Be An Active Participant In Municipal Election

So far, two candidates have announced they will run in Spokane’s municipal election this fall. Jack Geraghty wants another term as mayor and Judith Gilmore wants the City Council seat now held by Mike Brewer who won’t seek re-election.

Those two will have company, lots of it, by the end of the month. All the candidates for the mayor’s seat and three council positions on the 1997 ballot have to file for office during the week beginning July 28.

After that, the air will begin to fill with campaign talk. But what should the topics be?

In the belief that the public has at least as much responsibility as the candidates for framing issues, this is an invitation for your participation.

What do voters want the candidates to talk about? What concerns of yours depend most heavily on the outcome of this fall’s elections?

Submit your comments to “Bagpipes” and we’ll share them with the candidates and other readers.

Will youth be served?

It’s no longer a middle school but the Libby Teen Center at 2900 E. First is still a place for young people.

Adults who manage the facility are happy to have youngsters playing basketball and video games there rather than seeking amusement in less structured and often less safe environments.

Now open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Libby Teen Center has provided at least a partial answer to teens’ eternal search for something to do in Spokane.

What else could or should the community be doing to assure that its kids have safe places and structured activities to fill the hours?

Genetic code of silence?

Scientific advances in genetics now tell a lot about what kind of health needs people are likely to have based on what is programmed into their DNA.

That could be helpful in alerting individuals to specific health-care precautions they should be taking. At the same time it could expose people carrying genetic liabilities to substantially higher insurance premiums.

It wouldn’t be the first time gains in scientific knowledge have posed disadvantages along with the advantages.

President Clinton wants to strengthen legislation prohibiting insurers from using genetic predictors to justify higher insurance costs for otherwise healthy people.

Is that a fair thing to do, or should people at higher risk of health problems expect to pay higher premiums?

, DataTimes MEMO: “Bagpipes” appears Tuesdays and Thursdays. To respond, call Cityline at 458-8800, category 9881, from a Touch-Tone phone; or send a fax to 459-5098 or e-mail to dougf@spokesman.com. You also can leave Doug Floyd a message at 459-5577, extension 5466.