Q&A with Youngstown mayoral candidate Julius Oliver

Julius Oliver

Office sought: Mayor of Youngstown

Candidate's party affiliation: Democrat

Candidate's biography: Julius Oliver lives a life of service and leadership. The current First Ward Councilman is a lifelong Youngstown resident, United States Army veteran, owner-operator of a successful small business and new father building his dream house with his wife on the South Side. He's been actively involved in the building of the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre project, stabilizing Youngstown neighborhoods, supporting childhood development, protecting civil rights and encouraging business development. Everyone who has met him knows that Oliver shows up, shares information and listens to all those in Youngstown, and as mayor he will truly build a city for all of YOU.

What qualities do you possess that qualify you to be mayor of Youngstown?

I'm an effective leader who shows up and listens for all community members' concerns. I'm unafraid of making tough decisions, and I make all my decisions as an elected official first by consulting our residents, city staff and fellow elected officials, and then by reaching out to my contacts among regional, state and national leaders for advice and support. I then take decisive action and stay vigilant to ensure that the promises made to our city are actually kept. I am knowledgeable about many parts of life in Youngstown as a young Black man growing up on the South Side, then a soldier, union Steelworker, businessperson, elected official, builder of a new home, husband and new father. All [of] these roles have shown me important lessons on how to serve the community better and how our community should best serve all residents.

If you are elected, is there anything in particular that you hope to accomplish? And briefly, what is it and why is it important?

I am committed to restructuring our city government to be accessible, equitable and easy to use for all residents of Youngstown. This is important to me, because I know that an effective, fair and easy-to-use set of government tools and services would help so many residents get their needs met and help them free up the time needed to further their own career, family, spiritual and socially-conscious goals. If there was a clear, obvious answer on how to get rid of spare tires, for instance, we wouldn't have such a huge dumping problem and our streets would be more clear of debris.

What do you feel will be the top issue facing this office over the next term? How would you focus your efforts to tackle it?

My main goal is reforming and reshaping city departments. This is an important part of everyday life for every person living in Youngstown: How can I get things done easily, affordably and completely? Ensuring that this happens will be an ongoing concern for me. In terms of issues, the top issue facing the next mayoral term is one I am best suited to answer: How to equitably use federal stimulus money to help restore a sense of normalcy to the lives of those most impacted by the pandemic, and then to build a more equitable system of public services that will ensure their resilience on a daily level, including quality health care, food access, housing, transportation and safety. My team will do an immediate assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 and propose a plan of equitable distribution of funds to the residents for public debate and comment, so that we can ensure a fair, transparent process.

What are your plans to ensure that all of your constituents would have access to the same resources and opportunities, regardless of race or socioeconomic status? In your view, where does the system fall short?

To ensure that our constituents have equitable access to resources across all vectors of vulnerability, I will lead by example: my cabinet will contain the smartest, most competent, most ethical, most driven and focused leaders in their respective fields. Our city is bursting at the seams with qualified leaders across many sectors of racialized minorities, and I plan to empower them and support them in positions throughout the government. I will hire a cabinet that reflects the diversity of Youngstown, including multiple intersections of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, difference of ability, class status and across other sectors.

In daily governance, I will concentrate on eliminating the disparities that people of color, as well as other historically disadvantaged communities, experience, especially in those areas related to Youngstown's policies, programs, and services.

I feel that our systems fall short mainly because preceding elected officials used city jobs as rewards for loyalty; many times resources and opportunities were given to those who supported one's campaign. I respect what Joe Biden said after winning the difficult fight against Trump. I will lead ALL of Youngstown, including those who did not vote for me, and I will ensure that everyone has equal access to resources and opportunities.

What are you doing to disrupt the status quo of politics? If you had the power, what one change would you make right now?

I always say: I'm not a politician. I'm a public servant. I'm not running for mayor as a position of power. I'm running as a way to equitably distribute power to those who can help our city best. Youngstown politics has a long history of closed doors, inside jobs and hand shake deals; that's not the way I run my own business and that's not how anyone should run a government. We're going to open the doors, make sure the best person works in the right place in city government and that people get contracts fairly.

Are you satisfied with Ohio's response to the COVID-19 pandemic? If yes, why? If not, what do you think should be done instead? Can more be done at the local level? The federal level?

All residents of Youngstown should be angry at our city's failed response to COVID-19, and the blame falls mostly on our mayor. The lack of access to medical facilities, the lack of public information, lack of coordinating services and absences of pandemic-related needs such as food, cleaning supplies and support for most affected people was a complete human rights failure, especially for our large Black and Latinx communities. Our residents' grandmothers died, our uncles, our cousins. It is shockingly immoral. We did not have serious leadership. We did not have clear communication. We did not have adequate support services. We did not have reliable and trustworthy information. Because of that, we had some of the worst health outcomes in the state — people dying in nursing homes, infrequent numbers released and no support for the sick, caregivers, or those trapped at home. And even as the pandemic lessened, there was no leadership. We could have mobilized our city's resources — buses, cars, trolleys — to take people to get vaccines. We could have convinced our hospitals to do vaccinations at residences with vulnerable elders. There was no coordination, no communication and no support. It was a total failure, locally.

The city is receiving $88.6 million in federal stimulus funds. How should the city set budget priorities? What are your top three uses for the funds? How do you plan to make sure that the funds are spent properly?

The $88.6 million from the American Rescue Plan Act is an important way for Youngstown to focus on a just recovery from COVID-19 and [addressing] the underlying economic and social factors that rendered our community so vulnerable. I'm from Youngstown — I want to stretch that dollar! So first, I want to hire a grant writer who will get more federal funding for the things we couldn't get before because we couldn't get matching grants. Then I want to engage in a robust, open and transparent community forum on how we should allocate these funds, including a participatory vote on the things we need for recovery, focusing on residents, business owners, non-profits and all stakeholders. What do we need? What can do?

I personally hope to rebuild neighborhood infrastructure that makes our streets and corridors look and feel better. I want to ensure those rendered vulnerable by COVID-19 are able to get housing, that we can work to rehab our available housing stock and that we can provide gap funding for remodeling existing homes people need to fix. I want to pay off some debts, be it Covelli Centre or whatever we owe. And, like many in this city, I want a centrally located fire station that can serve many people quickly from a central location. These are just a few of the things I think we need. I look forward to working with the residents to hear what they need most and make sure it happens.

What do you think is the most pressing matter that pertains to the next generation of Youngstown residents who may be voting for the first time?

First, I want to say thank you to first-time voters, regardless of your age: thank you for becoming part of the democratic process. May this first step be part of a long life of shaping the way your government serves you. For younger first-time voters, I think the most pressing matter in our area is how to make sure their futures are full of promise, which we can do by making sure the city has a good education-to-career pipeline, robust public healthcare, access to affordable loans for first-time home buyers and a stronger pre-natal and early infant support system and pre-k system. Young people should be able to choose the life they want, not survive with whatever crumbs they can get. Vote for someone who will serve you, not someone who tells you what you should do to deserve being served.

Are you frustrated by the political sniping, exaggeration and even lies associated with politics that has diminished respect and reasoned compromise? If so, what will you personally do to make the situation better?

I don't like it, and I don't think it's beneficial to our residents — no one should paint false pictures of their opponents in order to win. People of Youngstown, please use your voice to choose genuine candidates who are passionate about what they do, what they've done, what they will do — for all of you, not just themselves. For me, I will always consider my political opponents to be good, important and positive members of the community regardless of this campaign, and [I will] work to ensure we will support one another in whatever next steps we all take.

Who is your hero, and why?

If I had to pick a hero it would be the Bahamian minister Miles Monroe, who reshaped my thinking so that I could live a life in faith and with purpose.

This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 3:52 AM with the headline "Q&A with Youngstown mayoral candidate Julius Oliver."