May 15, 2015 4 min read

Washington Mayor Brenda Davis is being challenged by a political newcomer in her bid for a second term in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

Scott Putnam hopes to use his experience as an engineer and chairman of Citywide Development Corp. to unseat her.

Both Davis and Putnam also are running Republican write-in campaigns because there is no candidate on that party’s ballot, so there is a chance they could square off again in the general election in November.

Putnam previously served as chairman of Washington Parking Authority and as a member of the Washington-East Washington Joint comprehensive plan committee.

If elected, one of his first orders of business will be bolstering the code enforcement office in hopes of taking on blight. He plans to provide additional training and support to that office.

“I think (code enforcement officer) Ron McIntyre does a good job, but I believe that he could use some help because there’s just so much going on with the blighted properties,” he said.

Both Putnam and Davis want to continue to demolish dilapidated properties in the city, but they differ on how it should be done.

Davis said 35 structures have been demolished in three years, and she aims to get them back on the tax rolls by filing liens on the properties, a process that recently began. If the property owners fail to pay, the city will take steps to acquire those properties, she said.

“The city is not in the business of real estate, but we are in the business of cleaning up the neighborhoods and holding property owners accountable,” she said.

Putnam said he wants to work with property owners to persuade them to sell to the city or another buyer because liens dissuade developers from moving into Washington.

His ultimate goal, though, is to get the properties back on the tax rolls.

“(The city) is getting nothing for them now, so by taking them and doing something with them and getting them back on the tax rolls, at least you’re getting something,” he said. “By liening that property and doing nothing with it, the city gets no benefit out of that because they’re still not getting any tax money.”

Both Davis and Putnam said they want to work with police to tackle the drug problem and establish community programs for officers to meet residents in nonconfrontational situations.

Putnam also wants to establish a fee in lieu of a tax for Washington & Jefferson College to pay in order to generate more revenue. He said Washington Hospital, which also is tax-exempt, pays a similar fee.

He said he wants to fill empty storefronts along Main Street and said the lack of cooperation between the mayor and council has deterred potential businesses.

“Everybody needs to be working for the best interest of the city, leaving agendas aside, and not letting the effects of one vote affect the next vote,” he said.

Putnam and his wife, Cheryl, have two daughters.

Davis said she wants to further the goals she campaigned on four years ago, with a top priority of reducing spending.

“Since I’ve been in office, we have not had a real estate property tax increase, and we have been able to toe the line on spending,” she said. “I want to continue to tighten our belts so we’re not spending frivolously.”

She said she did not approve of the garbage rate with Waste Management when it was set three years ago, and she believes residents are paying too much.

“I’m going to continue to fight for the taxpayers so they’re not paying a high garbage bill, and if there’s room to reduce that rate, I will fight for them to get that rate reduced,” she said.

She said the city was able to free up hundreds of thousands of dollars by refinancing its debt on two occasions.

Davis named the re-establishment of the police K-9 unit and her partnership with the drug task force among her accomplishments in office, and she said she wants to expand both of those initiatives to crack down on drug dealing and prostitution.

Davis is a board member of the Citywide Development Corp., the county Democratic Committee and Democratic Women groups and the Joint Planning Commission for Washington and East Washington. She also is a member of the CommUnity organization.