Butler has been attempting to revitalize by restoring its downtown.

Tom Donaldson, the Republican candidate for mayor, thinks the city must first focus elsewhere.

Donaldson said a bigger emphasis needs to be placed on improving neighborhoods, starting with drug enforcement.

“Eradicating drugs and crime is the biggest thing I've heard about while going door to door,” he said.

Donaldson said he has been campaigning every day in hopes of becoming the city's first Republican mayor since 1985.

To do that, he must defeat Democratic candidate Maggie Stock, who is seeking her third consecutive term as mayor, in the Nov. 5 election.

His platform is centered heavily on his background as a police officer and crime prevention.

Donaldson was a police officer for Eau Claire and Jackson and Franklin townships dating back to the 1970s.

“The main responsibility of the mayor of this city is to oversee the police department,” Donaldson said. “I have experience with the police.”

Donaldson now works in Cranberry Township as a truck supervisor at Foreman Brothers, a Michigan-based mail truck company.

He cited the city's drug problem as the main reason he decided to run for mayor.

“I was walking my grandson home last summer and we came across two used syringes lying on the street a block from his house,” he said. “That's not the city I want my grandson to grow up in.”

Donaldson said he'd want to build a close relationship with the police force and implement various crime prevention programs.

He said the city needs a neighborhood watch program. Such an effort would have to be under the guidance of a police liaison, but it could be beneficial to the community, he said.

“You wouldn't want them out there taking risks,” he said of residents, “but if they can find something and inform the police, that would be a good thing.”

He also wants to work with police to have tighter drug enforcement, particularly patrolling different sections of the city.

“They should be taking the two police dogs out for walks around the city,” Donaldson said. “That will make sure everyone knows the police are patrolling their neighborhood.”

Increasing traffic patrols is another item on his agenda. The candidate said there needs to be more street surveillance.

“Some people have no regard for stop signs or speed limits in the city,” Donaldson said. “The last thing we need is somebody running over a 4-year-old because they're driving too fast.”

Donaldson said he wouldn't want to overstep his boundaries as mayor in working with the police, but he would want to maintain a close relationship.

“The most important part of leading them is that you have to let them know you have their back seven days a week,” he said.

Donaldson also said he would have close connections with city firefighters, and would not consider cutting the full-time department.

“I think public safety should be left as is,” he said. “There are other ways to defray costs.

But those options don't include cutting anything from the city's $7.8 million budget.

“I'm not looking to cut anything,” he said. “But I do think the city can get more bang for its buck looking at each category of the city.”

Donaldson said he would hope to work with council members on the budget.

He thinks the budget will improve through redevelopment efforts, but said those efforts need to go beyond Main Street. While revitalizing downtown is important, focusing on neighborhoods is equally as valuable, he said.

Donaldson said the city redevelopment authority invested too much in the Centre City project, adding the authority should be spreading that money around the neighborhoods.

The $10 million project will bring a 75-room Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel, a new Rite Aid pharmacy, and a parking garage downtown.

About $2 million of that will come from the authority itself in order to match a state grant.

“Some of that money can go to the neighborhoods to support single family housing,” he said. “There needs to be a way to get redevelopment into the neighborhoods.”

He also said he wants to use redevelopment money for sidewalk repairs.

Donaldson said the city's playgrounds are not used enough, and he wants to promote children getting outside more in the summer. He said a summer intern would be a good option to help organize events and keep watch over the playgrounds.

“If you don't have something for kids to do, you can't complain when they get into trouble,” he said.

Improving the neighborhoods would only help the city's efforts to revitalize downtown.

“You have to have people in your neighborhoods to shop downtown,” he said.

While Donaldson wants to redirect focus to the neighborhoods, he said the redevelopment of downtown is still a major priority.

But Donaldson is skeptical of Centre City, and he said he likes the idea of trusting private citizens to improve Main Street. While he isn't against the Centre City concept, he doesn't agree with the financing options being explored.

“I have no problem with it, but it must be self-sufficient,” he said. “The Centre City project can't just hope for increased business to pay for its operational costs.”

The city would need to generate about $70,000 more per year to fund a potential bond issue.

City officials say the money would come from parking revenue, but Donaldson is not convinced.

Donaldson said he would like to continue supporting the efforts of Butler Downtown, but he also thinks the city should work better with nearby communities to attract industrial jobs to the region.

“Manufacturing and tech jobs don't need to go to Cranberry,” he said.

Donaldson thinks bringing those jobs to the area would attract people to move into the neighborhoods and to shop downtown.

While he would be a new face, Donaldson said he thinks he would be able to step in and work with city council.

“That won't be a problem at all,” he said.

Donaldson said he isn't concerned that the city has not had a Republican for 28 years.

“You really can't tell the difference at the local level,” he said. “Everyone has the same concerns.”

<B>Party: </B>Republican<B>Age:</B> 61<B>Family: </B>Married with five children, four grandchildren<B>Profession: </B>Mail truck supervisor, former police officer<B>Quote: </B>“I think it's important to do whatever you can for a city, and Butler would notice a significant difference with me as mayor.”