up.
“I want someone in there who is going to make a lot more noise than Shirley, she doesn’t make a peep,” said Ryan. “It’s almost like there’s an attitude that this is the Fourth Ward so people just accept it.”
Whitlock, meanwhile, disputes the claim that she’s been indifferent to complaints about conditions in the neighborhood. In every instance, she said, when she’s received quality-of-life complaints by ward residents, she has relayed the information to police or other city agencies.
“Anything anyone has asked me to do I have done and done well,” said Whitlock. “My phone number is still the same and if I’m invited to go somewhere, I’ll go. These are just political things people are saying.”
Ryan, ran against Whitlock in 2007, losing by four votes in the Democratic primary and 20 while running as a Republican in the general election. This time around, he faces a tougher task. Ryan initially sought the Independence Party line, but lost the spot on the ballot when he failed to meet a deadline to officially accept the nomination. But, Ryan said, he hopes that with optically scanned paper ballots having made write-in votes easier to cast, he can still make a string showing without a party line. Sprague, meanwhile, faces an equally daunting political hurdle. Republicans make up just 10 percent of the ward’s 875 registered voters compared to 49 percent in the Democratic camp.
All Whitlock has going for her as alderman is race. In ward 4 that’s strong. And maybe the “reverend” title she carries. Flash: Americans often vote for people who share their ethnicity and religion. And I can’t say that’s not a fair strategy, but in this case, it’s a bad bet, really hurting the very good people in Ward 4. They just aren’t getting the services and attention they could get from a modern and effective representative.
Whitlock is a leftover from the Sottile administration. Her loyalty to him came well before loyalty to Ward 4, and Ward 4 needs a lot more that recreation for some kids. Code enforcement for on And crime is an equal opportunity phenomena: nobody likes it.
Splitting the strong “not Whitlock” between Sprague (even with a 10% GOP representation and Matt Ryan as a write in, that’s not helping. But even will all that, Ryan should win. Here’s hoping.