Wichita mayoral candidates spar over jobs, water, more

Wichita’s two mayoral candidates battled Monday night over their plans for job growth, future water supplies and quality-of-life issues.

City Council member Jeff Longwell and retired advertising executive Sam Williams spoke to about 40 people who attended the Wichita Independent Neighborhoods’ general meeting.

Longwell referenced his experience on the Wichita City Council and Maize school board as assets.

Williams told the group that the fact he wasn’t a politician but a businessman was in his favor. As a business leader, Williams said, he was an advocate of building Intrust Arena and bringing Southwest Airlines to Wichita.

“Those are things that have helped us create an environment where we would be able to have a workforce to have jobs created as the economy turned around,” Williams said. “Now it is time for us to accelerate the process. For us to do that, we have to have trust in our government.

“We just voted down water, transit and streets (through the sales tax vote) because we don’t trust our government. Had we had a plan in place so we knew exactly how our money was going to be spent and understood that, it would have been a good case for us voting in favor.”

Longwell told the audience that as a council member, he also has helped to create positive things for Wichita.

“When I took office eight years ago, we needed to fix west-side flooding, we needed to fix serious infrastructure issues, and we needed to put emphasis on public safety during the worst recession this country has felt in the last 50 years,” Longwell said. “As elected leaders, we came together and balanced the government (budget) every year.

“We have more than $25 million in emergency reserves, so our bond ratings do very well. We have been managing this city in a manner that has allowed us to build on a great foundation so we can start recovery from that horrible recession.”

The two candidates briefly argued over a statement they both claimed as their own – that every plane flying in the country and world has a part on it built by a factory in Wichita.

“I appreciate Sam using my line that I used yesterday,” Longwell said. “I’m happy to educate him.”

Williams countered: “My opponent chooses to attack my character in multiple ways on multiple occasions. I would like to go on record as saying that’s fine.

“But I will tell you this: I do not lie to anybody. I do not tell people that I said something that I did not say. I do not claim the lines that I do not say.”

Williams said he thinks the city’s streets, public transit, future water supply and public safety are key items the next mayor will have address.

“I promise as mayor, I will make sure they will be solved,” he said.

Longwell said that as a council member, he supported putting an extra $2 million in the city’s street repair budget, and the city is scheduled to add $2 million in 2017. He said he also supported building a fire station on the west side, added to Wichita’s walking and bike paths and approved $1 million of infrastructure improvements at Buffalo Park.

“I contend those are quality-of-life issues,” he said. “I have a voting record. You can look it up. You can look up all the votes I have taken over the last eight years.

“I don’t have to worry about making promises to you. You can look at my record.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2015 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Wichita mayoral candidates spar over jobs, water, more."