When I think about Mansfield, the economy of Mansfield, its past, present, and future, I think about how to make a resilient economy, a robust economy, an economy for the 21st century. Mansfield is a small, industrial city, the sort that defined the midwest, the industrial revolution, and now the Rust Belt. Built on trains and steel and then the automotive industry.
Mansfield prospered as a city with big factories and strong unions, Mansfield was part of the backbone of the American and the world economy, part of an era of unprecedented growth and prosperity.
But over the last fifty years Mansfield has suffered from an economy that relied less and less on American manufacturing, less and less on union workers, less and less on cities like Mansfield. And every time a factory shut down, because they were so big and employed so many people, it was a body blow to the city.
The world is changing again. And Mansfield has the greatest opportunity to take the lead in a new economy, to learn from the past, and charge ahead into a brighter future.
When I talk about a resilient economy I mean one that can adapt and change. Where we build our infrastructure and spaces to be repurposed and to change and expand and contract as needed. No more multi-million dollar demolition projects because a building or infrastructure was purpose built for one and only one thing. Where we have skilled and educated people, lifelong learners, with schools and colleges and training that guarantee the people of Mansfield always have a job and are always eager for the next challenge ahead.
When I talk about a robust economy I mean one that is vibrant and diverse. An economy with lots and lots of small and medium sized businesses, locally owned businesses, and not behemoths that take down the whole city when their corporate boards thousands of miles away decide that Mansfield doesn’t serve shareholder value. Mansfield is not and will not be a Company Town. A robust economy is one the ensures the city and its people are always our greatest asset, are always the heart of our economy, so we are beholden to no one.
And when I talk about a 21st century economy I mean one that looks forward and not backward. Mansfield must be a city that leads. That has sustainability at its core. Because we are a small city we are a nimble city. We can adopt best practices and new technologies faster than cities like Akron or Columbus. We can have high speed internet that connects Mansfield to the world economy in unprecedented ways. We can have a ‘smart’ electric grid and renewable energy to have cheaper, cleaner electricity than anywhere else. We can be the industrial heartland of the future by fostering new industries and new technologies and processes that actually favor the small cities and small factories that Mansfield exemplifies.
This is my vision for Mansfield’s economic development and this is the choice that’s on the ballot this year. It’s about looking forward, it’s about focusing on the things that make Mansfield great, that give Mansfield an advantage, it’s about keeping Mansfield’s identity and history as part of the world economy, a leader in industry. It’s a vision that serves Mansfield and commits to investing directly in the people of Mansfield and their prosperity, their well-being.
Below is a plan for Mansfield’s economic development. It’s not comprehensive, it’s a statement of priorities and approach to these priorities. I hope it provides some insight into my vision and my thought.
- Strengthening Basic Infrastructure
- Roads and Transportation
- Maintain roads and sidewalks
- Timely plowing of roads in winter
- Upgrade routes for freight, especially to divert more shipping around rather than through the city.
- Invest in infrastructure to take advantage of the airport and market the advantages it provides to industry in the city and surrounding.
- Create and expand bus routes to service the whole city. Providing safe, affordable, reliable access to downtown entertainment and to jobs throughout the city for ALL residents and neighborhoods.
- Utilities and Technology
- Develop a plan for guaranteeing broadband and data access to the entire city.
- Upgrade and update our water utilities. Prevent the waste of water from leaking and burst pipes.
- Begin working to upgrade our electric grid to take advantage of smart grid technologies and integrate renewable energy sources to lower bills, clean the air, and create jobs.
- Roads and Transportation
- Local Entrepreneurship and Business Development
- Business Incubators
- Establish local business incubators to support startups
- Provide resources, mentorship, and affordable workspace
- Small Business Support
- Offer grants and low interest loans to local entrepreneurs
- Streamline permitting and licensing processes
- Micro-Business Support
- Creating a permanent location for micro-businesses within the city of Mansfield to market their goods or services.
- Providing assistance for micro-business entrepreneurs to navigate the bureaucracy of self-employment.
- Making available micro-loans for micro-businesses
- Building a path for micro-businesses to grow into a small business. Creating a pipeline to take our residents from home based entrepreneurs to having brick and mortar storefronts in our downtown and commercial areas.
- Everyday Business Friendly
- Reject the concept of race-to-the-bottom competition between cities to attract businesses with incentives and sweetheart deals. Economic growth is not a zero-sum proposition.
- Commit to a city regulatory and administrative regime that is easy to navigate for all businesses. Reducing transaction costs across Mansfield’s economy. While it may sound good that a mayor will personally work with and shepherd a business to settle in Mansfield, it is a sign of administrative failure for that to be necessary. A robust economy cannot be built on that favoritism. Level the playing field, lower the costs, open the market.
- Simplicity and transparency.
- Reliable infrastructure including transit, water, electric, and broadband. Reliability, cost, and environmental friendliness are top considerations for businesses when selecting a location. If Mansfield focuses on the fundamentals instead of special carve outs and giveaways, entrepreneurs and businesses will make the right choice.
- An educated, skilled, healthy, and happy labor market. If Mansfield invests in its people, invests in wellbeing, invests in education, is a livable and convenient city; businesses will locate in the city for the people that live here and the people who would be happy to live here.
- Business Incubators
- Local Skills Ecosystem
- Partnering with OSU Mansfield and NCSC
- Collaborate with community colleges to create relevant, accessible workforce development programs
- Work to expand OSU and NCSC’s footprint in downtown Mansfield, providing access to training programs and educational services right in the center of the city.
- Coordinate between local academic institutions and businesses to develop apprenticeship and internship opportunities.
- Offer vocation training in high-demand industries in coordination with NCSC, the Mansfield Richland County Public Library system, and other academic and community institutions.
- Work with area public schools to create strong connections to NCSC and OSU Mansfield for more seamless continuation of affordable higher education.
- Provide career counseling services to help residents identify the job opportunities and associated training to keep residents in Mansfield, to upgrade their skills, and to secure higher income jobs within the city.
- Closing the skills gap between the community and business. Providing a high skilled workforce in the city for businesses to select Mansfield as a valuable location.
- Partnering with OSU Mansfield and NCSC
- Quality of Life
- Affordable Housing
- Create affordable housing initiatives, public-private partnerships, and take full advantage of state and federal funding to building housing and resolve the housing crisis in Mansfield.
- Support mixed-income housing projects.
- Support mixed-using housing projects and rezoning.
- Create Planned Development zones around the West Park Shopping Center and the Westinghouse sites.
- Cultural and Recreational Activities
- Promote cultural events, festivals, and local art initiatives.
- Invest in sports facilities, recreational programs, and arts programs for the public.
- Invest in after school programs for the youth of Mansfield.
- Parks
- Reach out to the community, promoting improvements to the parks as suggested by the people actually using them.
- Prioritize quality over quantity. Ensure our park funding is spent on smart, sustainable equipment.
- Ensure that the maintenance of park infrastructure is spread equitably throughout our city.
- Expand on initiatives to turn our parks into a shared green space, with an emphasis on projects like community gardens.
- Work with the people of Mansfield to create a spirit of civic pride where we preserve our parks and keep them as a place that we all cherish and enjoy.
- Affordable Housing
- Transparency and Community Engagement
- Host regular town hall meetings across the city to allow direct engagement with Mansfield residents.
- Establish a community-led advisory board for economic development and city safety.
- Transparency in decision-making.
- Regular newsletter for the city of Mansfield updating residents on the status of the city, decisions by city council and city administrators, and happenings within the city.
- A city calendar on the website that prominently and accessibly features events happening within the city of Mansfield. To promote higher turnout at these events, engagement in community activities, and greater tourism for the city of Mansfield.
- Fiscal Responsibility and Long Term Sustainability
- Commit to a sustainable budget that allocates resources efficiently and effectively.
- Guard against the inevitability of economic downturns and fiscal tightening by building budget surpluses in good times and making expenditures and providing services consistent with a long term average of revenues.
- Restructure and reform the city administration to be consistent with the changing needs of the city and its residents, the resources of the city, and changing technology.
- Take steps to ensure the efficient and consistent collection of utility payments.
- Explore public-private partnerships for select projects.
Sherry For Mayor 