Uhrichsville Mayor Rick Dorland is seeking re-election for another four-year term in office. (Photo by Stacey Carmany, Tusco TV)

Uhrichsville, Ohio - The city's incumbent mayor is telling Uhrichsville Democrats why they should re-elect him to another four-year term.

Rick Dorland is being challenged for the Democratic nomination by Council President Mark Haney. Dorland says people should vote for him over his opponent because he’s shown he’s committed to putting in the hours to get the job done.

"Back when I came into office, council established the work hours for the elected officials at 23 hours, so I’m only supposed to put in 23 hours a week. That’s impossible due to the meetings," he says. "Outside of work hours, each month I have anywhere from 15 or more already pre-scheduled meetings that are monthly that I should attend." 
 
Dorland points out the strides he and his administration have made in cleaning up the city. He says he plans to keep the momentum going if he’s re-elected for a second term.

"I get numerous compliments on the way the city looks. We’ve issued two or three hundred cleanup notices if not more. I would say 98 or 99 percent of those have complied. The ones that haven’t, we’ve filed charges on in court. We’re continuing to do that to this day. I want to keep that going," he says.

Dorland says he’s extremely proud of the improvements they’ve been able to make to the city building and the Uhrichsville Water Park. He’s also grateful to voters for helping them re-establish a paving fund.

"I think one of the biggest accomplishments is getting the income tax raised to where we could establish a street fund," he says. "For years, the city didn’t have any money, was unable to appropriate money for streets."

Dorland says there are also a few projects they’ve gotten started that he’d like to see through to completion, including the establishment of a joint fire district. 

"Last year, we got a comprehensive study on the feasibility of starting a fire district between us and the city of New Philadelphia, and we found that wouldn’t be feasible but the idea is still being kicked around for our area down here," he says. "I would like to see that through because I’ve been involved in that since day one."

Dorland is also refuting his opponent's claim that his administration has not been transparent, saying his door has been open to residents since day one.

“Anyone that wants to come in and talk to me about anything that has to do with the city, I’m more than happy to sit down with them," he says. "Over the last three and a half years I’ve done that too numerous occasions to begin to count. I also field a lot of phone calls from people."

Dorland also took issue with his opponent's claim about him conducting secret meetings. He says there have been some discussions on confidential matters, but he says he has never intentionally kept council in the dark. 

STACEY CARMANY, TUSCO TV