Jerry Opperud, 63, is running for mayor of Warsaw as an independent candidate. Sporting a pencil over his right ear, a trademark, the owner of Makit talked about how he sees the city.

Dividing recent history into two segments - Hodge's administration and the Plank-Wiggins administrations - the South Buffalo Street resident said the difference is found in people.

"In the first segment, the people created a force, a dynamic that, at the time, drove the city.

"In the second segment, well, we got into a segment of complacency, of people resting on their accomplishments. The leadership changed and there is an air of arrogance.

"We have a ball park that's a financial disaster. A city park controlled by thugs, there is no police presence there."

Opperud says the current administration has failed in many ways - failed to provide for growth then and for the future; failed to bring in infrastructure; failed to get studies for downtown development; failed to work in concert with the county to create a master plan for land use.

"Stores come in, stores go out. Trees go in, trees go out," he said.

"We worked so hard to maintain the brick facade at the library and then let that block-built CVS move in across the street.

"No matter the issue, it comes down to people. If you change the vision, you change thinking and change directions so it's more positive," he said.

Opperud, who has lived in Warsaw since 1955, said what he has to bring to the mayor's office is the vision, the intent of the people.

"We still have a strong economic base. But with increased globalization you can see job changes, you can see relocation. If we don't anticipate that likelihood - that the big companies may move elsewhere - we will be asking ourselves, 'Whoa, what are we gonna do?'

"We already had that threat when Bristol-Myers was jockeying Zimmer around.

"When you can reach the people and you listen, you get people back in the city, voting."

If elected, Opperud says he plans to hold town hall meetings where people aren't intimidated.

"I'm approachable; Ernie isn't," he said of his opponent. "On the street, I'll talk to anybody. That gives me a greater feel for people who live here."

He claims part of the reason people don't vote is they feel they don't have a voice.

"You won't get results from government until you have enough people saying the same thing. Everybody goes into office with high expectations and comes out in despair," he said.

Opperud said he envisions a city by design, instead of city by default, offering two area cities as examples.

"In Goshen, the city, cooperating with the county, had a master plan," he said.

"Plymouth is the 12th fastest growing city in Indiana," he said. "They also got set with a long-term plan, That takes dedication. Look at the success of the Blueberry Festival.

"What we have is the arrogance of our good fortune and economic base."

Not offering a promise of cutting taxes, he did point to cutting waste.

"There are galaxies of agencies, with individual agendas that feed off the city," he said. "And government becomes less responsive and shows greater ignorance."

He proposed to provide a direction, a stability, "a future for people my age and for younger families, who are still building their lives."

Asked to describe tangible changes at the end of four years, however, Opperud said that would be up to the people.

"I can offer a greater awareness by the people of the city to the city's potential and the means by which to realize it. A city that brings to the young the success known by the elders."

He brings "the foresight, decision-making abilities and monetary management skill from owning a business since 1974."

Unmarried, Opperud is the father of Lisa, 42, and Christine, 40. [[In-content Ad]]