Tuesday’s City Council Election pits incumbent Barbara Hoppe against challenger Bill Tillotson for the Sixth Ward Council seat.

Hoppe has served on council for six years and is seeking her third term. She has emphasized her track record throughout her campaign and said she believes it sets her apart from her opponent.

“I have a strong track record of serving the community and contributing to a healthy and strong economy, community and environment,” Hoppe said.

Hoppe’s opponent, Bill Tillotson, has made fiscal responsibility and transparency in city government the focus of his campaign. He is a member of Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commission and also serves on the New Century Fund Board for the City of Columbia.

“Right now, we have money being spent when we don’t have money, and budgets that are fat and overloaded,” Tillotson said.

Hoppe listed her accomplishments, including getting the first renewable energy ordinance passed, along with advocating for the eventual implementation of the city’s first sustainability coordinator.

She also said she has been a strong advocate for an improved transit system and is encouraged by findings in a recent university study regarding the issue. Hoppe has repeatedly emphasized a larger transit system that better serves students.

“I think we are on the edge of having a first one transit system in Columbia,” Hoppe said.

Tillotson said with the current transit system losing $110,000 a month, he would focus first on paying for the current system before he would look at adding to it.

“The solution needs to be to fund the buses we have and have a better, student-friendly bus system where we can get the students moved around Columbia easily,” Tillotson said.

Another focus on Tillotson’s campaign is city-policing practices that appear to sometimes target students unfairly.

He said he plans to look into why students who get a ride or take a cab from a bar are often followed home.

“I’m not saying I agree with underage drinking but I believe when a student is responsible enough to not drive, they should be respected for that,” Tillotson said.

Hoppe voted to make marijuana possession a municipal violation instead of a state violation and is working on a proposal that would expunge individual’s records of minor violations after two years with no violations.

“I’m always looking for ways to make things fair and reasonable,” Hoppe said.

Tillotson and Hoppe have had a fairly contentious race that has led to some personal attacks.

“My opponent is running on info that is not accurate, not truthful, and flat-out lies,” Hoppe said in an interview on Monday.

Tillotson’s campaign recently accused Hoppe of improper dealings in a dispute between the East Campus Neighborhood Association and Beta Theta Pi over Beta’s construction of a new fraternity house that is taller than city code.

His campaign accused her of helping our her political backers by serving as an “adviser” to the East Campus Neighborhood association while the Beta house had to rely on outside legal counsel. They also questioned why she has kept quiet on the terms of the settlement eventually reached.

“I helped the architects for the Beta house and the East Campus Neighborhood Association communicate to avoid a long legal battle,” Hoppe said. “Thus the Beta house could continue to be built and the Betas could move in and uphold our zoning codes and regulations.”

Hoppe said Tillotson’s past record is reason to doubt his integrity. He was convicted of a fraud 36 years ago and served one year of probation for violating an animal control ordinance in 2005. He was later pardoned for the fraud conviction.

Tillotson said everything said has been factual and substantiated.

Tillotson said he believes change is necessary to turn around Columbia’s loss in jobs over the past decade and help the city find ways to keep students in Columbia after graduation.