Quizzing The Pols Rogers Students Practice Politics By Putting Candidates On The Spot
Appreciate honesty? Well, just hang out with kids for a while.
At a forum last week featuring mayoral and City Council candidates, Tricia Cumpton of Rogers High School posed this question to council opponents Rob Higgins and Judith Gilmore:
“Why should I influence my parents to get them to vote for either of you?”
If candidates for the Nov. 4 election needed any reminder to take the concerns of young people seriously, they got it at the forum sponsored by the Northeast Community Center and the League of Women Voters.
Moderator Greg Hicks read questions submitted by 85 Rogers High School juniors who are currently enrolled in social studies government classes.
About 70 people - 45 of whom were Rogers students - attended the forum, held at the community center.
The students’ questions centered on transportation - specifically, a north/south highway - road improvement and financial aid for the homeless and single parents.
Higgins told Cumpton that her parents should vote for him because he supports improved transportation in Spokane, strong neighborhoods and the economy.
Higgins favors a north/south freeway; Gilmore is opposed to it.
The state Department of Transportation has recommended building such a freeway east of Market Street, through the city’s East Central, Chief Garry and Hillyard neighborhoods. It’s a proposal that could drastically impact the lives of many of the students.
“I think that highway would drop a bomb in your neighborhood,” Gilmore said.
Teachers tell students there are no dumb questions. That was certainly true of these kids.
“They’ll be voting in a year,” said Elsie Cadena, a social studies teacher at Rogers. “They need to get started early.”
Cadena marked off the kids as they entered the assembly room. Those who showed up received extra-credit points for attending the forum.
Their questions were direct, but some students were apprehensive about approaching the microphone.
Sarah Morris fought off her stage fright, a few giggling friends and a photographer snapping pictures just long enough to ask a question to City Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers and challenger Barbara Lampert.
Morris asked the two what they planned to do to improve Spokane’s roads for the future. She also wondered why it has taken so long to repair heavily traveled roads, especially the intersection of Francis and Division.
Rodgers told Morris that 80 percent of Spokane’s budget goes to the police, fire, library and parks department as well as street repairs. She said the city “fell behind” when repairing streets.
Lampert, the challenger, jumped on the opportunity and told Morris she believes the recent flurry of street repairs has more to do with the fact that it is an election year.
“The incumbents want to make it look like they’re doing something,” Lampert said.
Matthew Weaver asked City Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes and her opponent Steve Thompson what they think Spokane’s most immediate need was.
Holmes said the city needs to implement a comprehensive land-use plan; Thompson said he wants to see city government “get back to basics.” Thompson also said he thinks Spokane’s working class is too highly taxed.
By the time Mayor Jack Geraghty and challenger John Talbott took their seats at about 9 p.m., most of the students were gone. It was a school night and most had to leave.
But the moderator had more than enough written questions to last him the rest of the night.
“Why do you want the job of mayor?” one student wrote.
Geraghty said he wants another term because he said he “has so much left to do.”
Talbot said, “because I owe Spokane and I want to put back into it.”
Beckie Mason was one of just a few students who stayed for the entire forum which lasted close to 2-1/2 hours.
She said she got more out of it than she expected.
“I learned that every candidate has a big difference in opinion,” Mason said. “I didn’t realize how different each person really was.
“It made me quite interested,” she said.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos (1 color)