Evansville Mayoral Candidate panel held Monday at SWIRCA

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - On Monday, many people got to hear from Evansville mayor candidates Natalie Rascher, Stephanie Terry and Michael Daughtery.

SWIRCA & More hosted the candidates Monday which is why a lot of the questions focused on taking care of seniors.

According to the moderator of the forum, there are 32,000 people over the age of 65 living in Vanderburgh County and that number is expected to double in the next five years.

Improving transportation was one topic all candidates agreed would be a priority for them.

Republican Natalie Rascher says she would like to create a micro transit system similar to uber so people could have a direct line to call to cut down on wait times.

Democrat Stephanie Terry says she would work on recruiting more bus drivers.

Libertarian candidate Michael Daughtery says it’s critical to work on transportation for seniors and he also says affordable housing is a big issue.

Daughtery says the mayor has the ability to remove a lot of red tape

“We have all of these vacant homes that turn into trap houses, turn into vacant houses and we need to do something better through our code enforcement and rebuild these areas,” said Daughtery.

Terry says she wants to grow the affordable housing trust fund.

“Number one is to ensure proper housing, so affordable and safe housing is available,” said Terry. “But then support for those that have been in their homes a very long time and may not have the resources for minor repairs.”

Rascher says the city needs more outreach and activity centers to make sure the mayor’s office is meeting seniors needs.

“Partnerships with local groups and nonprofits is going to be very important moving forward, said Rascher. “We’ve had a great history of working well throughout the community but we want to continue that and make sure we have a right individual leading the way,

Election Day is on November 7 and we will continue to bring you the latest on the mayors race right here on 14 news.

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