City Candidates Weather Small Crowd Candidates For Council Get Started At Sparsely Attended Forum In Park

Maybe it was the sweltering heat. Maybe it was scheduling the event during Sunday dinner hour. Or maybe it was that people are thinking about squeezing what they can from summer before pondering this fall’s political terrain.

Whatever the cause, the Spokane City Council candidates nearly outnumbered the audience at the first issues forum of the campaign season.

“It must be the weather,” said Martin Burnette, vice president of the North Side Republican Action Club, which sponsored the early evening event billed as a “face-off” at B.A. Clark Park on the northwest corner of Garland Avenue and Division Street.

The last day to file for office was Friday, which is why Burnette planned the event for Sunday, he said. Voters frequently complain they barely know anything about the candidates by the September primary.

“Our goal is to begin getting candidates in front of the public eye … begin to expose the candidates as early as possible,” Burnette said. “It’s like peeling an onion.”

Thirteen of the 16 candidates spoke at the forum, while 22 people looked on from green park benches tucked beneath the shade of the park’s gazebo.

The rules for the forum were simple. No clapping from the audience - a rule constantly violated by the few attendees. And candidates had to stick to the allotted time, two minutes for introductions, one minute for answers.

A cowbell signaled their time was up.

“I’ve never raced a cowbell before,” said Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes.

Each candidate was asked to name a priority if elected and special talents voters should know about. They gave the following responses:

Mayor

Sheri Barnard. She wants to reconnect citizens to City Hall. Her first act if elected would be calling a “citizen summit on the streets of Spokane to get citizens involved in the solution.” She compares the mayoral post to the role of minister or mom.

Jack Geraghty. He sees economic development as the city’s top priority. “We need to work with business groups and labor to create family-wage jobs.” He considers his knowledge of the community an asset.

David Howell. He wants to give the “majority a voice.” He says he’s imaginative.

Duane Sommers. He considers fixing the streets the most important issue. “We need to find a way to pay for them every single year and maintain them.” He says he’s a problem solver.

John Talbott. He wants to address the “many symptoms that create discontent and unrest in government,” such as making the city manager accountable to the City Council. He, too, has “quite a reputation as a problem solver.”

Position One

Cherie Rodgers. She wants to find a lasting, reliable way to pay for improving the city’s infrastructure, such as streets, sewer and water service. She thinks her ability to work with people is her chief talent.

Position Two

Judith Gilmore. She considers the creation of more living-wage jobs her chief priority. “I want the streets to be smooth, but I want people to have jobs to be able to pay the taxes on them.” She works as a trained mediator, so listening is her greatest asset.

Charlotte Karling. She thinks fixing the streets is the greatest challenge facing the city. “I want to know, how are we maintaining our streets?”

She’s an idea person, who can “see what we have to do.”

Position Three

Charles Greenwood. He sees improving the region’s economy as the city’s greatest challenge. “We need to attract businesses from out of the region, but also focus on new businesses here.” He spent 21 years on the Peaceful Valley steering committee.

Phyllis Holmes. She wants to make sure the city has done everything it can to increase revenues without increasing taxes. “We need to make sure we’re looking for revenue generators.” She likes to rely on community wisdom to find solutions to problems.

Holly O’Connell. She considers fiscal responsibility an important issue facing Spokane. “Could we do better with the money we already have?” She considers herself flexible to any given situation.

Robert Schroeder. He thinks the city needs to “stop spending money like it was free.”

Steve Thompson. He wants to “straighten out the accounting system” so that all city departments do zero-based budgeting, where officials must annually justify every dollar spent. He considers truth and honesty his chief personal assets.

Three candidates did not attend Sunday’s forum: Barbara Lampert, who is running for Position One, and Rob Higgins and Ken Withey, who are running for Position Two.

, DataTimes