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September 8, 2009 in City
Audio: City Council candidates Mike Allen, Jon Snyder debate
Mike Allen, left, and Jon Snyder are running for the south Spokane City Council seat.
(Full-size photo)
Spokane City Councilman Mike Allen and his challenger in the 2009 election, Out There Monthly publisher Jon Snyder, joined reporter Jonathan Brunt in The Spokesman-Review newsroom Sept. 8 for an informal debate.
Click here to listen to the full debate (about an hour) or use the headings below to listen to the candidates respond to questions on specific questions. Clicking a link will open an audio player; use the back button to return to this page.
Introductions
Budget and revenue
The budget is one of the biggest issues facing Spokane in the next few years. How would you handle a budget shortfall in 2011?
How would you have voted on the city unions contract?
Mike Allen (discussing his vote against the contract).
Should Spokane consider a business and occupation tax to reduce utility taxes?
Transportation and streets
Please rank these transportation funding issues in order of importance: improving, local streets, finishing the north Spokane freeway and developing light rail.
Is the street bond passed by voters enough, or should there be another funding source?
Is it time to think about shifting priority to light rail from the north Spokane freeway?
Southgate commercial development
Why did you vote in favor of this development amid neighborhood opposition?
Stance on demand for big box development on South Hill?
Followup exchange between Allen and Snyder
How do you judge when to allow a business into a neighborhood?
Emergency response times
Is it time for the city to change how it does business to require quicker emergency response times? Do you support having Fire Department provide ambulance service?
Environment
Do you support watering restrictions?
Talk about concerns that making city’s sustainability plan advisory waters it down.
Sign ordinance
How do you feel about the city’s revised sign ordinance and the one-second change rule for digital signs?
Jim Kershner’s This day in history » On the Web: spokesman.com/topics/local-history 
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jonbsnyder on October 16 at 9:56 a.m.
It would be great if you could spell my name right in the headline. :)
Spokanechick73 on October 16 at 1:04 p.m.
I was undecided about which of these 2 candidates best deserves my vote in the upcoming election until I watched the debates last night. Thank you, Mike Allen, for making the decision so easy for me. Listening to Mr. Snyder’s attempts to carefully phrase his answers in a way that would not convey any opinion, distinct leaning, or even a credible grasp on the topic in question was a exasperating. I have no concern about political party endorsements or affiliations - and it appears that Mr. Allen isn’t one to cling to party lines either which goes a long way toward making decisions that are not dependant on a specific partisan agenda. With the challenging times we face going forward, I feel a lot better about lending my support to someone who “gets it” and isn’t afraid of communicating his thoughts and ideas to the citizens he intends to continue serving.
Verbal on October 16 at 2:36 p.m.
Spokanechick73 - Would you repost your comment over at today’s story “District 2 race is a tight one”?
You, in a much more complete and concise way, said what I was thinking.