MORE: Springfield candidates debate north-south divide, discrimination law
“There’s not a whole lot of (former classmates) around to help lead in Springfield,” said Rue, co-owner of Littleton and Rue Funeral Home and Crematory. “I really feel a calling to help govern the city. I want my kids to choose to be able to live in Springfield and not another city to have a good life.”
The most important issue facing Springfield is attracting jobs and people to the community, he said. The best way to bring jobs to Springfield is to help businesses by bridging the gaps between multiple entities, such as the city, county and Chamber of Greater Springfield. He also doesn’t want to be a road block to any new development, he said.
“I want to make Springfield attractive so that when people come to look at our city, we need to make sure our roads are well taken care of and that our government is welcoming,” Rue said.
He would support adding sexual orientation to the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, Rue said.
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“I don’t believe we should discriminate against people who choose a different lifestyle, whether I agree with it or not,” he said. “At some point, we’re going to have to stop saying, ‘No, you’re not welcome here because you choose a different lifestyle than I do.’”
Springfield shouldn’t reinstate its red light camera program because it wouldn’t work well with new regulations in place, he said.
“We’ll watch Dayton and see how it works out, but right now, no,” he said. “As technology advances in the future, it’s not like it’s never going to happen. At some point, it will happen, but right now, I don’t see it happening.”
Rue has recently become involved with the Clark County Substance Abuse and Treatment Coalition to learn more about the ongoing opioid crisis in Springfield, he said. The community must continue to educate people about addiction, he said.
“We need to continue to bring all of the different organizations together that we’re seeing,” Rue said. “The one thing about crisis is that it does bring the community together.”
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Rue is opposed to going back on the ballot to renew a temporary 0.4-percent income tax passed earlier this year, he said. If elected, he intends to do everything possible to make sure it remains temporary, he said. Commissioners and staff members must comb through the budget to find areas to make cuts, Rue said.
“We need to make sure we do what we said we’d do,” he said. “I don’t think we should tax the citizens without doing what we said we’d do.”
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Rob Rue
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