Robinson challenged by King-Smith for Gary 5th district seat

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Robinson

Updated: January 23, 2012 2:17AM

GARY— Kimberly Robinson became nostalgic when describing the city’s fifth district, recalling its past as filled with “the pioneers” of Gary’s black community.

LaBrenda King-Smith, in her first year as a school board member, said she wants to keep Robinson’s history as councilwoman short.

The two women are the only Democratic candidates for a council seat that covers Midtown and includes Indiana University-Northwest, Ivy Tech Community College and Gleason Park. It also includes three precincts in the Black Oak neighborhood.

Robinson landed in the council seat after Jerome Prince left the city council to fill the county council seat left open by Will Smith’s corruption conviction.

“I think the voters should give me another shot because of my sincere desire to serve,” Robinson said. “Some decisions are hard to make, and that’s when I take it to the people.”

The district originally was the only part of the city where black families could buy and live in their homes, she said. There still are residents there who remember those days, Robinson said.

Demolishing abandoned buildings is important, she said, in part because older home owners want to keep up their streets and keep out those who would use abandoned homes for crime or squatting.

Robinson said she wants to build “better partnerships” with IUN, Ivy Tech and the city. Getting the owners of The Village Shopping Center involved in the district also will move the area forward, she added.

“When you have these brands here, you take advantage of them,” Robinson said, adding she also wants to improve services and sewer improvement in Black Oak.

King-Smith got off to a bumpy start. The county voter registration and election board removed her from the ballot in late February, claiming she could not keep her seat on the school board, where there is no party affiliation, and run for a political office at the same time.

But King-Smith, who has a home-based business, made it back onto the ballot by early March. She pointed to specific plans for the district, such as building community gardens, restoring abandoned buildings to become investment vehicles and pushing a teaching hospital in Gary. 

She also pointed to a partnership between other cities in the region, businesses, universities, the school district and area hospitals to boost economic development. 

“I want to start conversations and talk to corporations and all the people who have a stake in the progress of the city and Northwest Indiana,” King-Smith said.

King-Smith also criticized Robinson for what she described as ineffectual leadership.

“I wouldn’t be running if I thought (Robinson’s) leadership was great,” she said, describing herself as a grass-roots person. “There’s been no real community involvement and partnering with businesses, community and neighborhoods.

“You have to be able to connect with people.”