Spokane7
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August 1, 2009 in Opinion
Editorial: McLaughlin tops field for council’s District 3
Of the half-dozen candidates in the District 3 City Council primary, three of them merit serious consideration.
The incumbent is Nancy McLaughlin, a fiscal and social conservative who was elected four years ago. She and her husband run a construction and remodeling business. She has made employee compensation at City Hall a top issue, voting against the last three contracts. The city’s budget suffers from a structural deficit, because it pays out more than it brings in. The chief reason is labor costs, which account for the lion’s share of the budget. Her votes and advocacy have helped shine a spotlight on this.
While it’s true that municipal governments, particularly on the East Side, are hamstrung by a state law that results in comparable pay to wealthier West Side cities, McLaughlin is in a good position to lobby state lawmakers for relief. As incoming secretary for the Association of Washington Cities, she is in line to be president.
On other issues, McLaughlin supports the police ombudsman position, though she would’ve preferred the Boise model, which includes investigatory powers. She strikes the right chord in supporting businesses and the University District. She voted against putting Envision Spokane on the November ballot, citing legitimate legal concerns and the unrealistic nature of the measure.
She does hold curious views on global warming, which emerged during a vote on the city’s sustainability plan. Her allusions to United Nations’ influences were cringe-inducing. In addition, we disagree with her views on several social issues.
John Waite, who owns a comic book store downtown, has run for the state Legislature and the City Council in the recent past. He also has a radio show. He is frustrated with the adversarial nature of the two main political parties and seeks to find common ground. He also supports the reining in of City Hall pay and correctly notes that residents cannot endure more tax increases.
He agrees with McLaughlin on the police ombudsman and thinks that the community is not ready financially for Envision Spokane, though he agrees with some of the principles. He supports the sustainability measure.
He is more socially liberal, but those issues are of lesser importance for a council member. While Waite has many commendable stances, he comes across as frustrated and pessimistic. The city needs work – no question – but it’s not “broken.”
Karen Kearney was a banking manager in Seattle for many years. She was the campaign manager for Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich. She is adamantly opposed to the proposed Little League fields near South Indian Trail Road. She is earnest and vows to work hard, but she needs to offer more specifics. For instance, she says the city needs to “follow the budget” to stem the revenue shortfalls. On the issue of employee pay, she contends the unions have already made significant concessions. She would not vote against employee contracts agreed upon by the city and unions.
Kearney and Waite are solid candidates, but we think the city would be better served by keeping Nancy McLaughlin in office.
Don’t fudge fish standard 
Lucy on August 01 at 9:13 a.m.
Again - no surprise - status quo - old politics as usual with a little real weirdness thrown in. UN conspiracy to take over Spokane with the Sustainability initiative??? No such thing as global warming…and she knows that because she can read (sort of) a list of “scientists” who say so. Puleeeze - lets get some thinking individual in that position.
MichaelCathcart on August 01 at 10:36 a.m.
This is a much deserved endorsement for Nancy’s re-election. Time and again, she is the lone (or close to it) sensible voice on many issues, and the only Councilmember not afraid to ask some hard hitting questions.
I have a lot of respect for John Waite, even though I disagree with him on many issues, but right now is not the time to change horses in mid-stream. Nancy is the recently elected Secretary of the Association of Washington Cities and likely the soon to be President. This will be a huge benefit to the City of Spokane!
I applaud the paper for making the right choice, even if they had to slip in an unnecessary jab on her global warming position. I believe most down to earth folks likely agree with her on this because the impacts of implementing such unnecessary legislation (to restrict an unproven theory) will destroy our already fragile economy.
Don’t forget to Vote Nancy McLaughlin for District 3 City Council!
Lucy on August 01 at 11:10 a.m.
The reason Mr.Cathcart doesn’t want to “change horses in the middle of the stream” is because Ms. McLaughlin is the Spokane Builders bought and paid for horse in this race. She will always side with zoning and ordinance changes that advantage development over neighborhood concerns. Ask her where she stands on the Indian Trails neighborhood baseball complex development.
John_Waite on August 01 at 4:06 p.m.
I did hope that the Spokesman would endorse me, but congratulations to Nancy. I think the article was clear that it sees Nancy, Karen and I all as worthwhile candidates. And especially important, it made note of the differences between Nancy and myself. While both of us are Fiscal conservatives, I am a social progressive that thinks city costs and welfare can be contained by spending in a more preventive manner. I think a community has to spend money on social services to save itself money on the backend with reactive costs. Better to fix the problems before they become problems. And I am commited to no tax increases, and no job cut budget. We need to work with all city workers to come up with a more sustainable budget. I also believe in the value of science and education, and do believe in human created emissions issues. Locally, it makes sense to have the city proactively work to be more efficient and creative when it comes to energy costs and savings.
Check out my web site for more information.
John Waite, City Council Candidate, 3rd district
www.votejohnwaite.com
Dazzeetrader11 on August 05 at 4:20 p.m.
I’m not a citizen but I follow Spokane closely as I hope to live home someday. As best I can tell Nancy has done a consistently good job for Spokane. I watch the Council meetings online. I don’t remember her EVER saying she didn’t belive in climate change. Global warming is a silly term as some areas are warmer and some are cooler. We do have climate change though and it shouldn’t be a source or criticism for McLaughlin. Obviously Ms McHenry has a bias against her.
Nancy is even keeled, fair, bright and sincere with an eye towards building Spokane within its funding limits. This seems prudent.
I’m sure Ms McHenry will produce some evidence of being “bought and paid for” is she’s to be credible. It’s a terrible thing to say without evidence to support the statement.
Lucy on August 06 at 6:33 a.m.
Check her PDC filings. And email her at nmclaughlin@spokanecity.org for information global warming/climate change views.