Lockport alderman plans push for term limits for City Council and mayor

Lockport — Lockport Alderman Darren Deskin has announced that he will challenge Mayor Steven Streit for his seat in the April 1 election, noting that he believes “no one should stay in the same office forever.”

Deskin, who has served as the 3rd Ward alderman since 2012, said he has “wanted to be mayor for several years.”

“I’m a Lockport native,” he said, noting that he didn’t feel it was the “right time” to run for the next office until recently.

Deskin said that he believed Streit, who was first elected in 2013, was not planning to run again in 2025, suggesting the pair had an agreement.

“Four years ago, [Streit] said he wanted to run one more time for one more term to get a few more things done,” Deskin said. “I agreed and did not run. I’m extremely disappointed he did not honor that agreement.”

Streit denies that version of events. In an email, the mayor told The Herald-News that “Darren seems to recall some conversation from, he tells me, a couple years ago where I ‘told him’ I wasn’t running again. We did not have a conversation where I gave him any definitive answer on whether I was running again.”

Deskin’s alderman seat does not expire until 2027, so win or lose in his bid for mayor, he will retain a seat on the City Council.

He said that no matter the result of the election, he intends to introduce a measure implementing term limits for all seats on the council, with mayors being limited to three terms and aldermen limited to four terms.

If Streit wins reelection in 2025, he will enter his fourth term in that office.

“Most people believe in term limits, myself included,” Deskin said. “Nobody should be in the same position forever, including me. I’ve served my time as an alderman. Now I want to move up to the next position. It’s just time.”

Streit said he still believes his “skill set and experience would benefit Lockport in the role of mayor.”

“Each time I have pulled a petition, I have thoughtfully looked at the challenges ahead,” he said. “I have done so again this time.”

Streit noted that he has run against challengers in each of his four election cycles and does not believe that his stepping aside – as Deskin suggested he would do – would have prevented the alderman from facing a challenger.

“I am sure that if I had announced at some point that I wasn’t going to run again, Darren still would have faced a contested election, as someone else most certainly would have pulled a petition to run for mayor against him,” Streit said. “That is the healthy way of all elections. I believe choice in candidates is a good thing, and I feel no different with the upcoming election.”

Infrastructure and development

If elected, both Streit and Deskin said they want to continue the city’s focus on infrastructure improvements and development.

Deskin noted that he introduced the proposal that became Lockport’s capital improvement plan, and his focus “has always been infrastructure.”

The capital improvement plan has seen $175 million invested in the city over 10 years, with projects including the replacement of a 100-year-old water system and the creation of an improved storm sewer system.

“That system was failing,” Deskin said. “This was a big undertaking, and it’s one every old town faces. We thought, ‘I hope this works’ when we started, and it did. I think we’ve done a great job.”

“Nobody should be in the same position forever, including me. I’ve served my time as an alderman. Now I want to move up to the next position. It’s just time.”

—  Darren Deskin, city of Lockport alderman

Deskin also lauded the $3.5 billion in added development in the city since 2012, which has led to a reduction in reliance on property taxes in the city budget by 10% in the past decade. He said that if elected mayor, he would continue the focus on improving development in the city as well as maintaining the work that has already been done.

Streit also has plans for continued development in the city, noting that the 180-acre former Chevron property acquired by the city is “getting a lot of attention,” and that he wants to “ensure that whatever happens on it will be beneficial to the community” since he has worked on the issue before he was elected.

“I believe choice in candidates is a good thing, and I feel no different with the upcoming election.”

—  Steven Streit, city of Lockport mayor

He also referenced the ongoing development of the downtown master plan and his desire to continue working on it, as well as his vision for the Lockport Square property near Interstate 355 along 159th Street.

“I believe we have done a good job over the last 12 years redeveloping [downtown], and I would like to make sure the vision stays true in this next phase,” Streit said. “Also, I want to keep the backlots of Lockport Square developed as commercial, and I am determined to push back on developers who want to convert it to residential.”

The Lockport Square issue was a point of contention between Streit and Deskin earlier this year, when Deskin supported a plan to convert part of the large commercially zoned property into a residential development.

Deskin argued that it was better to use the property for residential purposes and receive whatever tax money the city could from it.

Streit said it was better to wait for the right developer to make use of the space for business, as it is one of the few commercially zoned open properties left in the city’s boundaries.