Mayor Hopefuls Debate Issues Spokane Candidates Argue Over Handling Of River Park Garage, Building Or Repairing Roads

Mayor John Talbott and state Sen. Jim West clashed over who’s responsible for Spokane’s deteriorating streets.

Attorney John Powers said he would suspend the city’s lawsuit with the River Park Square developers if he could get all sides into mediation.

And dark-horse candidate Robert Kroboth said he wants to be mayor to “clean up the mess.”

“It was either run for mayor and win, or leave town,” said the 66-year-old retiree, who entered the race last Friday.

The first debate featuring all four mayoral hopefuls found the candidates in agreement on one point. The city needs to do more to attract businesses with good-paying jobs, all said during a two-hour forum sponsored by KXLY and broadcast live on radio and the station’s Web site.

The winner of the Nov. 7 election will be the first strong mayor under Spokane’s new form of government.

Issues such as economic development, political civility and crumbling roads flowed together during the debate.

For example, Kroboth said businesses probably don’t want to move to Spokane because of problems with the roads. “Businesses don’t like `one-freeway towns,”’ he said.

West said Spokane won’t have money to fix the streets until voters have their trust in the city restored.

“Right now, the city is not a trusted entity,” he said.

After Powers echoed the need to rebuild trust in the city, Talbott shot back that trust wasn’t the issue.

“I believe we have rebuilt the trust. (Voters) will not go for a bond issue until we fix River Park Square and get money that could be going to road repair,” he said.

Money from the city’s parking meters, which could be used for road repairs, is pledged to cover any shortfall in rent or operations for the mall’s garage.

Talbott then challenged West’s emphatic declaration not to support a city business and occupation tax to pay for street repairs. The senator brought up the politically sensitive tax last year when asked about tax solutions to the city’s street problem, the mayor contended.

“He told me a year ago you need a B-and-O tax before you can start looking for money,” Talbott said.

Replied West: “I do not recall that at all.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Talbott said.

“I’ve never suggested a B-and-O tax,” West countered. “Mr. Talbott promised three years ago he would fix the streets. The streets are not fixed.”

“You’re talking like a true 20-year politician,” Talbott said.

The candidates also clashed over the downtown garage, which has generated a growing stack of legal claims and counterclaims.

West called for “some sort of negotiations” to end the dispute, while Kroboth said he supports the lawsuits the city has filed.

Powers said he would try to suspend the court action and open discussions between the city and River Park Square LLC. That company and The Spokesman-Review are owned by Cowles Publishing Co.

The mall has revitalized downtown, he said, but “people do not trust the process” that led the city to work with the developer to build the project.

He would bring in a respected negotiator and have the two sides agree to mediation for 60 days. If the dispute isn’t settled, go to binding arbitration that would be completed in 30 days.

“We have issues that are larger than this. We’re being consumed by it,” Powers said.

Talbott replied that the citizens don’t trust the process because city officials couldn’t reveal some details of the agreement with the developer.

“Had we had openness from the beginning, we wouldn’t have the problem,” he said. The lawsuit filed by the city gives citizens “a process they can now trust.”

The candidates agreed that strong leadership will attract business to Spokane, but disagreed whether the city has it.

Powers and West said it doesn’t.

“We have to have a vision,” Powers said.

The city’s leadership has waned since it put on a World’s Fair in 1974, West said. “Spokane’s lost its momentum.”

“What happened to the leadership between Expo ‘74 and today?” Talbott asked. “We are on the verge of new leadership.”

Kroboth suggested some simple ways the city could be a leader in attracting business: “Don’t pollute the environment. Don’t use up our natural resources.”