Warren City Council has its issues, not the least of which is that a majority of its members voted themselves 89% raises in November 2023.

There have also been recent incidents during meetings that left some citizens angry or with their feelings hurt and council members have come under fire. But that’s to be expected to some extent in political discourse, especially at the local level, where decisions made by city or village council members, county commissioners and others affect where we live and work.

Council meetings are where city leaders can learn what’s important to citizens and those representatives can work together for the good of the city. In Warren, the city council president runs these meetings, although the elected position does not come with a legislative vote.

But with several important projects in development for Warren and surrounding areas, the person in this position has an important role to play in moving the city forward. We think incumbent John Brown has earned another term.

Brown has been president of Warren council since 2019. The 68-year-old Democrat incumbent — a Warren political figure since 1987 — is being challenged in the May 6 primary by Dan Polivka, another Democrat with a lengthy political resume in the city and in Trumbull County.

Polivka, 62, is no stranger to Warren council. He is a former ward and at-large council member and spent 12 years as a county commissioner. He was defeated by Republican Rick Hernandez in November in a bid to return to office as commissioner.

Polivka wants council meetings to be streamed live, and we agree that Warren is behind the times in not having its meetings available for those who can’t attend in person. Polivka said meetings used to be televised through a local cable provider during his previous time on council.

“I think I can run a better meeting,” he said.

Polivka said during an endorsement interview that he has secured commitments from local businesses to sponsor the streaming costs through a “buy local” partnership model.

Polivka also was critical of council’s big pay raise and stressed his ability to work with county commissioners to advance regional interests.

Brown cited his experience on council and familiarity with city operations during his endorsement interview. As council president, he said he observes parliamentary procedure and allows some flexibility.

“I’m not hammer-happy with the gavel,” Brown said, mentioning the delicate balance of public comments and civil discourse he presides over during each meeting.

Brown also touted his efforts to reduce blight in the city.

“I’ve literally gotten more houses in the process of being torn down than anybody,” he said.

He said council’s work with Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership has been effective in the battle against blight. Brown said the city has demolished more than 1,000 derelict properties since 2019, when he became council president.

In addition to razing run-down buildings and homes, there is optimism about city projects, especially the billion-dollar, mixed-use Peninsula development. But as Brown mentioned, we’ve seen similar projects struggle to come to life.

He remains cautiously optimistic about the Peninsula project.

“It’s almost like it’s too much to believe,” Brown said. “Is it really going to happen?”

We like the idea of Brown continuing to help city officials and his fellow council members see that ambitious project — and other important work — through.