YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said he should be reelected because of his proven track record of leadership over the past eight years while challenger Derrick McDowell said it is time for a change to make the city better.

The two answered questions Wednesday during a Rotary of Youngstown forum at Wick Park Pavilion.

“We’ve had the same mayor for the past eight years” and the city hasn’t progressed, McDowell said. “I offer a real choice for real change. If we cannot acknowledge the challenges we’re still having, we will refuse to step up to the table and fix them.”

While Youngstown still faces challenges, Brown, a Democrat, said during his first two terms as mayor, crime has decreased, the city’s financial situation has greatly improved and real investment is being made. That includes $25 million in housing, including new construction and improvements to existing structures.

“I’ve been doing the job,” Brown said. “I’m not just talking about the job, I’m doing it.”

Brown added: “It’s not about words. It’s not about what I’m thinking about doing. We’ve been leading by action under my administration. Crime is down, the neighborhoods are safer and better, and we’re seeing investment in the city.”

This is McDowell’s first bid for elected office. He is running as an independent.

McDowell, who owns the Youngstown Flea, said, “We need to move to a greater level of investment.”

He said: “I believe that proper leadership for a city affects generational outcomes. What I mean by proper leadership is leadership that has a deep desire to have full transparency to its residents, a deeper accountability that goes beyond just the normal politics and mincing words about how projects have gone in our community. (It’s) accountability that says, ‘I will take responsibility when we fail and will take responsibility and join you all when we have successes.'”

Downtown business owners crying for help from the city administration are being ignored, McDowell said.

McDowell said the major downtown road improvement project that closed off main streets for lengthy periods of time was a failure as the more-narrow streets make it difficult to navigate and convenient parking continues to be a problem.

Brown said downtown is a huge success story and while more work is needed, a significant investment has been made to continue to make it a destination location.

“People are investing in the city like never before,” Brown said.