Candidates point to accomplishments

Voters mulling their choice for the Position 6 Spokane Valley council seat will weigh the benefits of one candidate’s engineering and planning commission experience against the skills of a seasoned Spokane Valley businessman.

“I think we both have talent,” candidate Ed Mertens said.

Mertens and opponent Bill Gothmann have been Valley residents for decades, but their campaigns emphasize the very different things they have accomplished during their lives here.

“I knock on a lot of doors,” Gothmann said of the intensifying campaign. “The first thing that I’ll tell them is I’ve been working on the planning commission.”

As its first chairman, Gothmann has been active in city planning from the beginning. Much of his platform focuses on putting in place measures to preserve the character of existing neighborhoods. Many of those concepts are in the latest draft of the city’s comprehensive land-use plan, which he helped write.

“There needs to be development regulations that state explicitly what criteria should be satisfied to go from, say, lower density to higher density,” he said.

While Gothmann gains much of his name recognition from his work as a commissioner, Mertens is also a familiar face to many Spokane Valley voters.

He helped hand-paint signs supporting Valley incorporation, and he pushed for the formation of the city for several years.

“I’m still very proud of what we have … it’s the pride of saying we got our own city,” he said.

His primary qualification for the office is his 30 years as the owner of A&M Quality Heating and Air Conditioning and 15 years in sales and management at Sears, he said.

During the campaign, he has emphasized the skills he gained as a businessman, such as managing people, tending budgets and interacting with the public.

“That’s not just business, that’s government, that’s all of this,” he said.

“If I don’t have an answer, I’ll find out for you,” he said of his approach to business and government.

His endorsements include the Spokane Valley Business Association, the Inland Empire Real Estate Association and developer Raymond Hanson, he said.

Gothmann’s endorsements include the Spokane County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the leaders of two neighborhood groups. Also, Councilmen Gary Schimmels, Dick Denenny, Rich Munson and Steve Taylor have either endorsed Gothmann on his Web site or have given money to his campaign.

“I’m proud to be endorsed by a number of members of the council,” he said.