(Editor’s note: In addition to the Second Ward candidates, who were featured in yesterday’s T-R, At-Large incumbent Gary Thompson and challenger Leopoldo “Sunny” Reyes both submitted their responses to our candidate questionnaire ahead of the Nov. 7 election. Their responses are printed below.)

1. What is your personal, professional and educational background, and why are you running for a seat on the Marshalltown city council?

Sunny Reyes: My name is Leopoldo S. Reyes. I was born in Inglewood, Calif. I moved to Marshalltown in the winter of 1997. I have lived in Marshalltown since then. I attended Woodbury Elementary School, Anson Middle School and then went to MHS, where I graduated. I then went to Wyotech, a trade school in Laramie, Wyo., for the automotive industry. I graduated there with my associates in accounting and completed both collision and refinishing courses. I then returned back to Marshalltown and started a family with my wife Genesis. We have three beautiful girls ages three, five and 13. They love going to the park and being involved in team sports such as softball, soccer and most school sports! I’ve worked at Showroom Auto with Jim Johnson, and I also worked at Clemons Chevrolet for some years. Then, at 24 years old, my brother Juan Reyes and I decided to start a business, Brother’s Garage. We have been open for nine years thanks to all of the support from our community. Some of the things I enjoy are spending time with my family. I also enjoy running our trail system, the YMCA and golf. I’m a pretty active person! I am running for city council to give my input to help create a brighter future for our children and to help create a safe and comfortable community to live, learn, love and grow.

Gary Thompson: I am originally from Marshalltown so I know where we, as a community, have come from and I have a common sense understanding as to where we can progress as a town of 27,000. In 2016, I toured several towns of comparable size in 13 states to see what they were doing to improve themselves. Many of their low cost solutions can be applied to Marshallown. As a graduate of Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in the social aspects of housing, I am well versed in the tools necessary to build neighborhood strengths and vitality. I have held several different employment positions over the years from groundskeeper, factory worker, middle and upper management, and owner/operator of my own small business. I am a proud U.S. Army veteran seeking a second term to represent the fine people of Marshalltown on the City Council.

2. In general, do you feel like Marshalltown is headed in the right direction, and if not, how would you propose reversing that course?

Reyes: I feel like Marshalltown is headed in the right direction. We just have to trust the processes.

Thompson: I believe we are trying to spend our way to a far-fetched and unreachable goal of growing Marshalltown to 50,000. There is nothing wrong with improving our community with common sense and low cost improvements to reach a goal of being the nicest, cleanest, and safest town of 27,000 in the country. I would ask if the people that are leading the charge to grow the population have even asked the residents of Marshalltown if they want to live in a town of 50,000? We need to redirect our efforts to cleaning up the city, improving streets, taking care of the needs first and not the wants, and then, only then, will the town grow organically to 28,000 or 30,000.

3. Voters recently rejected the proposed five percent franchise fee on gas and electric bills by a wide margin. Do you believe the investment in road repairs can still be increased within the current budget, and more broadly, if elected to the city council, in what areas do you feel that spending should be focused?

Reyes: I feel like this is a question that would be better answered if I was already a part of city council, but with my business experience, I feel I can give some good input on where money would make the most difference.

Thompson: I know money that was previously borrowed for pie-in-the-sky projects yet to be completed, yet alone started, can be reallocated to repairing the streets in town, with the public’s approval. There are millions of dollars of previously earmarked funds that need to be examined for other uses. I strongly believe that the vast majority of all funds should be directed to improving the existing street surfaces. We have a street condition index that tells us which streets need to be fixed first. We need to follow that guideline.

4. The city council recently hired a new city administrator who started in September. What do you believe his top priorities should be, and as a city councilor, how do you envision your role in monitoring his job performance? In addition, what would your strategy be in regard to overseeing the city’s approximately 150 employees?

Reyes: The role of the city council is not to oversee the city employees, but I would love to meet with anyone that would like a different perspective.

Thompson: With a divided council, it is hard to communicate an agreed upon priority list to the new City Administrator. Personally, I believe Mr. Gaa’s priorities should be filling all vacant positions within city government and setting a time table for street repair, as mentioned above. We have several open positions that have been vacant for way too long. This is placing stress on other staff members and keeping us from completing projects in a timely manner. The Council as a whole needs to communicate better with our current City Administrator as to avoid another costly mistake like the one that occurred between two Councilors and our previous City Administrator. As to overseeing the staff I need to have faith in the City Administrator and Department Heads to look out for our talented and dedicated staff.

5. Goals for growth have been discussed several times in recent years, but Marshalltown’s population has essentially held steady at about 27,000 to 27,500 residents. Do you believe the council and the city’s current strategies to attract new residents are working, and if not, how would you recommend changing them? Additionally, what would your strategies be to attract and retain new businesses in Marshalltown?

Reyes: Again I feel like we have to trust the process. Nothing happens overnight.

Thompson: I touched upon this in a previous question and stated there is nothing wrong with being a town of 27,000. Those that believe there is, should have their hidden agendas questioned. There is no one answer to attracting new residents. I have learned over my years of experience the three main reasons people live where they do is: job, family, and retirement. To attract new residents, or to entice people to move here that already work here, is to clean up the town. It really is that simple. Another priority is to transition renters to homeowners. Marshalltown has too high of a percentage of rental properties for the number of housing units in the town. We must look at ways to get families into their own homes. With businesses, the priority must be given to growing the businesses that are already here. What additional services or products can be provided and/or produced to strengthen the bottom line of these businesses that call Marshalltown home? Just think of the impact to the city if every existing business in Marshalltown hired just one or two more employees. Then recruiting new businesses to town involves discerning what fills the needs of our population. That is what I did when I brought the UPS Store to town.

6. At meetings earlier this year, the council engaged in conversations about a host of deficit reduction and budget balancing measures with ideas ranging from employee furloughs to raising the Marshall County Communications Commission’s rent at the new police and fire building. Do you believe further budget cuts can be made without endangering essential services, and if so, where would you make them? Conversely, do you feel that revenue could be increased, and if so, how?

Reyes: I feel like that is a question I could better answer once I can see all angles of the subject.

Thompson: The city government is already understaffed as mentioned above. We need to fill the openings, not furlough employees. We need to just add one new position — a second Nuisance Officer. We don’t need to charge the 911 center rent above their actual cost of utilities. I have gone on record that the department heads are well paid for what they do and those salaries need to be addressed. As far as the “boots on the ground” staff members, I was proud that the rest of the Council supported me to give our City Administrator, HR Director, and Department Heads additional time to analyze the new pay structure we recently adopted. Further cuts will be hard to find in an ever changing financial environment the nation finds itself in. We will need to continually analyze doing things in house or outsourcing. We can increase revenue by simply not giving money away via tax abatements and TIF agreements.

7. If it hasn’t already been alluded to in the previous questions, what do you believe is the single most important issue currently facing Marshalltown, and how would you address it if elected?

Reyes: I feel like the single most important issue we are facing right now is the inability to have a good transparent relationship between council and the residents of Marshalltown. If elected, I would like to be able to tell the people of Marshalltown what the council is thinking and the angles we are looking at to move our town forward. I would like to be an inlet for people to voice their opinion so I can bring that to the table at city council.

Thompson: Street repair is the biggest issue that is brought to my attention by the residents of Marshalltown. It is followed closely by nuisance abatement. It’s simple, people want better streets and cleaner neighborhoods. That leads to creating a unified council that makes these the priorities and sets a plan in place to make it a reality. I would address these items by continuing to be a voice for the residents of Marshalltown.

8. Why are you the most qualified candidate for the seat you are seeking?

Reyes: I feel like I am the most qualified candidate for this position because of my business background, my dedication to family, my hard work ethic and love for Marshalltown. Marshalltown has given me so much. It gave me a place to grow, raise my children, create my family, meet lots of good people, have great business opportunities and start and grow a successful business. If the people of Marshalltown elect me, I would love to give back to the community that has already given so much to me.

Thompson: With my vast and varied real life experiences, my passion for my hometown, and the fact I have the experience of already serving on the city council, I believe I am the most qualified candidate to continue to serve the residents of Marshalltown as an At Large City Councilor. My first term has been extremely enjoyable as I have strived to bring my commonsense approach to every issue before the council. It would be my continued honor and privilege to serve the residents of Marshalltown. Thank you for the opportunity.