Two familiar faces will be on the ballot for Warren mayor on Tuesday.

Incumbent David Wortman won a primary election in May for the Republican line on the ballot while City Council member Phil Gilbert, who lost the May primary, is running as an independent. The Times Observer recently reached out to both candidates to get their opinions on a variety of topics, including downtown development, riverfront development, Warren Worx and the city’s finances.

Below are their responses.

What is the biggest financial issue facing the city and what solutions can you offer?

GILBERT: The greatest financial threat to the City of Warren is not a budget line item; it is the failure to decisively reverse our decades-long population decline. Every financial issue–from property taxes to funding our infrastructure–is amplified by having fewer people paying into the system and fewer young families driving our consumer economy.

Our city budget can be balanced perfectly, but if we continue to shrink, the overall economic vitality of our community will collapse. The solution, therefore, is to dedicate the city’s resources to a single, focused goal: building the housing, amenities, and job opportunities that will attract and retain the working population we need to thrive.

WORTMAN: The City of Warren is in a strong financial position. We have not raised taxes in the four years during my first term and maintain a strong liquidity position. This requires diligent oversight and excellent budget execution in order to achieve the desired results for the City and its critical programs. There are a few financial issues that must be kept at the forefront, the first of which and most significant financial issue facing the City of Warren is ensuring the long-term stability of the incredible services our municipal government provides to our citizens. Warren residents pay the highest earned income tax rate in Warren County, and I am committed to making sure our great Fire, Police, and Public Works Departments can operate efficiently for decades to come. In my first term we successfully negotiated labor contracts with the DPW, Fire and Police Departments, strong and fair contracts that ensure our incredible workforce and the City continue to prosper. Additionally, we need to keep our focus on our aging infrastructure and maintain a solid program at the department level to repair, replace and invest in the critical infrastructure needed to operate the City now and into the future. Finally, we must be able to continue to invest in our “quality of life” projects. As an example, together with service clubs, state grant funding and local foundation support, we’ve been able to construct the region’s best pickleball courts, the Memorial Garden at Crescent Park, Lacy Playground and walking trail and we are working to finalize Mulberry Playground revitalization. Warren is a great place to live, and our Parks are second to none.

BETWEEN THE RIVERFRONT AND THE FORMER EAGLE’S CREST DEVELOPMENT SITE, DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING TOPIC OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ACCOMPLISHED IN THOSE AREAS BY THE END OF THE MAYOR’S NEXT TERM?

WORTMAN: Thanks to the unprecedented public input and the wide-reaching team working on the Riverfront, great progress has been made in making Riverfront Development a truly transformational project. We have secured the land and permits, are finalizing the design, and continue to pursue a variety of funding options. The goal remains to begin the construction of the critical anchor for the project, the boat launch this Spring. The Riverfront needs to encompass the needs and desires of our residents; this belongs to them. Great ideas have been generated for the areas outside the boat launch itself and within the next couple of months a firm will be engaged to develop professional renderings of what these options may look like. Again, public input will be critical to capturing what we collectively want our Riverfront to be. Most importantly, my goal for development along the Riverfront and in downtown Warren over the next four years is to maintain the great partnerships that have emerged between the City, County, WCCBI, and the public to grow entrepreneurship. Continued investment within the commercial district will create a conduit between our beautiful natural resources and the amazing businesses within our City.

GILBERT: I believe that by the end of the next term, we must fundamentally change the purpose and vibrancy of our downtown. I want the riverfront and the prominent corner of the former Eagle’s Crest site to serve as the energetic connector between our natural assets and our business core.

For the riverfront, the goal is simple: I want to see the long-awaited improvements fully utilized by businesses–not just as a scenic amenity, but as a genuine economic driver that brings shoppers and diners off the trails and into our existing downtown stores.

Regarding the highly-contested former Eagle’s Crest corner, the community has been engaged in a passionate and important debate over its future. My commitment is to support the plan that delivers the maximum possible long-term return on investment for Warren’s taxpayers.

By the end of my term, whatever solution is executed there–be it a vibrant marketplace that saves a structure, or a new building that draws people in–it must increase the amount of business activity and the number of people living, working, and spending money downtown. My priority is not choosing one structure over another; my priority is choosing the outcome that guarantees growth for our tax base and attracts the new population our city desperately needs.

HOW WILL YOU JUDGE THE SUCCESS OF WARREN WORX OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS? HOW DO YOU THINK WARREN WORX CAN BEST HELP THE CITY OF WARREN?

GILBERT: I will judge the success of Warren Worx by three undeniable metrics: reversing the county’s population decline, reducing the median age of our residents, and increasing our school enrollment figures. Warren Worx is a critical initiative because it is the necessary structure to unify all stakeholders–the City, the County, the WCCBI, and local foundations–under a single strategic vision. Its greatest value is not in creating a new brand, but in its ability to force alignment and accountability. Warren Worx can best help the City by becoming an engine that secures external, regional, and state resources for our local housing and quality-of-life projects, and by aggressively executing a unified marketing campaign that translates into new residents and new taxpayers. If those three metrics are improving after four years, the initiative will have been a profound success.

WORTMAN: As I’ve stated many times before, Warren Worx is a bold and innovative organization that includes many entities including the City, County, the Council of Governments, the WCCBI (business community), the County Visitors Bureau, Philanthropic community and most importantly the public that have been engaged in the numerous Stakeholder groups, all working towards continuing to make this region a great place to live, work and play. This Team is unlike any other within the Commonwealth and I’m extremely excited about the progress and engagement we have accomplished to date. Over the course of the next four years Warren Worx needs to continue to provide the organization for collaboration and unity of effort on projects and investment in the region. There is no other organization that has the ability to make this happen. Warren Worx primarily in conjunction with the Visitor’s Bureau and the WCCBI needs to continue to advance the branding and marketing efforts to tell the story of our amazing region. Continued investment in this effort will assist our great businesses in keeping and attracting the workforce they need to continue to flourish. This ultimately will lead to the stabilization and reversal of the population loss in the region. This, however, will take time and perseverance but certainly a worthwhile effort.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF BEING THE MAYOR, OR THE THING YOU THINK YOU WOULD MOST LOOK FORWARD TO?

WORTMAN: Without question the best part of being the Mayor of Warren is having the opportunity to serve and give back to a community that has provided me with so much. I was born here, raised here, have an incredible career here, and along with Jennifer have been able to raise an amazing family in Warren. It is truly an honor to be able to represent the City of Warren as its Mayor.

GILBERT: The thing I would most look forward to is the unique opportunity to be the primary servant leader to every resident and neighborhood in Warren, focusing relentlessly on results.

The best part of this role isn’t the title or any ceremonial duty; it is the daily responsibility to clear the bureaucratic roadblocks and catalyze the action needed for progress. It means moving beyond just ‘talking about’ issues and directly addressing the internal friction that prevents new jobs from being created, new housing from being built, installing EV chargers, and other essential community advancements.

I look forward to uniting our City Council, County partners, and business community to a single, urgent mission: reversing our population decline. The ultimate privilege will be knowing that the sustained effort we put in during this term will fundamentally improve the quality of life for the next generation of Warren families. That is the true reward of public service.