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    Former Columbus Mayor Discusses The Future

    Greg Lashutka served two terms as mayor of Columbus from 1992 to 2000 and oversaw a variety of changes in the local arts scene, sports options and business community during those eight years.

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    We recently sat down with Greg to discuss ongoing development efforts such as the Columbus Casino, passenger rail development and the renaissance of urban neighborhoods. We also discussed both the history and the future in Columbus, as Greg himself says during the interview, “You have to look back in order to look forward”.

    Walker Evans: One thing I’ve noticed in interacting with readers of Columbus Underground is that there’s a mix of people who have lived their whole lives in Columbus, and people who have moved here within the past few years. For those in the latter category, can you give us an overview of your time spent as Mayor of Columbus?

    Greg Lashutka: Yeah, that time period was between 1992 and the end of 1999 as we ended one century and moved into another. That was an exciting time for Columbus. The dream was for Columbus to mature a bit and have an expansion of the arts, because we had a base with the symphony but we didn’t really have a venue for concerts of international merit. And now we have two venues that can work, The Schottenstein Center and Nationwide Arena. We also only had college sports and participatory sports, and we were able to add professional sports as The Crew and The Bluejackets came with some significant effort. It helped the city to get on the map around the world, which is kind of nice. At the same time, basic city services were focused on and we increased our police force by well over 350 officers, which were needed, because you have to keep cities safe. So in capsule form, that’s sort of the highlights.

    WE: Since you left office 2000, do you feel like Columbus is generally heading in a positive direction? Or do you feel that there have been some opportunities where we could have grown in different ways?

    GL: I think everything has its place and time. I think there are moments when you either do something or you don’t. I think we decreased a bit of our international focus which is not consistent with where the world is turning, but we’ve generally maintained a good focus on basic services which I think people want. I do think that great cities, and I view us as a city that is really the best in Ohio if not one of the best in the Midwest, have to keep attracting national and international attention. Certainly our international companies, the Ohio State University, and some of the smaller universities as well, have a recognition that the international world stage is important. We have some great enthusiasts, just as the NY Post recently named German Village as one of the top five international places to visit… and I’m not even sure if German Village is appreciated that much within Columbus. We have to have our political and our civic leaders all understand that an international approach is an important part of keeping our economy rich and vibrant.

    Secondly, I’d say that I’m not sure where the next big idea is coming from. At this point in time we’re trying to keep the hand on the tiller on the ship in the State of Ohio and keep focused in the right direction in these economic tough times… but there have to be some dreams over the horizon, and we have to say that’s where we should be targeting… and I’m not sure I see that very clearly.

    WE: In many instances, public opinion and public values can be cyclical. Are there any local issues that you’ve observed recently to be something very similar to issues that arose while you were in office?

    GL: I think we’ve seen a a bit of a transition in our international population coming into Columbus. The growth of our Hispanic population is evidence of that. That’s true in many cities. We differentiate though in the Somali population which started during my time and continues to be the second largest population in America. Anytime you take a basic mix and add people who share a lot of the values that we do on making the city exciting, and contributing through strong work ethic and raising their families here, that’s a positive thing. We’ve certainly moved away from that Irish/German/Italian mix during the turn of the early 1900s, and now the early 2000s we’re seeing a expansion of that base. We’re building on a wonderful place to live where people care about each other and I think that’s healthy for the City of Columbus.

    WE: As I’m sure you’re well aware, one of the hot button topics lately has been the Columbus Casino. Just wanted to get your thoughts on whether you think the project will be a good fit for Columbus.

    GL: I’m not a fan of Casinos. I’ve seen it in the Mississippi delta area, and I’ve seen it in other places, and I think that you don’t grow an economy on the back of gambling. At times it can be, if kept within its proper structure, perhaps appropriate… but my hunch is that we should really be concerned about the process that helped present something that Columbus really didn’t want. The State wanted it, and we were included within that constitutional amendment, which is a horrible way to have this take place. I think the both the statehouse and the voters should really question doing that again to people in Columbus or anywhere else in Ohio.

    I commend those who are helping to move it from the Arena District, because that is a district that is for sports and entertainment, but it wasn’t designed to have a large presence for Casino gambling. I hope and pray that the Westside, which is the desirable local in the current negotiations, is better for. I don’t know that it will be, but we’ll see.

    WE: Ohio in general seems to be a fairly diverse political state, and Columbus mirrors that to some extent. Columbus City Hall has been predominantly one-sided in terms of the political spectrum in the past decade. Do you think the Republican Party or Independent Candidates have a shot at being elected in the near future?

    GL: I do. I think that the people of Columbus have responded well to individual candidates and I don’t think it’s healthy to have one party controlling, whether it’s Republican or Democrat. I think it needs to have some healthy give-and-take, particularly at the local level because you can see the the problems that arise when people are locked into party ideology. I think Columbus has always done best when there’s been a little bit of a spread between both parties and to that extent, the reason I believe that somebody could be successful in the near future is the growing number of independents. There’s been a vast erosion of both parties, and for good reason. Both parties have to earn their endorsement and there’s a growing spread in the gap between promises made and promises kept. The independent voters are testimony that people are going to look harder at candidates than they are at parties.

    WE: One topic that’s always a part of an ongoing discussion on Columbus Underground is passenger rail systems, and transit-oriented development. We’ve discussed Light Rail a few years back, and the Streetcar more recently, but now it looks like the first passenger rail system that will service Central Ohio may be the 3C Corridor. Just wanted to get your thoughts on this project and other types of transportation initiatives for the city.

    GL: You know, a bit of history… way back when, in the early 1900s, the interurban was a strong part of Ohio. It was a wonderful system that moved people conveniently before the Eisenhower highway system came into being. As that developed, we moved to our dependence on cars. Although I’m a pretty avid bike rider, I have limits on the kind of weather I’m going to ride in, and where I’m going to ride it. if I have a briefcase with me, it’s not going to work very well on my Cannondale 21-Speed.

    So, what we have is this issue of whether or not we should connect our cities at a very large expense. I was taken with an op-ed letter by someone recently who was pretty savvy on the topic. He said that if we looked at the availability of buses, which are much more flexible and can transport people cheaper and faster, maybe the expansion of that would be in our best interest. I happen to personally agree with that. I also think that we should be buying the right-of-way for rail development at some point in time in Columbus.

    Years ago I looked at our sister city Dresden, and their streetcars cost twice as much for the same life as a bus, but with less flexibility on route redesign. Parts of Europe and America are now using higher quality buses to provide for a better experience, which I think  maybe is a better idea.

    So, to the bottom line of your question, I think that it’s a lot of money for a dream that maybe its time is not right now. Purchasing the right-of-way for a different time might be better than using the money during this very difficult economic time period, which I think is our number one problem at the moment. We’ve got to reduce the federal debt big time, not add to it.

    WE: I’ve read many studies that show that well-planned rail systems can be a 3-to-1 return on the dollar in terms of private development around transit stations and stops. Do you think there’s an opportunity to help strengthen our economy with transit oriented development?

    GL: Clearly there is. You can look around the world to see where that has taken place. But again, the big problem is, can we really afford that kind of investment at a time when other things have a more urgent need?  We have these looming issues out there with our state and federal finances, and we have our own challenges locally. So, it’s nice to put some perspective on the dreams, and we should think about rail development, but the reality is that now is not the right time.

    In specific answer to your question, I know that Atlanta’s MARTA system has these hubs where you have commercial and retail elements that grew around stations. But they can also grow with a bus focus as well. Of course, it can be a little less consistent because buses routes can move, but if you look at transit hubs in major international cities they combine rail, bus, walking, cars, biking… All of those pieces fit together. So it is possible for Columbus, but we’re late comers to that, and it comes at a very big expense.

    WE: Seeing as you’re a resident of German Village, I’d love to hear your thoughts on living in a historic, walkable neighborhood, and why you chose to live in the Central City.

    GL: My wife and I got married 28 years ago and we bought our house in German Village because we wanted a neighborhood that was diverse, was within the city, and we wanted something that tied to her roots, as she grew up in Munich, Germany as a child. For a number of years we flirted with the idea of moving due to our lack of a meaningful back yard, but we rejected the idea because we just didn’t want to leave German Village. Our younger kids started at St. Mary’s and then went to other school options. The challenge with the Columbus City School system is that if you have more than one child, and you go to an alternative school, you cannot coattail the second child into the same school. It is a problem that I’ve continually raised as an issue with families living in the city.

    Anyway, we have three great architectural neighborhoods… German, Victorian and Italian Villages, and we are a city of neighborhods of choice. There’s a neighborhood for everybody, whether it’s in the city or in the region. For us, living in the village provided that right mix of quality of life and environment that allowed us to raise a family that appears, at least to us, to be reasonbly well adjusted on any given day. (Laughs) We took advantage of summer camps and the city environment for our children. They saw older and younger, they saw some people with wealth and some poor… they saw a slice of life. I think that’s terribly important because if you grow up somewhat sheltered, you’re not being exposing to what’s going on in the world. At the same time you want to protect your young kids and make sure they’re ok. My son Michael used to run with “The Dead End Gang” as I jokingly called them. There were three other guys, two young black guys, and another young white guy, and they were all the same age as Michael. They’d get in snowball fights and they played basketball together. One kid was taking French Immersion, one was a very good athlete… all four of them were wonderful, and they all learned from each other.

    So raising kids in the city can be done. I’ve seen others do it, and it’s happening more and more.

    WE: From a redevelopment and renaissance perspective, Columbus has a lot of other Central neighborhoods that still need a lot of work to be restored to their former glory. Are there any specific areas where you see the most potential for targeted public and private investment?

    GL: Well, I think the recent announcement about the area around the OSU East Hospital area is good news. The housing stock there is really quite good, but it’s going to take some money to fix up. Years ago, we targeted the University District and other neighborhoods around it to help police and firefighters and teachers with their first-time home buying. The area around COSI, The Bottoms and The Hilltop all have both opportunities and challenges. Overall, I just think we are really fortunate. Many larger cities don’t have as healthy of a core, which is terribly important. If you go to Cincinnati and look at their old German neighborhood, it has been the fountainhead of a lot of conflict between the cultures of Cincinnati. Even Ohio City in Cleveland, which is my old hometown growing up, can’t compare with German or Victorian Village.

    So, I think we have a good start, but it requires a mix of safety, decent schools for people to raise families, appropriate attention to infrastructure, and amenities that people can walk to. At the heart of it is safety, and people have to feel safe. I have to commend the new Police Chief on his re-look at how we deploy officiers because I think it is overdue to have that hard look.

    WE: A lot of development buzz has surrounded the year 2012, the city’s bicentennial. How do you think the citizens of Columbus should be celebrating their city’s 200th birthday?

    GL: I think the nucleus should start with the people. We should reflect a bit on our history, because you have to look back in order to look forward. We have a strong history that has taken place to get us to where we are today. That isn’t where we should dwell though, as we should also think about where we want to go in the future. We’ve come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Every neighborhood should take some pride in what they’re doing and I would hope that is going to occur. Anniversaries, whether they’re birthdays or marriages, should be times of celebration and a time to dream a bit, and I hope we do that.

    WE: I was reviewing these questions this morning, and realized that none of them were about food, which is something discussed daily on Columbus Underground. So I have to ask you a tough question and put you on the spot… What your favorite restaurant or restaurants are in Columbus?

    GL: (Laughs) Not a tough question. When I first came here to Ohio State, we had some nice little family restaurants, but the reality was that there weren’t that many great restaurants. Columbus was not known for it. But our options have exploded because of the culinary arts and people’s demand for good food.

    There are so many good restaurants throughout the city. Picking just one would be totally unfair, but I always start because of convenience in German Village. The top three that come to mind would be G. Michael’s, Lindey’s and Barcelona. All three of those are medium-to-upscale dining and they’re all independent… none are chains. There are so many great restaurants in Columbus that you don’t have to go to Chicago or New York to find what you’re looking for anymore. If you’re lacking for a place to go eat in Columbus, then something’s wrong with you, not Columbus. (Laughs)

    WE: In closing, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time this morning, and ask if there’s any sort of call to action that you’d like to share with the Columbus Underground community, as people are always looking for new ways to get more involved in their neighborhoods, at city hall, and with other organizations that help shape the future of Columbus.

    GL: I’m a big believer in working at the grassroots level. I think that Columbus Underground plays a phenomenal service role in the city and it’s a place where great things can happen. When you think about all of the best ideas that occur, very few come from the top-down. Almost all come from the grassroots up.

    I’d add that the constituency that we have in the center of the city should be one that will never speak with one voice, but should be able to exchange information, and get the facts right on important issues. Take for example, the I-70/71 split fix. I think there are some real positives and real negatives that can come out of that if it’s not done right. We’ve seen neighborhoods get choked off by freeways before and there’s a potential for to happen again. Now, that sort of issue might not present in everybody’s dinner conversation, but everyone should be knowledgable about that and concerned about that.

    I think everyone should get more involved with something that they are passionate about, whether it’s the arts or sports or nonprofit groups or politics. Everybody should take just a little time to be selfless and think about what the greater good should really be about. I think Columbus Underground readers can play a great role in that, and I hope that everyone reading gives that some thought and gets involved with something new.

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    Walker Evans
    Walker Evanshttps://columbusunderground.com
    Walker Evans is the co-founder of Columbus Underground, along with his wife and business partner Anne Evans. Walker has turned local media into a full time career over the past decade and serves on multiple boards and committees throughout the community.
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