Findlay Mayor And Challenger Square Off In Mayoral Forum

Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn and challenger Chad Benschoter participated in a Mayoral Forum on WFIN Wednesday night.

Flooding, Blanchard Street, city finances are various other topics were discussed during the forum.

The two are on opposing sides of the Blanchard Street project.

Mayor Muryn says reconfiguring Blanchard Street to one through lane in either direction and a dedicated center left turn lane will increase safety for drivers and bicyclists.

And with the new design, some room would be left over on each side of the road which would become a bike lane.

“I want to be clear, the intention of this project was not initially bike lanes, that’s a secondary benefit to this project and I think it would be ill-conceived and irresponsible for us to move away from this project when it’s ultimately safer and more efficient.”

Chad Benschoter has a dire prediction about what will happen if the project moves ahead.

“What we need to do is make sure bicyclists are as safe as possible, and putting cars in a bike path when they have to get over for emergency vehicles or when they have to merge onto the street in general will lead to casualties.”

In her closing statement, Muryn, a Republican, said the city’s heading in the right direction under her leadership.

“We have a lot of areas we can improve and that’s a continual process. I’m open to having that dialogue, I want community feedback and I believe that I have the right vision to build on the successes that we’ve seen to keep our community moving forward.”

In his closing statement, Chad Benschoter, a Democrat, said he believes he’s the candidate that best represents the people of Findlay.

“If you want a mayor that actually listens when you give feedback instead of disregarding it, that’s me. If you want a mayor that sees the problems that the average person faces on a daily basis, nice to meet you.”

Early voting is already underway. Election day is November 5th.

Watch the full forum below.