Danny Sanchez looks to lead in Fremont

FREMONT— As a lifelong Fremont resident, mayoral candidate Danny Sanchez emphasizes his homegrown roots and community involvement at every opportunity on the campaign trail.

Fremont Ross High School graduate and Terra State Community College student. Graduate of Tiffin University with bachelor's degree in justice Administration. Chief probation officer at the Fremont Municipal Court. School board member at Fremont City Schools.

Sanchez wants to add mayor to that list, as the Republican challenger looks to unseat incumbent Mayor Jim Ellis in the November Fremont mayoral race.

"I will utilize every resource I can to reach out to the community," Sanchez said.

Sanchez announced his intention to run for mayor in February and was the only Republican to enter the race. He was appointed to the school board in September 2014 and is running his first political campaign in Fremont.

He said he had been concerned about the city's future for the past couple of years and decided to run because of his belief the city lacked leadership on key issues and needed to collaborate better with local business and civic leaders.

The mayoral candidate has staked his campaign on a "Three Point Plan," which he hopes will provide a foundation for the city's growth and a way to reverse negative perceptions about Fremont.

Sanchez said his top three priorities, if elected as mayor, would be to tackle the city's drug and crime issues, increase engagement with Fremont's youth, and expand future economic development possibilities.

Residents he's talked to are particularly concerned about the city's drug and opiates problem, Sanchez said, and have asked him what he intends to do about it.

He said he was involved, through his position as chief probation officer, in securing a recent two-year, $1.5 million grant that will help residents in Sandusky and surrounding counties find treatment for heroin and opiate addictions.

If elected, Sanchez said he plans to work closely with the Fremont Police Department to develop a strategic plan to combat crime and drug issues.

Within the first six months in office, Sanchez wants to work on new strategic plans for every city department, he said.

Sanchez said the first thing he needs to do, if elected, is to go through the city's budget and see where Fremont was at financially and how funds were being allocated to city needs.

Voters also still have questions about the Ballville Dam and what will happen to that structure, and what that means for city residents, Sanchez said.

Sanchez said he, like the mayor, is in favor of removing the dam, but thinks Ellis could have done a better job communicating with the public on what was going on with that project.

Fremont City Council voted 4-3 to remove the dam in November 2014, but a lawsuit filed on behalf of Fremont residents resulted in the dam removal ordinance being put on the Nov. 3 ballot as a voter referendum.

Sanchez cited a Facebook site put up by Citizens for Dam Removal as the kind of reference tool he would like voters to have before they make a decision on whether to keep or remove the dam.

"I believe that we need to continue to educate the community all the way up until the election," Sanchez said of the dam issue.

The Republican candidate said he would also like to see more public discussion on the multimillion dollar Water Pollution Control Center project, which is still under construction.

The city’s WPCC project is geared toward increasing the capacity of the city’s wastewater treatment plant from about 10 million gallons per day to 24 million gallons per day, as well as reducing the amount of combined sewer overflow events that push untreated water into the Sandusky River.

The state’s Environmental Protection Agency is mandating the capacity increase and reduction in CSOs, or Combined Sewer Overflows — which occur on average about 70 times per year — as a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act.

The project's estimated cost has risen above $70 million, which makes it the most expensive infrastructure project in the city's history.

Sanchez said he would consider having more public meetings on the WPCC project and utilize social media to its fullest potential to make residents aware of what was going on with the wastewater treatment plant expansion.

Overall, Sanchez said his goal as mayor would be to listen to the community, engage with residents and encourage people to come together to change the perception of Fremont.

"I don't know everything, but I'm willing to learn and talk with the experts to do what's best for people in the community," Sanchez said.

dacarson@gannett.com

419-334-1046

Twitter:@DanielCarson7.

Mayoral debate

The News-Messenger will host a public Mayoral Debate at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, at Fremont Middle School, 1250 North St. The newspaper is accepting questions from the community for the incumbent, Jim Ellis, and challenger Danny Sanchez. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m.