Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced his bid for re-election today.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse announced his bid for re-election today, listing his accomplishments and vowing to heal rocky relationships with everyone from PennLive reporters to the National Civil War Museum board.
Standing in his Midtown campaign headquarters before a giant sign reading “Together We Can,” Papenfuse stated that he is proud of the city’s improvements under his tenure, citing achievements in economic development, public safety, fiscal responsibility and civic engagement. He said that he’s running for re-election to continue to make progress in these four areas.
“I can say for certain that Harrisburg is on the right track, and I believe the majority of residents feel that way as well,” he said.
So far, Papenfuse faces two declared opponent for the Democratic nomination, former City Council President Gloria Martin-Roberts and previous mayoral candidate, Lewis Butts. PennLive has reported that Johnny Baer, a Dauphin County prosecutor, might be interested in running on the Republican side.
During the half-hour announcement and press conference, Papenfuse defended his record as mayor, including the sometimes pitched battles he’s waged with City Council, the National Civil War Museum and PennLive coverage.
“On any point, you can bring up where there’s been a controversy, I think it’s always been fought with the interest of Harrisburg taxpayers in mind, and I think we are in a position to move toward a good solution,” he said.
Papenfuse said that he said does not regret the battles, which he stated are based on principle and the interest of taxpayers.
“Politics is a contact sport,” he said. “That’s what had to be done. But in the end, you need solutions. So, judge me in the end if I get a good solution.”
He dropped one such political battle today, ceasing his self-imposed ban on speaking directly to PennLive reporters.
He said he believed that had made his point about PennLive’s anonymous commenters and what he calls negative stories. As an olive branch, he selected PennLive reporter Christine Vendel to ask the first question during the press conference portion.
Much of the announcement, however, was to tout his record on fiscal and economic issues.
He said he ran for election in 2013 to help Harrisburg get out of Act 47, a state program to help financially distressed municipalities. Though the city is not out of Act 47, Harrisburg is on much stronger financial footing, he said.
Harrisburg’s balanced budgets and a 2017 budget investing in capital improvements are “no mean feat,” he said.
“Some of this seems mundane, but the city is just returning to normalcy,” he said. “We don’t want to go backwards to dysfunction, to cronyism, to outright corruption, which is what defined Harrisburg not too long ago.”
He cited a $3 million grant to revitalize Allison Hill’s MulDer Square and federal funding for South Allison Hill residents affected by sinkholes as two examples of the millions of state and federal funding he has secured. And, today, he announced a $1 million grant to repave Harrisburg’s decrepit river walk.
Papenfuse also touted his record on crime, saying that major crimes had decreased during his term. But he added that the city has ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining officers. Currently, there are 19 open positions in the Bureau of Police.
“[This is the time to] put our stamp of Chief Thomas Carter’s leadership on new training and engagement with public,” he said.
Papenfuse said the problems facing the police department – recruitment and community tensions – are national issues. With Act 47 constraints still in place, the city cannot do more financially to support the police department, he said.
A new group of officers soon would be coming in and learning community-policing strategies, which would help build positive relationships with residents, he said, adding that he was proud that Harrisburg remained calm last year following a police-involved killing.
Another achievement, he said, was working to lower street parking rates 5 to 7 p.m. weekdays and providing four free hours of parking Saturdays with the Pango app.
“These things wouldn’t have happened unless you were fighting and pushing against a system which is basically controlled by business interests,” he said.
Internally, Papenfuse said his campaign already has raised about $40,000. Many people have contributed to his campaign, he said, including members of Harrisburg Capital City PAC, the same political action committee that helped fund his first mayoral election.
He also re-hired Andrea Krizner as campaign manager. Harrisburg-based MFStrategies and the national firm, The Strategy Group, also support his campaign.
Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, a founder of Harrisburg Capital City PAC, is publisher of TheBurg.
Author: Danielle Roth
