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The event, part of Marshall UniversityÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Voter Friendly Campus initiative, was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Huntington Area and the John Deaver Drinko Academy for American Political Institutions and Civic Culture. Both organizations are non-partisan. It was moderated by Martha Woodward, League of Women Voters of the Huntington Area co-president.

Democratic candidate Jennifer Wheeler, independent candidate Jay Michaels and Republican candidate Patrick Farrell shared their plans for Huntington, if elected. They agreed that most residents have indicated the opioid crisis and homelessness to be the biggest challenge facing Huntington.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI want to see ordinances enforced and start to clean up and I also want to categorize what type of homelessness weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re dealing with when we lump everybody into one category,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Michaels said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s tough to know what people need. Is it somebody that just lost their job? Somebody that fell on hard times with illness? Possibly somebody, a veteran, thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a different type of homelessness. If you have a needle in your arm to me, thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a crime. ThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s got to be addressed.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Michaels, who grew up in Huntington and recently moved back, said he wants to bring experience he gleaned from living in big cities such as Los Angeles to help elevate what is already going right in Huntington.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhat IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve learned about homelessness is that the people living on the streets ... they donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t want to be there, right? And then no one else in the community wants them there either,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Farrell said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think that we can handle this problem with compassion to help the people that are on the street then also providing for the common good to make sure the rest of our community can benefit and not be burdened by whatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s going on.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Farrell, who is a business owner, U.S. Air Force veteran and member of MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Board of Governors, said his focus is on finding more housing, eliminating dilapidated structures and collaborating with stakeholders to share and understand the data from continuum of care programs. In his first 30 days in office, Farrell said he would focus on prioritizing these steps through the budget.

Wheeler, a former City Council chairwoman born and raised in Huntington, said her focus on the issue, specifically in the first 30 days, would be to continue and improve on the things the city is already doing to decrease homelessness by using the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œhousing firstÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� model, a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness. Wheeler said itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a model that other cities and countries have seen success with.

In addition to tracking data, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œwe also need to continue to work with our community partners through the continuum of care and developing a strategic plan,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œMany of the providers in this area have met and come up with a plan that will work community-wide. But it is something that is still in the works and we have to build upon that.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

She also suggested city leaders ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œbe creativeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� with housing solutions.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œOther cities have used shipping containers. ... Other than that, you know, some efficiency-type apartment housing with a courtyard, thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s shared amenities,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Wheeler said.

Wheeler said it is essential to provide compassionate response for people experiencing homelessness while also being respectful and cognizant of issues that business owners go though.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIf you had to start your day every day by cleaning up trash ... that would be a rough day,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� she said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œOne of the things that we as a city can do to help with that is to enforce ordinances. It is actually required that dumpsters have locks on them, but many dumpsters do not have locks on them, so we lock the dumpsters. That will certainly cut down on the litter.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

To compensate, she noted other cities have begun using different colored bags for unsheltered individuals to put their trash in. Wheeler said she would also focus on allocating resources to provide facilities to unsheltered people.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œNot just housing, but also public restrooms,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Wheeler said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou know, many of the issues that some of the business owners have faced have had to do with people who have not had adequate facilities to use the restrooms.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

The candidates all agreed that in order to alleviate problems for business owners in Huntington, while prioritizing compassion and resources to people experiencing homelessness, that services that are currently located downtown should be re-located out of the central business district in a place that is still accessible so that people can receive services, but they do not get in the way of commerce.

Farrell said another priority would be to increase support for law enforcement.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhat we can do is get them the people they need for recruiting and retention within the equipment they need, the training they need in order to enforce the laws and make sure that we keep the drug dealers out of town, right? If we can keep the illegal drugs out of our city, then we can make sure that the people that are coming here to prey on the people that are suffering from substance use disorder donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t have to deal with that,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Farrell said.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIf we push the drugs out with law enforcement, we move the services in a way that the city can benefit. I think that helps everybody and by providing that help to continue to provide the help outside of the city. I think what we can do is help people that can get recovery to get the resources they need, and the people that donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t want recovery, make sure that theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not going to be able to take down our property values by stealing things, by living in abandoned houses, burning them down and causing a hazard to the rest of the city.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Michaels said he would focus on cracking down on property owner rights and drug rehab centers.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œDrug homes attract drug dealers. Whether we like it or not, itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a fact they lure outside of these places,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Michaels said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThey want people hooked. So we got to hold the drug rehabs accountable. Really, really audit these places and find the best of the best. I know the ones now that IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been researching that are doing a great job, and IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m behind them. I want to see those expand. The other ones, I want to see them go away and I think that the drug supply will reduce just because of that alone.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œUntil we can facilitate ways to get people into the proper rehab, weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re going to continue to see the same thing.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Questions asked Tuesday were submitted by audience members live during the event, and mainly focused on homelessness. One attendee asked the candidates their thoughts on clearing homeless camps.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not a crime to be homeless. We can move freely throughout this country. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s our constitutional right,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Farrell said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBut it is crime to do drugs, to deal drugs, to steal, to trespass, to commit arson, do indecent acts in public. All of those things are crimes. ... What people are really concerned about, theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re concerned about their property. TheyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re concerned about their safety. And so thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s what the city can and should and will enforce when IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m mayor, right, is to make sure that everyone in the city feels safe.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Farrell said if encampments are cleared, but unsheltered individuals donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t receive help finding homes, theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ll just move to other parts of the city.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIf you clear off the riverbank, theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re going to end up in your neighborhood. They have nowhere else to go unless we help them find a place to go,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� he said.

Wheeler said clearing out encampments is a balance that should be weighed depending on the situation.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think that we have to follow the law, and recently there was a Supreme Court ruling that did put a ban on illegal camping,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Wheeler said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI think that we have to make sure that we are being just with folks and that, you know, weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re not destroying their belongings ... I think that there may be instances where we should use our judgment to help rather than just clear a site.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s more about helping people get into the appropriate location that they need. If it happens to be the (City) Mission, if it happens to be longer-term housing, I donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t think that you just turn people out. I think that you help them to the next location.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Michaels said he is both for and against clearing out tent encampments.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m into clearing the camps and doing whatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s right, but you got to do it the right way,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� he said.

The candidates also discussed how they envision the city can work with Marshall for the good of the community and how they will show up to represent the university.

Michaels said he wants to advocate for the school but help Huntington keep its own identity.

He said he would like to grow both HuntingtonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s and MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s development while continuing to keep the identities separate.

Wheeler said she would like to build on MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s success.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œMarshall is one of the greatest resources for talent that we have. We have, every year, new students coming in that provide us the opportunity to grow our city and in order to do that, we have to make sure that we are doing everything we can do to recruit students to come here, and I think one of those things is to pay attention to the areas around campus as mayor,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Wheeler said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œOne of my priorities will be to rezone the areas around campus. In order to really have prosperity here what we need to do is to rezone those areas away from residential into a neighborhood commercial so that we can have mixed-use buildings there so that you can have a record store downstairs and some living units above it so that our campus truly has a campus feel like Ohio State or some other places that students can go.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Wheeler also said she would like to add more tourism to the city, particularly through sports tourism.

Farrell said he will continue to advocate for the development of the university.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI will represent Marshall, to the rest of the state, in Charleston because you can see what I have done and for seven years on the board (of governors). I have been in Charleston. IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been in Washington. I have been championing this university in this city to try to make it grow, and it does not happen alone. Marshall did not do this alone, but we did a lot of things with a lot of peopleÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s help,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Farrell said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m going to continue to partner with our university.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�