Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford, right, talks with resident John Rollins, 31 , left as he walks through Buzby Village in Atlantic City.
Atlantic City Republican mayoral candidate Don Guardian, middle, talks with residents of Atlantic City during his door-to-door campaign for votes.
Atlantic City independent mayoral candidate John McQueen, talks about equipment used for his drone program.
Atlantic City's mayoral race took a different turn this year, as the Republican challenger outraised - and outspent - the incumbent Democrat in the primary. But that, Mayor Lorenzo Langford said, is because people in the city already know his record. Whether that is a good or bad thing will be for voters to decide.
Property taxes are up and ratables are down, with millions being borrowed mostly to pay off successful casino tax appeals.
As head of the Special Improvement District, Republican Don Guardian said he has been doing more while spending less in his part of the city, and would like to bring that to the residential areas.
"For 20 years, I ran a balanced budget with the Special Improvement District and never laid off anyone," he said. "I wouldn't cut a single job."
But Langford said he laughs at talk of wasteful spending in Atlantic City.
Noting that the city has been under state financial watch since 2007, he said: "Do you really believe the state would allow wasteful spending?"
Independent John McQueen would just like to see his hometown brought back to the time when people used to be impressed to find out he lived in Atlantic City instead of reacting with, "Oh, my God! Shoot 'em up gallery!"
But crime has been down this year, Langford pointed out at the last debate before the Nov. 5 election.
The city neared a record number of homicides last year but has stood at three this year, after two multiagency sweeps took members of Atlantic City's allegedly most dangerous gangs off the streets.
The future of Atlantic City "depends on who you elect next Tuesday," Langford told a group of residents last week. He noted that when he came into office in 2002, the city had financial problems that he was able to resolve.
"Wall Street said we performed a miracle," he said.
With property taxes more than double and ratables halved, people aren't better off now than they were when the mayor took office, Guardian countered.
Whether voters agree will be decided Tuesday.
Contact Lynda Cohen:
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