Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Kramer says serving on P&Z good training for council

Tory Kramer

By DAVID S. OWEN

Tory Kramer, currently vice-chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission is seeking election to Pickerington City Council.

Kramer, 41, currently employed by Limited Brands Inc. as a Data Security Analyst, was born in Columbus, and moved to Lancaster at an early age.

He attended Lancaster High School and received a bachelor of arts degree in history from Ohio State University in 1994 and has lived in Pickerington with his wife Cathy since 1995.

Kramer is one of seven people seeking election to four seats on council.

The other candidates include incumbents Mitch O'Brien, Michael Sabatino and William Wright and challengers Jeff Fix, Cristie Hammond and Keith Smith.

Kramer said he and his wife wanted to move to Pickerington because they wanted to raise their son, Dustin, in the excellent school system Pickerington provides.

His son is now 15, and a freshman at Pickerington Central High School, and active in football and track.

Kramer is a longtime Fairfield County resident and he said he has a lot of friends in Pickerington.

He said he is familiar with the issues.

Kramer was appointed to the City Planning and Zoning Commission by Mayor David Shaver and City Council President Heidi Riggs in 2003.

''Planning and Zoning has been a great experience in my opinion, it has enabled me to do a lot of great work,'' he said.

''I have seen some good things come out of what I've done and I see Pickerington City Council as the next natural move,'' he said.

Kramer said if he is elected, his goals are to manage growth and provide ethical government while developing open lines of communication between the city and our schools.

''I want to continue the work set forth by the current administration in their efforts to manage growth,'' he said.

Kramer said Pickerington residents are proud of their community and he needs to do all in his power to ensure that they remain that way tomorrow, next week and next year.

''Together, we can make a difference and I promise to represent (residents) in an ethical, responsible manner in order to do all that I can to improve our community,'' he said.

Kramer said he wants to be council member because he sees community pride as something that comes from hard work and dedication.

''In my opinion, this is just simply a way for me to give back something to the community,'' he said.

''I like it for what it is,'' Kramer said.

Tory continued SNP

Kramer said if he is elected, his goals are to manage growth and provide ethical government while developing open lines of communication between the city and our schools.

''I want to continue the work set forth by the current administration in their efforts to manage growth,'' he said.

Kramer said Pickerington residents are proud of their community and he needs to do all in his power to ensure that they remain that way tomorrow, next week and next year.

''Together, we can make a difference and I promise to represent (residents) in an ethical, responsible manner in order to do all that I can to improve our community,'' he said.

Kramer said he wants to be council member because he sees community pride as something that comes from hard work and dedication.

''In my opinion, this is just simply a way for me to give back something to the community,'' he said.

''I like it for what it is,'' Kramer said.

''I see City Council as a way to further my efforts in making sure that Pickerington stays as the nice community as it is.

''I've provided some of that in my work on the Planning and Zoning Commission, but as a councilman, I feel that I can do more, '' he said.

''I'm proud of the work I've done thus far and I know that I'll look back with pride at what has been accomplished.''

When asked if he could be anyone in the world who would he be, Kramer replied, ''I would be my son.

''The opportunities that lie before him are almost limitless,'' Kramer said.

''He is more involved than I was at his age. He can be anything he wants to be.

''My life is set, and I'm happy with the decisions I've made, but who wouldn't want to do some things differently?'' he said.

Kramer in This Week

Pickerington City Council
Seven seek election Nov. 8 to four open seats

Thursday, October 13, 2005

By MACKENZIE WHITE
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Kramer, 41, is employed as a data security analyst at Limited Brands. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from The Ohio State University and is currently vice-chairman of the city's planning and zoning commission. He is also a former PYAA soccer coach and is involved in the booster club for Pickerington High School Central.

He and his wife, Cathy, have a son, Dustin.

Six of the seven candidates responded to questionnaires from ThisWeek. Sabatino did not respond.

Looking ahead to 2006, what do you see as the city's biggest challenge? If elected, how do you plan to deal with this?


Kramer: I see the biggest challenge for Pickerington in 2006 being the issue of managing growth. I feel that the current administration has dozen a tremendous job in the first steps toward getting the out-of-control growth under control. First steps such as impact fees, land management studies and utility fee studies are going to pay off for the community down the road. The growth is being felt, first and foremost, in our schools. I feel that the city and school district need to work together to resolve these issues. Clear, open lines of communication must be established to make this happen.

The city and Violet Township have been working to cooperate more than in past years; examples are the resolution of several annexation lawsuits, a possible joint parks district and a possible Joint Economic Development District (JEDD) or a Cooperative Economic Development Agreement (CEDA). Do you think this is a positive move? Why or why not? In what other ways might the two communities work together?


Kramer: I have lived in Pickerington and Fairfield County more than half my life. The city of Pickerington and Violet Township are working together now more than ever before. Of course, this is a positive move simply because working together is beneficial to both city and township residents. Will not working together resolve or cause more issues? We all know from the past our inability to work together toward a common goal has created a lot of problems. This will certainly happen again if we fail to work together and strengthen the ties between the two.


Residential design guidelines have been proposed. Some say they will benefit the city and will affect only those building new homes; others say people should be able to design their homes as they wish. What do you think? Do you think these guidelines might keep people from moving into the area? If so, would this be an appropriate way to manage growth?

Kramer: As the vice chair of planning and zoning, I am very much involved in the residential design guidelines projects. It is very important to point out that all of these guidelines are trying to ensure that homes being built in our community are of as high a quality so that our residents are as proud of them in 30 years as they are today ... The goal of these guidelines is not to manage the growth but to manage the quality of the homes in the community. I certainly don't think that anyone would think twice about coming to this community if they know that measures are in place for high-quality homes.


mfry@thisweeknews.com