Voting Yields Mixed Results For Business

At about 10 o’clock one balmy night last summer, just as twilight was fading to dark and I was winding up some outdoor chores, Jim Kolva strolled by on the sidewalk with a fistful of fliers.

Why in the world, I asked, was he out hoofing it at this hour? Well, the candidate said, he was running for City Council, and he was out distributing fliers and scouting locations for campaign signs.

I said, yeah, I know, but why - why would a sane person run for City Council in the first place? Much less pound the sidewalks this time of night?

The veteran city plan commissioner allowed as how he beleived he could be a constructive force on the council, and he owed the effort to the community.

But did he have a chance against such a formidible foe as businesswoman Roberta Greene - possibly the most magnetic vote-getter on the entire ballot?

Yes, Kolva said - a chance, however slim. All he could do was his best.

So I said he could put up a sign at my place. Next day someone came and stapled the BIGGEST sign on the South Hill to my backyard fence.

It’s the first time ever I have allowed anyone to desecrate my property with a political message.

Unfortunately, Kolva didn’t win last Tuesday.

Fortunately, someone equally worthy did.

The two competitors for council Position One were the class of this crop of candidates, along with newly elected County Commissioner John Roskelley.

Otherwise, the results of balloting were pretty much a mixed bag for business:

Locally, rejection of Spokane city-county consolidation is a major setback for business and the entire community. More on this later.

Statewide, defeat of legislation backed by timber giants, real estate developers, and agricultural interests is a huge plus for taxpayers and business in general. The measure requiring full compensation for any loss in property value due to land regulation in the public interest could well have wreaked havoc on the economy, the environment, quality of life and land-use planning.

City Councilman Orville Barnes and activist John Talbott, vehement critic of the council and outspoken enemy of what he regards as the downtown establishment, won’t know who won until after a count of absentee ballots, then possibly a recount.

But, allied with chronic complainer Chris Anderson, who has an absolute fetish for “process,” Talbott could make council cooperation even more arduous.

Defeat of real estate’s representative on the council, Bev Numbers, has to be considered a boon to better government. In her position on the Spokane Transit Authority, Numbers contributed more than her share to that renegade public agency’s reputation for arrogance and bumbling incompetence.

Now that the city-county charter has been defeated, reform of STA is urgent. With both the city and county facing severe revenue shortfalls, this community can no longer tolerate the level of overspending and waste flaunted by this inefficient, tax-guzzling government agency accountable to nobody.

Clinton wins again.

It’s to be hoped results of the CityVote straw poll will send a message to those on the far-right who think the Republican revolution is a license for retribution, mayhem and avarice.

Could the outcome of balloting here foreshadow another revolt - this one against zealots with a mean streak?

Clinton alone, with 36.3 percent of the vote, equalled the totals for the second and third place finishers - independent Colin Powell (now out of the race) and Republican Bob Dole.

Back to city/county government.

It’s tempting to say, hey, if the county doesn’t want government reform, let them eat cake. But it won’t do.

Better government for both is a must for Spokane to prosper. Like it or not - however many fragmented local governments some Valley voters would like Spokane to have - this IS one community, one economic unit.

It’s time to go to work on incremental reform - city/county consolidation by departments, strong elected executives, home-rule, district representation, independently elected auditors.

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel’s column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review