THB: As mayor, you will have the opportunity to appoint department heads. Has that process already started?
Ockomon: I’ve got a meeting today with (State Senator and campaign manager) Tim Lanane to discuss our game plan for the next two weeks as far as the transition team goes. I’ve been talking to a few people just to get in my mind who is going to be on the team and what their duties will be. A unique thing that’s going to be happening there is they will be a part of the interview process with potential department heads and existing department heads. We are also going to go department by department and talk to employees without their department heads there get feel of, over last four years, what their working relationship with department head has been. Some people will be replaced; with others there might be some things we can adjust. We will look at their work record and their ethics. The D and the R and the I (Democrat, Republican and Independent) thing is gone. We’ve put that aside, and we are already moving forward with all these processes. That will never be a consideration from this point on.
THB: Are there any city departments you feel are in need of reform?
Ockomon: Without naming specifically, yes. I believe, in our opinion, there are a lot of things that need to be done. There are some people that cannot go along with what our dream and our goals are, and those people will need to be replaced. Currently there are department heads that there is a definite possibility they will remain where they are. If they’re representing the city of Anderson and doing a good job, we don’t want to change that.
****THB: Another one of your key talking points was making city government more transparent. How do you hope to accomplish this?
Ockomon: When you say “transparent,” another thing that comes to mind is the Food and Beverage money. It’s become a hot issue in the last few months because of the (Paramount Theatre Centre). Nothing against the Paramount; it’s a jewel for our downtown, and I don’t want to see it fail. But when government gets involved in private, not-for-profit organizations, you have to be careful, because a lot of jealousy comes with that. We’re going to form a board that consists of several people from the economic development community, City Council members and others and include them in the decision-making process. It’s not going to be a slush fund for the mayor. When those monies are distributed, we want to make sure that the organizations that are recipients of those funds are transparent. They need to open their books, and they need to be ready for that when they ask for that money. We need to know that the money is being well spent. Another factor in that is, what is the economic impact of that money? Are they bringing a positive impact for the community? Are they creating jobs, and exactly what is happening? Why are we investing that money in that particular organization? Community Health Care Center is another one that needs a little more attention. It’s something that has been a little overlooked by the current administration, and we need to invest some of that money in assist them in bringing proper health care to the less fortunate in the community. We’re going to spread it out not focus on giving it to one organization. We’re also looking at moving the mayor’s office to the first floor, but it’s being put off right now. We’ve looked at that possibility because we campaigned on the premise that we would be more accessible. Some people have pointed out security issues. As a police officer, that’s never been a big concern of mine.
THB: You have talked about putting political differences aside and getting to work. How do you plan on reaching out to Republicans?
Ockomon: I think we have to reassure them that the premise we stand on is trying to do away with party line. We’re trying to bring fairness. We want all people to feel that they’re treated fairly, as an employee, in particular. Citizens, too. A lot of times, people feel they are provided less service because of political ties with a certain party, and that’s garbage. As government officials, we need to be responsible to all citizens, not because of a D or an R or an I. We need to provide the best service for them, and we need to be held accountable for that. We’ve got four years to do a good job, and we have a target on our back just like every other person who runs for office and is successful in this country. We’ve got four years to prove it. We need to let people know got a successful program for Anderson. I think they’re going to be very pleased with what see. It starts with appointments. I can tell you, already, with the people we have in mind that there are going to be a lot of eyes opened with people saying, “Wow, he did what he said he would do.” Just merely by appointments, I think that will set the tone. They will see that I wasn’t just saying that for political gain for myself in the campaign. I feel I’m a pretty good judge of character just from what I’ve done the last 22 years. We’ve got a lot of really talented people on all sides of the fence, and I think that’s the most important thing when it comes to appointments.
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THB: The Smith administration did a lot to improve the area near Exit 22, including the Flagship Enterprise Center and Nestlé facility. Do you see that as a positive thing, and how do you plan to continue that?
Ockomon: It’s absolutely a positive and that we have focused a lot on Exit 26 on down the road there. There is a lot of room for expansion, and we’re starting to see that with Nestlé and The Flagship and the little strip mall and the surgical center. We’re starting to see some development there, and I think that’s a positive. However, I have to go back to this, we can do so much on one area, but we cannot forget about the west side and the north side and the east side. I am constantly reminded — and never forget — that we have a responsibility as a government to all the people, and we need to work for opportunities for improvement on the west side as far as business development. I feel like It’s been neglected by this administration, and we have to entice businesses to come there. When you speak about east side development, we have (Anderson Municipal Airport) there, and we’re getting ready to launch programs there. The north side is another one that has a primary artery in (Indiana) 9 coming into town, and we’ve got a lot of room for improvement with façade improvements. I do believe the south side is important, but if you look at east side, with (Indiana) 32 going that way into one of the richest counties and richest tax bases in the state with Hamilton County over there, that is a primary artery. Overall development needs to be citywide, and we have to keep constantly aware of that.
THB: The west side, especially, has gotten the wrong kind of attention lately. How do you get to the root causes of the problems there?
Ockomon: Speaking to the people. Talking to the business owners and getting their input in what’s going on out there. I think the Smith administration attempted to have neighborhood meetings, and I don’t think they carried that far enough. It’s not just the citizens but the business owners we need to ask. Sometimes the best ideas come from the common Joe. He may not have money to do some big development, but he may have the idea that allows that to happen. We need to ask what the city can do to enhance that portion of town to make it a nice place to shop, work, live, eat. We need to return city hall to the people and let the people help us run this city.
THB: What do you consider your No. 1 job as mayor? When you look back in four years, what will be your criteria for success?
Ockomon: We can’t ignore the fact that jobs are a must. I think that has been the hottest-discussed issue in my campaign. I’m going to be looking for quality jobs. With (General Motors’) departure, we need to educate people in certain fields. We will be utilizing The Flagship and starting certain educational projects with Ivy Tech (Community College) and others to try to keep our work force educated. The type of jobs we want to bring are higher-paying, and you have to be educated in those areas. You can’t earn $30 or $40 an hour and not be educated in those fields. We need to enlighten our work force and educate them in the kind of jobs they need to be educated in. Jobs is the top priority.
I am quoting a lot but there are some questions I do not quote here. I think reading it you will find our mayor-elect gracious as a winner and thoughtful about our problems. Damned glad to see he is already at work.
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