Campaign ‘97

Candidate Q&A

Should city staff be required to present the City Council with at least two options for every decision it must make?”

Asked of candidates for Spokane City Council because of criticism that too many decisions are up or down votes on one choice.

Position 1

Barbara Lampert: “Yes, if it comes with pros and cons and good explanations. I think possibly that would make the decisions a little less aggravating to the public.”

Cherie Rodgers: “I would favor it. We rely on them so heavily I would like to have another opinion to make a well-balanced decision.”

Position 2

Judith Gilmore: “Yes. There should always be at least a Plan A and a Plan B, if not also a C and D.”

Rob Higgins: “Yes. We should always have a preferred option, but the staff could offer alternatives. I’d like to look at the cost of having a separate research staff for the council.”

Position 3

Phyllis Holmes: “Not necessarily, because mandating a second option isn’t always practical. Even more helpful would be an opportunity for a minority opinion from staff members who just have a different view.”

Steve Thompson: “Depends on the issue. The council should consider as many options as are viable, but in some cases come up with options on its own.”

The mail must go through

As he waited for the final count of absentee ballots from the primary, City Council candidate Steve Thompson wondered about the possibility of shenanigans. The Elections Office, he notes, will accept ballots postmarked up to midnight on election night, even though the polls close at 8 p.m. On election night, unofficial results from the ballot boxes were pretty clear by 10 p.m… “An important question concerning the privacy of election results should be raised,” he said. What if, in that two-hour time span, people who wanted to affect a close race could contact absentee voters who hadn’t cast ballots and get enough of them to the mail box to swing a close race. “Should the Spokane County Elections Office not disclose any results prior to midnight?” he wondered … Thompson can relax. Setting aside the difficulty of locating and then influencing those uncast absentee balloters, such plotters would find a major obstacle. The Post Office reports that the last pickup in Spokane is at 9:30 p.m … Thompson, by the way, made it into the primary, with about the same margin over Holly Ann O’Connell in the final count that he had on election night.

Got a question?

This week marks the return of the Candidate Q and A feature of the campaign column. Voters with questions for candidates in any of the local races can send them by mail, e-mail, phone or fax at the numbers listed at the bottom of the column. We’ll ask as many as possible in coming weeks, for the column and at upcoming debates and forums.

Catch the candidates

Friday: Council candidates Rodgers and Lampert, at the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce Issues & Answers forum. 7:30 a.m., 1020 W. Riverside; $2 for breakfast.

Friday: Local option gas tax, on “Spokane This Week,” KSPS-TV. 8:30 p.m., Channel 7.

Campaign calendar

Saturday: Last day to register to vote in the general election if you want to vote at the polls.

Oct. 10: Candidates and political action committees must file summaries of campaign expenses and contributions.

Oct. 15: First day absentee ballots are available.

, DataTimes MEMO: Campaign ‘97, compiled by Jim Camden, runs Sundays during the election season. Contact the column by mail at PO Box 2160, Spokane, 99210; by fax at (509) 459-5482; by e-mail at jimc@spokesman.com; or by calling Cityline at 458-8800 on a Touchtone phone, then pressing 9893.