New London — With tax rates on the rise, fiscal responsibility and economic development are common themes among the 17 candidates seeking a spot on the seven-member City Council.

This year’s mix of candidates includes five incumbents and 12 challengers for a term on a council that for the past two years was comprised of six Democrats and one Republican.

Incumbent Democrat Michael J. Tranchida, who spent 26 years as a city employee, including 12 years as city clerk, is seeking his second term on the council.

“City government is different than running a business. The city has to spend only what it takes in to keep the city running. For the two years I’ve been on the council, hopefully the public feels that we’ve been a watchdog to the budget. I’d like to continue in that mode,” he said at a recent candidate forum.

Republican incumbent Martin Olsen is seeking his fifth term on the council.

“After four years of drama, turmoil and turbulence fostered by the current administration, stability, professionalism and cooperation are key to achieving positive outcomes,” he said in the Day voter guide. “The community is shell-shocked by the outrageous tax increases the current administration has foisted upon New London.”

Democratic candidate John Satti, a former B~oard of Education member and retired probation officer, said in the Day voter guide. “I believe that every citizen should have a right to vote on the budget. It’s our money. It’s our tax dollars”

On the economic development front, Satti said “the city has to work harder to develop what limited assets we have.”

Democratic incumbent Efrain Dominguez, a teacher at the Dual Language & Arts Magnet Middle School in Waterford, is seeking his second term on the council.

“The one thing I understand is that to be an effective city councilor you must be a good listener — not to yourself or those around you but to people who have elected you,” he said at a recent candidate forum. “I want to continue to do what’s best for the city and the people of New London.”

Republican candidate Dennis Downing is a member of the New London Board of Ethics and co-chairman of the local watchdog group Looking Out for Taxpayers (LOT).

“If we do not find a way to get our taxes under control, we will not have people to want to move here and buy homes and live here. If people won’t move here, it will not matter what kind of school system we have, or how safe our city is,” he said in the voter guide.

Marie Freiss-McSparran, a petitioning candidate who is unaffiliated, is a former city council member who split with Democrats on a host of issues.

She said the city needs to think outside the box to increase revenues from tax-exempt properties to ease the tax burden.

“I’ve always been brutally honest ... someone who wouldn’t sugar coat it for voters,” Freiss-McSparran said in a recent interview. “We have a responsibility as a city not to overtax our people right out of the city.”

Republican candidate Katherine Goulart, a cake designer and former owner of a bail bond business, said councilors must balance the needs of the city and residents “while still maintaining integrity.”

“The largest issue plaguing New London is that we are a city divided. We have no trouble identifying problems yet have much difficulty coming together to solve them. Many residents feel as if they have no voice,” she said in the voter guide.

Green Party candidate Tim Hanser, the former director of the city’s public works department, is a graduate student at the University of Connecticut where he seeking a master’s degree in Public Administration.

“A substantial amount of the City Council's energy and focus should be dedicated to identifying ways to balance our needs with our means with an eye towards long-term economic and financial stability,” he said in the Day voter guide.

Democratic candidate Martha Marx, a registered nurse who works for the Visiting Nurses Association of Southeastern Connecticut, raised four kids in New London and said at a recent candidate forum it’s now her turn “to give back to the city that helped me raise my children.”

Marx said the city needs a long-term, strategic plan, to assess each line of the budget with the department heads, the mayor and the finance department.

“If we all work together with one goal in mind, to make New London the best city it can be, we will be a success,” she said in the Day voter guide.

Incumbent Democrat Anthony Nolan, a New London police officer, is seeking his third term on the council.

He said in the voter guide that he plans to work with the new mayor “to obtain a development plan that will benefit not only the City, but our general population.”

“I will continue being available to listen and work with local business, and residents addressing concerns and needs as quick as possible,” he said.

Republican candidate Keith Robbins, the former first selectman in the town of Bozrah, said he was running, “because I’m always giving something back to the city I live in.”

“I’m a big picture guy,” he said at a recent candidate forum. “Cities and towns are creatures of the state of Connecticut. Sooner or later the revenue for the state of Connecticut is going to dry up, and we need to make sure in New London (that) every dollar we spend a dollar and a half comes back.”

Incumbent Democrat Erica Richardson, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, is seeking her second term on the council.

“The biggest issues facing any winner of this election is addressing our public safety concerns and establishing true economic development for our City,” she said in the voter guide. “Currently, there is a negative perception of our city within the region. As long as we have this negative perception, we are not going to achieve our true economic potential.”

Petitioning candidate John Russell, a former council member, is a commissioner on the Water and Water Pollution Control Authority and founder of the downtown business Homeward Bound Treasures.

“New London, here we have all the ingredients, we just don’t have a cook because I believe what we’ve been doing is we pull apart anybody that has a good idea instead of trying to work together,” he said at a recent candidate forum.

Republican candidate Tim Ryan, a program manager at Electric Boat and vice chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, said the city needs a more “proactive — versus reactive — method of budgeting.”

“Everything I’ve ever done at EB has been a team effort,” he said at a recent candidate forum. “I think we can all agree in order to get something done in New London we have to work together. What I can promise you is I will use logic, reason and persistence and above all I will be transparent in whatever I do.”

Green Party candidate Ronna Stuller, a retired preschool teacher, said in the voter guide the city can improve its economic base and quality of life by “prioritizing infrastructure repair and maintenance; reaffirming the importance of neighborhoods and open space; and re-establishing New London as a walkable and bikeable city.”

She said the city needs to broaden its tax base in part by providing incentives for city employees who are residents, encouraging creative reuse of historic buildings and finding ways to reduce the impact of New London's high percentage of tax-exempt property.

Democratic candidate Don Venditto said in the Day voter guide some of his priorities include restoring the relationships between the mayor’s office and the administration, public works, police and fire departments.

“We need to fill empty store fronts downtown and we need new residential housing projects to bring in additional tax revenue,” he said in the voter guide.

Republican candidate Tom Wise, a volunteer public relations representative for The Salvation Army of New London, said the biggest issue is: taxes.

“It is an ugly 5 letter word, but one evil that must be had,” he said in the voter guide. “However, it should not be an evil that cannot be controlled. Local taxes should never be to such an extreme point where the cost is almost or as expensive as the Federal taxes are. No municipality ever became rich because its government taxed it into oblivion.”

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay