Powers, West Argue For Poor Talbott, Eugster Get Praise From Mayoral Hopefuls At Candidates’ Forum

Speaking to the business-friendly members of the Downtown Spokane Partnership on Wednesday, mayoral candidates John Powers and Jim West both made appeals to Spokane’s less fortunate.

The two men - Mayor John Talbott canceled at the last minute, and Robert Kroboth declined the invitation to appear - hit many of the same themes they have been sounding for weeks but took new pains to connect with Spokane’s poor.

Calling poverty the “No. 1 issue,” Powers said Spokane must address it if the city wants to bolster its stagnant economy.

“It is the critical issue we face if we want to move our city forward,” he said. “It’s directly related to your economic future. We’re going to lose business if we don’t do something about poverty.”

West said there is a large section of Spokane that feels ignored, and while critical of the mayor’s leadership, he gave Talbott credit for reaching out to the disaffected.

“There’s lots of people in this community who feel left out,” West said. “They felt that people on the South Hill didn’t care about them. John Talbott gives those people voice and God bless him, because we all should have been doing that before.”

Powers went even further in complimenting members of the new council majority when he praised Councilman Steve Eugster.

When asked how he would heal the fractured council, Powers likened it to a team that needs better coaching.

He referred to “Sacred Hoops,” a book about leadership by former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson, and compared Eugster to Michael Jordan. The Bulls only became successful after Jordan learned to work with his teammates, Powers said.

“Steve Eugster is the brightest, most able person on the council today,” Powers said. “Everybody on that council has great ideas. We’ve got a team we can work with.”

Because only Powers and West attended the forum, held at the Spokane Regional Business Center, voters searching for the differences between the two got some new clues.

While Powers and West still appear to have far more in common with each other than with their two opponents, they were able to open up some distance with their styles, if not always their substance.

Both talked about restoring trust in government, bringing effective leadership to City Hall and expanding the economy.

Powers was smooth and confident, and spoke in broad terms about big themes.

West was less eloquent - he stopped twice to point that out - but was often more specific, unveiling proposals for improving downtown and boosting small business.

When asked about the role of downtown in Spokane’s future, Powers spoke about the importance of downtown in relation to the city’s importance to the region.

Spokane is the heart of the region, and downtown “is the heart of the heart,” he said. “Downtown is absolutely critical for our regional vision. Downtown is critical to the heart being healthy.”

West said he would try to improve downtown by promoting housing and slowing down traffic on Riverside Avenue.

“We’re set up to make people drive through Spokane and not come back,” West said. “I’d like to explore making Riverside two lanes, with diagonal parking. Making it people-friendly.”

When asked about reducing poverty, West spoke about boosting small business to create more jobs.

“I’d break up city contracts so small businesses could bid on them,” he said.

Powers mentioned the “Stay Put” program, which tries to limit how often poor children switch schools.

The two men also had different tactics with how they would deal with the City Council.

West said he would talk to members one-on-one, and try to convince them to focus on issues and not their personal differences.

“The City Council in this town has to stop bickering,” he said. “They can’t get along by attacking each other. They have to attack the issues.”

Powers said that if he were on the council, he would try to build support for positions before votes as if it were a board of directors.

“You work your board,” he said. “Before I take that vote, I try and build consensus. That’s how you lead.”