Rockford Mayoral Candidates Criticize State of the City Speech
By: Alex de Leon
Updated: April 9, 2013
Rockford - The opponents of Mayor Larry Morrissey (I) in next month's election are critical of his State of the City address last night.
For Michael Kleen (R) and Jim Hughes (D), they say it's just another year of all talk and no action. "The priorities are all mixed up" says Kleen. He says the city is focusing on inserting bike paths and instead of keeping street lights, which he claims compromises public safety. "I think we need to get the city back to its core mission, which is to fix our roads and get more cops on the street. That's one thing Mayor Morrissey touched on last night. He says he wants to hire 22 new police officers. Well, I've been saying this for months."
Hughes (D) also touched on the officer hirings. "For the last eight years it's been the same thing over and over with no results" says Hughes. "He said last night he raised the taxes and cut services. How is that helping the community? It's not. We need police officers. The money's been in the budget. What's the problem?"
The election takes place April 9th.
For Michael Kleen (R) and Jim Hughes (D), they say it's just another year of all talk and no action. "The priorities are all mixed up" says Kleen. He says the city is focusing on inserting bike paths and instead of keeping street lights, which he claims compromises public safety. "I think we need to get the city back to its core mission, which is to fix our roads and get more cops on the street. That's one thing Mayor Morrissey touched on last night. He says he wants to hire 22 new police officers. Well, I've been saying this for months."
Hughes (D) also touched on the officer hirings. "For the last eight years it's been the same thing over and over with no results" says Hughes. "He said last night he raised the taxes and cut services. How is that helping the community? It's not. We need police officers. The money's been in the budget. What's the problem?"
The election takes place April 9th.
