Kate Wdowiasz looks to guide Dunkirk.

Kate Wdowiasz thinks she can clear up dysfunction in Dunkirk’s government.

The city paralegal and Democratic mayoral candidate said in a recent interview, “Seeing it from the inside and hearing the public perception on the outside, I think people don’t understand what’s going on. City Hall is short staffed. It is very short staffed. We run on a bare bones, we are a skeleton crew. If someone wants to take a vacation, there’s really nobody to cover anybody.

“Part of that is the administration with the budget and the council trying to eliminate positions, and just not cooperating with City Hall working,” she continued. “Even our streets department, the water department, we are literally a bare bones staff. We really need City Hall and council to understand that this needs to be a unified front, that working against each other is not going to move the city forward in any way, shape or form.”

Wdowiasz said she “would ensure that the jobs that are currently vacant that are budgeted for, get filled because we need bodies, and we can only accomplish that by advertising and hiring.”

Current Mayor Wilfred Rosas tried to get a Human Resources director added to City Hall, but the council blocked him. Wdowiasz said she supports adding the position.

“I’ve been to all the council meetings, the committee meetings… when we’ve had council members sit there and continually nod and say they understand the city’s needs. But, again, (Rosas) budgets for a Human Resources position and the council tries to eliminate it. We need somebody to sit in that position to hire employees.”

She explained that a mayor should not have to hire employees. Rather, an administrator ought to seek, screen, interview, and propose applicants for hiring approval.

Wdowiasz is a supporter of Rosas’ proposal to send water to Fredonia.

“I feel like we are being good neighbors at that,” she said. “Whether or not Fredonia needs to get all of their water from the city of Dunkirk or the North County Water District, or a portion of it because their reservoir can provide them with a portion of it, that’s up to them. But, of course we want to be good neighbors with them. I absolutely support that union between the two municipalities because, again, we really need to work together. It’s not an us against them, it’s, we should all be working for what’s best for the community.”

Wdowiasz said downtown buildings should get a facelift. “Everybody knows the facades are a relatively inexpensive fix. They can drastically improve, and attract people to bring their business to Dunkirk.

“I was born and raised here, I get it. I remember when Central Avenue and Main Street were booming districts. … The centralized business district may not look like the district of old, but it will be better.”

She also feels the city should do more to develop housing stock. “Our market here is very, very limited and we need some workforce housing and we need some higher income housing.”

Wdowiasz also suggested creating a dedicated street maintenance fund.

A Dunkirk native, Wdowiasz moved with her parents to Silver Creek when she was in the ninth grade. She worked for about 25 years as a paralegal at law firms in Buffalo. She moved back to Dunkirk, and later acquired a house in Fredonia, but returned to the city often for fishing.

Wdowiasz met her husband, Tim, during the COVID-19 pandemic and she started a third stint of residence in Dunkirk with that relationship. The couple lives on Otter Street.

She took the city of Dunkirk paralegal position in 2021. Her run for mayor is the first time she has sought an elected office.

“I have been the liaison between the administration and the council,” she said. “Personally, I think I’ve done a good job in keeping some of the arguments and disagreements to a minimum, by giving them the facts that they need so that they can come to a meeting and actually speak to a topic. … I’ve done a lot of legwork in the last two years to try to make this the most cohesive and somewhat agreeable council. They obviously have their own positions, and they have their own minds, and I just try to give them absolute answers. That’s part of my legal background — I find out facts and I give them the facts, and they can do with that information what they will.”

Wdowiasz reiterated that she has attended all city meetings in her two years as paralegal — and added that she is not paid for that but does it on her own time.

“I’ve literally stayed here because I actually care about this city. I want to do what’s best for the city,” she said. “We as a community can do better and I want to do better for it. This city deserves better.

“Don’t get me wrong, Mayor Rosas has started the ball rolling and he has so many great projects in the works, and I just want to make sure those come to fruition.”

Wdowiasz is facing Republican David Damico, currently councilman-at-large on the Common Council, in November’s mayoral election. She said voters in the faceoff should not cast their ballots with partisan interests.

“The voters need to know this shouldn’t be based on a party line,” she said. “You should vote for whoever you think the best person for the position is going to be. And I will let everyone know why I’m going to be the best person for the position.”