Pryor and Robinson Meet At ENAIt was by chance that two Democratic candidates, Cherrish Pryor and Leroy Robinson, crossed paths at the February 1 Eagledale Neighborhood Association (ENA) meeting. Pryor and Robinson are vying for the seven-district seat on the City-County council this year. Although the ENA does not endorse political candidates, candidates do attend the ENA meetings to have direct contact with the residents and their issues. Pryor recently filled the vacated seat when Greg Bowes won the election for the Marion County Assessor’s office. Bowes had served the seventh district for three years. He attended the meeting to formally introduce Pryor to the members. Bowes said Pryor was ahead of the learning curve compared to most first term elected officials when it comes to understanding the integral functions of government. Her past lobbying experience with the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and later tracking bills in the Indiana Legislative Services Agency have educated her with many of the fundamentals. “People are affected the most by neighborhood associations but yet these groups receive the least amount of attention,” Pryor said to the ENA members. She recognized that ENA is a strong viable organization that has a powerful influence in the neighborhood. In her brief presentation, Pryor named three goals she wants to accomplish. She wanted to improve Indy Go service in the area, eliminate the vacant buildings, and increase crime prevention awareness. Pryor first cited the lack of frequent bus routes as a deterrent to job growth. Bus service routes need to be more frequent to help people with employment opportunities. People without cars should not be overlooked in society. They should have mobility and accessibility to obtain jobs. Inadequate services hinder these opportunities. If an employee misses the bus it could mean another 30 minutes before the next one arrives. This could mean a significant loss of pay for some employees. She also wanted to eliminate the high vacancy rate of retail buildings in the area. She would not give the details about a potential change coming to the area. Her comment was “Something is in the pike to revitalize the empty car lot on Georgetown Road.” She said she intended to use her past experience with the chamber of commerce to bring new innovative ideas to stimulate the area. Crime is another major issue that Pryor plans to combat. Her solution is crime prevention by working with the youth to steer them away from the negative elements that leads to crime. Robinson discounted Pryor’s goals by saying crime prevention, infrastructure and economic development are a standard foundation to every political campaign. Robinson admitted that he lacks the political savvy expertise like Pryor, but it did not really matter because he is about representing the people. “If all neighborhood associations across the county were like ENA, our crime problems would be solved,” he said. Robinson is familiar with the area and issues. “I grew up in Eagledale, and I went to IPS School 79 and IPS 107,” he said. Robinson even named several of his teachers. Robinson, who now is an Indianapolis Public School U. S. History teacher, is about reaching out to the people. He believed that special interest and political action groups diminish the power of the average voter. “The political attention is given to the special interest groups,” he said. Robinson told the group he was not going through the slating process because the Democratic Party would probably select Pryor since they selected her to fill Bowes’ seat. Robinson wants the people to decide who is the best candidate for district seven. “My goal is to have a debate with Ms. Pryor in March, so the people can chose for themselves,” he said. Robinson’s political slogan is “The People’s Choice!” |
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