The high energy level of Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz seems not to have diminished since he first took office in 2018.
It was about a year into his first appointed term when we used this space to describe the mayor’s “youthful exuberance.” That description seems to apply still today. Mientkiewicz turned 40 last week.
The mayor was in his car, sweeping from meeting to meeting, when he squeezed in his candidate interview with this newspaper’s editorial board via mobile phone.
Asked during that interview about the ongoing annexation saga that gripped many township residents who own property abutting Niles, Mientkiewicz shared that an announcement on that issue would be forthcoming that very day.
Alas, like clockwork, a press release came that afternoon. An agreement had been reached that followed Ohio law to the letter and seemed also to satisfy neighboring townships.
We were pleased to see the agreement between the city of Niles and Howland and Vienna townships. To that point, we had been critical of the mayor’s divisive attitude toward forced annexation, which we argued lacked any spirit of cooperation among neighbors.
Early in his first full term, Niles had passed legislation that changed the rules for those township property owners who, for years, had been purchasing utility services from the city without need for annexation. The city was about to change the rules and demand all utility users annex or face significant utility rate surcharges equaling city income tax amounts.
While the annexation issue appears to be fixed for now, we aren’t convinced it won’t rear its ugly head again, as new owners of homes and businesses seek to utilize Niles utilities going forward.
We still believe forced annexation measures do not bode well for the region, even as the mayor previously maintained that his actions would be good for his constituency because it was about growing the city.
During his interview, Mientkiewicz, a Democrat, rattled off a number of priorities going forward, including investing in safety forces and city infrastructure and maintaining fiscal solvency. The mayor also spoke of economic revitalization, park improvements and fighting blight.
He said he would like to bring an urban entertainment area to the downtown.
Meanwhile, Mientkiewicz’s independent challenger Geo Kuriatnyk, has done his homework and is more involved in local government than many constituents.
Likewise, he rattled off a number of issues he would like to address if elected mayor. Kuriatnyk, too, spoke about the need to clean up city blight and improve the city parks.
Much of Kuriatnyk’s platform seems to focus on his criticism of the mayor’s actions.
For instance, he was very critical of Mientkiewicz for what he described as poor conditions at city parks. While he recognizes that the parks are overseen by an independent parks board, he noted that the mayor appoints the members of the city parks board and, therefore, should be able to hold them accountable.
The challenger also expressed his dissatisfaction that visitors to Niles City Hall must be buzzed in to enter the public building.
Mientkiewicz defended the current practice as logical because it saves expense of stationing a paid police officer at the building around the clock, yet still maintains a safe environment inside.
Kuriatnyk countered that he would like to hire eight to 10 new police officers, and would assign one to be stationed at city hall during operating hours. He was unclear on how he would fund these additional officers.
We found Kuriatnyk’s discussions of his campaign goals and methods to achieve those goals as scattered and lacking detail.
We are satisfied Mientkiewicz has served the city well, with its best interests in mind. We also see him as forward thinking.
For that reason, we believe Mientkiewicz is the better candidate and has earned another four years as the city’s top administrator.
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