Polite Debate, Sharp Differences Geraghty, Talbott Can’t Bridge Issues Gap

John Talbott and Jack Geraghty debate in polite, measured tones.

But that doesn’t mask the fact that these two men, who have faced each other across the City Council dias for several years and at candidate forums for several weeks, do not like each other much.

Geraghty is a glib voice when the city needs a leader, Talbott suggested as the two sat side-by-side for a debate last week at The Spokesman-Review.

“Once a public relations man, always a public relations man,” he said when Geraghty accused him of switching positions on the proposed Lincoln Street bridge.

Talbott, countered Geraghty, is constantly negative: “What is your positive agenda for this community as we move into the next century?”

“A very simple answer,” replied Talbott, in one of the briefest exchanges of the debate. “That the people’s tax dollars be effectively managed and spent.”

In a debate that featured questions posed by reporters, the incumbent and challenger clashed over leadership skills, who really controls the revision of the city’s comprehensive plan and how to handle the budget.

Talbott, who hammered on his campaign themes of leadership through integrity, accused the Geraghty-led City Council of being beholden to special interests.

Geraghty contended that Talbott often doesn’t know what he’s talking about, on topics ranging from the cost of the Lincoln Street bridge to plans to develop parts of downtown.

They agreed that part of leadership is keeping in touch with the people. They disagree on who could do it better.

Here are reports of their stands on issues discussed at the debate:

Jim Camden

THE ROLE OF MAYOR

They argue over special interests, but both say to stay in touch with the people

Talbott and Geraghty agreed - for a moment - about the the role the mayor should play.

The city’s ceremonial head should use the post as a bully pulpit to lay a plan for the city, both candidates said.

Less than a minute later, Talbott took a jab at Geraghty for his support of the River Park Square redevelopment project, saying the mayor needs to set a “vision for all of our community, not just a small area, but all of it.”

Geraghty didn’t let the punch go unnoticed.

“The implication that somehow or other this city, that we’re run by special interest, is amazing to me,” Geraghty said. “The key role of mayor really is to move in and work in terms of partnerships and negotiate among the various interests …”

Both men said the mayor should know what’s going on in the community and what’s bothering constituents.

Talbott said that if he’s elected, a local radio station has agreed to let him spend an hour a week on the air, answering people’s questions. He plans to bring the city manager along.

Geraghty hinted that spending time on the radio wasn’t necessary. “Certainly, the mayor’s position is no vacuum. On a daily basis, there’s people calling the mayor’s office,” he said, adding that he takes monthly walks through neighborhoods to talk with residents.

Kristina Johnson

RACE RELATIONS

Different views on how far Spokane still has to go for diversity

Racism exists in Spokane, both candidates agreed, but the two differed on its pervasiveness.

Talbott thinks minorities have done well in Spokane. Geraghty said the city still has a long way to go to improve diversity.

“I believe Spokane is a caring community,” Talbott said. “There’s a vibrant black community that is working in Spokane and doing well. The professions are well-represented by the ethnic groups in Spokane.

“They are allowed to participate.”

Geraghty said the quality of life enjoyed by most in the area isn’t always shared by members of ethnic and minority groups.

“I could see why somebody (of color) might be reluctant to come here,” Geraghty said, acknowledging some of the recent hate crimes in Spokane. “This city is a warm and welcoming community but we’ve got a lot to do with respect to diversity…. Our population is essentially all white.”

Like other communities, there are people in Spokane who live “in another generation, in another age,” Talbott said. He wants to create more understanding, he said, and his “respect for human life … for family values are the types of values that will help overcome” racism.

For the most part, Talbott approved of Geraghty’s efforts to improve race relations.

Geraghty noted he helped organize last spring’s “Dreams Into Reality” community congress on race relations. He’s also working on a program that addresses diversity in city government, he said. The city’s trying to hire more minority police officers, Geraghty said, but there still aren’t enough people of color in management positions.

Talbott said the city should conduct national searches when hiring managers so that more minorities would be included in the pool. He would also encourage an independent group to monitor the police department. Geraghty replied that such a council, the Citizens Review Board, already exists.

Virginia de Leon

LISTENING TO NEIGHBORHOODS

Geraghty gets the message on Logan site; Talbott says it’s about time

The community assembly of neighborhood councils recently offered eight alternative sites for the city’s controversial new fleet maintenance facility.

As a result, the city put $50,000 earnest money down on the Long Lake Lumber Co. property near Trent and Mallon. For a year the city has been planning and buying property in the Logan area for the facility, despite vigorous objections by the neighborhood.

Mayor Geraghty said the community assembly came up with a better location.

“Much of the work that has been done for the Hamilton and Foothills site is transferable,” said Geraghty. “I feel it was a great collaboration on the part of the people in the neighborhoods, management, city government and the City Council.”

But Talbott said the maintenance facility is an example of the city not listening to neighborhoods from the start.

“The neighborhood has been adamantly opposed to it from the beginning.

“We spent thousands of dollars and thousands of man hours on a project staff-driven to put it at a location in a neighborhood that very clearly from the onset said they didn’t want it.

“We’ve got to be listening to what our people say, and listening early on in the project, and not wait until it’s politically expedient to do this,” said Talbott.

Kathy Mulady

LINCOLN STREET BRIDGE

Mayor calls for reconsideration, challenger wants public vote

Talbott called for a public vote to decide one of the biggest controversies this political season: whether to build a bridge over the Spokane River at Lincoln Street.

“The popular voice of the people is saying ‘no’ to the bridge,” said Talbott. “The evidence doesn’t support building a bridge at that location.”

Geraghty said he wants a citizens committee to review the $36 million project and make a yes-or-no recommendation. That recommendation is not expected until after the election.

Talbott served on a citizens committee that approved the bridge design in 1993. Members of that committee are being asked now to take a second look at the plan, and Talbott has declined to take part in that process.

Geraghty criticized Talbott for voting to approve the arched bridge design four years ago, and now using his opposition to the bridge as a campaign issue.

That drew a strong response from Talbott.

“I guess once a public relations man, always a public relations man,” Talbott said of Geraghty. “It’s a little spin he likes to put on things.”

Geraghty owns a public relations firm.

Talbott said the committee was directed to consider only the design, not whether the bridge should be built.

Geraghty said he supports the new bridge, but realizes some of the arguments in favor of it may no longer be valid.

Talbott said the reasons for building the bridge are faulty. The community is trying to reduce traffic downtown by encouraging public transit, yet city engineers are promoting a bridge to draw more traffic downtown, he said.

He wants to rebuild the Post Street Bridge on its current alignment, even though designers have said the curves are too tight for modern street standards.

The mayor said eliminating traffic on the Post Street crossing makes it possible to close Post Street between Main and Spokane Falls Boulevard for expansion of the River Park Square shopping mall.

Mike Prager

REVITALIZING DOWNTOWN

Talbott wants to revitalize entire area; Geraghty says show me the money

While Talbott is a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the city’s involvement in the River Park Square redevelopment, Geraghty supports the project.

Talbott criticized the mayor for focusing city resources on River Park Square, encompassing two blocks of downtown, instead of developing a comprehensive plan for the area. Geraghty said there is a comprehensive plan for downtown, but he won’t turn away from a project that’s on the books and moving forward to focus on proposals with no funding.

Two other topics - developing downtown’s East Side and building a parking garage for the Davenport Hotel - also were sticking points.

Talbott spoke of developing the East Side using a plan that he said was proposed by Eastern Washington University. That plan, he said, would bring “high-visibility jobs and opportunities” to the city. It’s been presented to the city, he said, but nobody has done anything about it.

Geraghty said the plan was an interesting class project from the school’s Urban Studies Department, but it offered no funding options.

“We said, of course, it would be nice to develop that area. Where are the developers? Where is the kind of private investment that’s necessary to make that happen?” Geraghty asked.

He noted that Talbott recently mentioned a plan to independently finance a new parking garage for the Davenport Hotel. The city currently plans to build the garage using a local improvement district, in which the area’s property owners tax themselves.

A promise for private financing was news to him, Geraghty said.

Talbott responded that the plan had already been presented to the city, but was ignored.

“If there’s private money out there to do it, where is it?” Geraghty asked. “Has it been waiting in the wings? What’s the deal?”

“Jack, they’ve been to City Hall,” Talbott responded.

“They have not been to City Hall,” Geraghty shot back.

“Yes, they have,” Talbott said.

“Well, they have not. I can guarantee that they have not,” Geraghty said.

When Talbott was asked to name the investor for the garage, he said the person would come forward after the election.

Alison Boggs

CITY SPENDING

Talbott wants to hire a city auditor; Geraghty calls that more bureaucracy

Most of the city’s $110 million general fund is spent on five basic services: police, fire, streets, parks and libraries.

Spending more money on one area usually means cutting another, but the City Council recently voted to borrow $2.6 million to fix potholes.

Talbott criticized the plan to borrow money, and has said more money for street repair should have been part of the regular budget. But neither candidate identified areas where city spending could be reduced.

Talbott wants the City Council to hire an independent auditor to track city expenses and efficiency.

“I think it would reduce the polarization that we have in our community. It would show how effectively we are managing the money,” he said.

“I would like to know how much time and money was spent by our city staff on the Lincoln Street bridge,” Talbott said. “How much of our city manpower was spent there? What kind of manpower was it? Were they qualified for that job?”

Geraghty said the information is available for the asking, and questioned the need for the city to hire an auditor when it is already audited by the state.

“It’s interesting to me … you’re starting to add almost a new bureaucracy that’s going to keep track of the management bureaucracy,” said Geraghty.

Talbott said the City Council already is a bureaucracy to keep tabs on the City Hall bureaucracy, but it needs tools to do the job.

Kathy Mulady

PLANNING FOR GROWTH

Will special interests override residents’ views on growth?

One of the first responsibilities of the City Council and mayor next year will be to adopt Spokane’s new comprehensive plan to guide future growth.

About 200 citizens have been involved in Spokane’s Horizons process for two years, shaping the new plan.

But many participants fear their efforts will be dashed by special interest groups coming into the picture at the last minute and swaying the council.

Geraghty said everyone who wants to participate should be able to, even if it means delaying the process a few months.

“When you get around to actually debating the issues, there will be many other people who haven’t been involved up to this point that are going to want to have their voice heard and you have to listen to them,” said Geraghty.

“If it means that it may take a couple of extra months to do this, that’s what we will have to do.”

Talbott said he’s been to several Horizons committee meetings and complained they are staff-driven toward an already-decided result.

“The traffic component of the current Horizons study effort has almost disintegrated over the differences between what the staff is looking for and what the citizens are looking for,” he said.

Geraghty disagreed.

“I would suggest that (citizens) have taken the lead and are working very hard to come up with workable plans for the community,” he said.

Kathy Mulady

STATE AND FEDERAL DOLLARS

Spokane needs more, they agree, then squabble over Science Center

The flow of state and federal money to Spokane for civic projects peaked during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and now has slowed.

Geraghty said the political climate changed when Eastern Washington voters ousted U.S. House Speaker Tom Foley and this region’s state lawmakers stopped their relentless pursuit of money for local projects.

Millions of dollars are still going to West Side cities like Tacoma and Seattle where sports stadiums, museums and college buildings are going up.

“There is work to be done,” said Geraghty. “We feel we should be getting our share of the investment.”

Now, Spokane’s top legislative priority is money for a health sciences building at the Riverpoint Higher Education Park, he said.

The city also wants money for expansions of the Convention Center and Cheney-Cowles Museum.

Talbott said getting money requires community consensus through good planning.

“The comprehensive plan, I believe, is the key to the whole thing,” he said.

Money was available for construction of a Pacific Science Center at Riverfront Park until voters rejected it in 1995.

Talbott was one of the loudest critics of the science center proposal at the time.

He said during the debate he opposed the location, not the concept of building a science center.

“He certainly fought the science center,” Geraghty responded.

Mike Prager

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IN-DEPTH COVERAGE You can read, see and hear more about The Spokesman-Review’s mayoral debate. Youth issues: The candidates’ answers to questions about the concerns of Spokane teenagers will appear in the Our Generation section Monday. In cyberspace: A complete text of the debate can be read by logging on to the newspaper’s Web site, Virtually Northwest, at www.virtuallynw.com, and clicking on Election Central. Television: The full debate will be broadcast several times until election day on TVW, the state’s cable news service. The first broadcast will be tonight at 10 on Spokane Cable Channel 5.