Letters To The Editor

Spokane matters

Corker dedicated to public good

I’ve known Steve Corker for almost as long as I have been in Spokane; working with him while I was serving on a citizen committee of the city and through my association with the Exchange Clubs. He is, undoubtedly, a sincere, dedicated, hard-working individual who, in my estimation, has only improving the city and the life of the citizens here as a personal agenda.

Donating his time and resources to the city isn’t the first charitable, community action he has ever taken. He’s an Exchangite and does it on a daily basis.

Corker is doing just what he was elected to do - represent the citizens of the city and open up the city’s government to the citizens. Why do his opponents consider this a fault?

Corker has my vote for council president. James L Szatkowski, P.E. Spokane

We need a healer, not a Corker

Like many in Spokane, I am angered and shocked that Councilman Steve Eugster would try so hard to ruin reputations and wreck the best thing that’s happened to downtown in many years. River Park Square was the product of thousands of hours of effort by many good people. Now, Eugster and his pals of the council majority call it a “scheme to defraud.” Those are strong words but that’s all they are - words.

True, the garage hasn’t performed to expectations but that isn’t proof of fraud. It proves the people of this city don’t want to pay very much to park. There’s not one shred of evidence that the garage will be a burden on the general fund.

The only scheme I see is Eugster’s scheme to get on television as much as he can and help his ally, Councilman Steve Corker, get a job. We do not need a friend of Eugster’s as council president.

Did anyone notice that Corker negotiated a solution to the garage case, then wouldn’t vote for his own solution because his pal Eugster wouldn’t go for it? Has Corker done anything besides scare people about River Park Square?

We need someone to heal, not to tear apart, this city. Eugster, Corker, John Mayor John Talbott and Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers have lowered our city’s credit rating, cost us several hundred thousand dollars in legal fees and brought shame and lawsuits to our beautiful city. Shame on them all! Vote them out. Ruth E. Lyons Spokane

Higgins outqualifies Corker

City Council president will be a very important position. The total budget is in the range of $300 million and the president sets the council agenda.

Most every business enterprise Steve Corker has entered into has turned out poorly. He is in his first term on the City Council and teaches as an adjunct professor at Gonzaga part time.

Rob Higgins, on the other hand, is the executive vice president of the Spokane Association of Realtors. He has a master’s degree with emphasis on public administration, has been married 26 years, served 11 years on the council and has lived in the same neighborhood for 50 years.

This position of council president can set the tone of Spokane for the years to come. Higgins has earned your vote. James E. Hutsinpiller Spokane

Continue majority’s crucial effort

Your vote is needed to continue efforts that have been under way for several years to open up Spokane’s city government to participation by all of its people on an equal basis.

We were able to elect Cherie Rodgers and John Talbott to the City Council in 1997. The addition of Steve Corker and Steve Eugster in 1999 gave us a new majority on the council that favored openness in government, accountability to the people and quality service delivery within budget by the people we employ, the city staff. Today, that new majority is delivering what we asked.

This has not been without great personal commitment and risk; commitment in time and personal sacrifice for the benefit of our people, risk in that there’s a constant barrage of negative media to whatever these public servants do in trying to pursue the goals we have set for them. They are successfully challenging the status quo of the past. Some have suffered financial loss. Others have lost friends and associates due to attacks on their character and integrity.

It’s our turn to again take a stand and work to continue the change by supporting Corker for council president and Talbott for strong mayor. Vote for these two men of integrity so that they may continue to serve the people of Spokane during these critical times of government restructuring. They, along with Rodgers and Eugster, will lead us into a future government for the people and by the people. Mamie L. Picard Spokane

Washington state

Peck will make fine legislator

Jim Peck, who is running for the state Senate in the 4th District, will be a strong, active voice for Valley residents.

Peck served our country for 28 years as senior adviser with the Army National Guard. I know he has the kind of leadership skills we need in Olympia. Now a substitute teacher in Spokane-area schools, he cares about kids and is dedicated to improving the quality of public education. Peck’s wife Joy is a health care professional. Jim and Joy know the importance of affordable health care for everyone, especially children and the elderly.

Peck is honest and straightforward. I think he would make a fine state senator and a valuable addition to the team that represents Eastern Washington in Olympia. I urge voters to support him on Nov. 7. Lisa Brown senator, 3rd Legislative District, Spokane

Ahern, Benson best for economy

If good intentions define success, The Spokesman-Review’s 6th District picks are correct. Under past leadership, Spokane missed out on the economic boom. Their low-paying service job, tax-spend, big government vision prevailed. Roads and the Department of Social and Health Services deteriorated.

While Jack Geraghty and Bernie Nelson are nice men, it’s time to admit the results of their leadership. Begin by checking Eastern Washington University’s stormy history during Geraghty’s tenure. As mayor, he diverted road funds to other projects. After failing to raise gas taxes or generate support for a bond, he borrowed money to repair a few roads, prior to his re-election bid. Ignoring state and local law, he pursued a bridge, leaving Spokane with an $8 million debt. He also gave us the parking garage fiasco.

The Spokesman-Review called DSHS retiree Nelson a key player in successful implementation of welfare reform. Yet, correctly stated, social service needs remain acute and DSHS needs restructuring.

If results for Spokane define success, John Ahern and Brad Benson get the vote. Ahern, a successful business owner and civic leader, has the personal qualities, experience and knowledge we need. Two-term Rep. Benson is a proven state leader with a pro-Spokane voting record.

Ahern and Benson share the success-filled vision: tax relief and smaller, efficient, accountable government. This results in family wage jobs, needed resources for roads, quality social and medical services and first-class schools. If you want what’s best for Spokane, then please join me in voting for Ahern and Benson. Joanne McCann Spokane

Trapping ban reasonable, humane

What a disappointment to see The Spokesman-Review’s opinion regarding Initiative 713 (“ Critters’ defenders get it wrong again,” Oct. 18). And how preposterous that you apparently based your decision on a previous initiative rather than on the merits of I-713 itself.

I-713 has absolutely nothing to do with cougars and everything to do with ridding our state of the brutal steel-jaw traps used to catch wild animals for fur. Thousands of bobcats, beavers, otters, minks, muskrats, coyotes and raccoons suffer and die in traps each year in Washington for the vain and greedy purpose of turning their skins into fur coats. How can anyone support such a practice in this day and age?

I-713 does allow traps to be used to protect human safety, property (including livestock) and endangered species. In addition, lawn enthusiasts will be able to continue trapping moles. Since moles are not trapped for their fur, mole trapping is not affected by I-713.

Sound reasonable? It is. The citizens of Washington should wholeheartedly support I-713. Doris Mussil Spokane

I-745 costly, counterproductive

For the past 97 years the Spokane Area Good Roads Association has been promoting better highways for the Spokane area, but the association’s board of directors opposes Initiative 745 for the following reasons.

A proper balance of all modes of transportation is needed in the state. I-745 would negatively impact public transit, particularly in the urban areas where transit is most needed.

A diminished transit system will force additional vehicles onto already congested roads in the urban area.

I-745, in itself, is poorly drafted, leaving many questions unanswered concerning its impact on funds specifically approved by voters for transit service.

Approval of I-695 in 1999 stripped transit systems of as much as 50 percent of their operating funds. I-745 would further reduce transit’s ability to serve urban areas that need transportation alternatives to the private vehicle.

I-745 would require performance audits by all transportation authorities (there are 468 agencies performing transportation functions in the state), adding a huge audit cost which would be paid from transportation improvement funds.

The Good Roads Association recognizes there is a need for more money for highways but I-745 is not the answer and should be opposed. Dale F. Stedman, secretary Spokane Area Good Roads Association

I-745 does what people need, want

Initiative 745 puts more money into roads without raising taxes. Washington’s roads have not kept up with the increase in population. We have roads that are congested and falling apart.

Mass transit (buses) claim it is the answer. It is not. Americans love their automobiles and will not get out of them to get on a bus. Any time of the day or night you can observe that hardly anyone is riding the buses.

The 10 percent of the transportation funds I-745 would provide to mass transit is more than generous to provide transportation for the 3-5 percent of the people who use or need that service.

Performance audits would ensure we are getting our money’s worth for the taxes we presently pay. The state proposes higher taxes to fix transportation problems. With I-745 more taxes would not be necessary.

I’m voting yes on I-745. L.R. Creel Chattaroy

I-745 bad, especially for our region

As the owner of a small business, I’m pleased to see businesses and service organizations around the state oppose Initiative 745, the misnamed “traffic improvement initiative.’

I-745 was created to make it possible to take money voted for local transportation purposes and use it instead for highway expansion, mostly for burgeoning Seattlearea suburbs. This includes our tax dollars that were already allocated for Eastern Washington’s needs.

If I-745 passes our small but effective rail program will be eliminated. Modest investment in “grain trains” in the Palouse and Columbia basin, so helpful to our agricultural community, would disappear. The new Apples on Amtrak program, overwhelmingly supported and used by our fruit growers, would disappear; and the aid that program gives to existing passenger service would also be eliminated. Finally, long-sought daylight passenger train service between Spokane and Seattle, now under consideration because of work by citizens and legislators from our side of the state, could not take place if I-745 passes.

This badly drawn initiative would divert 90 percent of all transportation money to highway interests only. A no vote on I-745 is crucial to maintain our transportation choices. Paul L. Scott Davenport

Government and politics

For our environment, vote Gore

“A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush,” so the Republican Leadership Council begins airing pro-Nader ads on Oct. 30. The TV ads feature Ralph Nader’s criticism of Vice President Al Gore but omits his criticism of Gov. George W. Bush. The goal is to convince voters that Gore has done nothing for our environment.

Gore has a long history of protecting our environment and our national treasures. He is committed to saving and restoring Northwest salmon stocks and strengthening the nation’s power infrastructure to ensure clean, reliable sources of electricity.

Gore has a bold agenda to protect the nation from the rising threat of global warming, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and longtime dependence on foreign oil. He would provide tax incentives to business and consumers to encourage development of fuel-efficient cars and homes. His Keep America Moving initiative will help communities invest in alternative transportation such as light rail, high-speed rail and cleaner, safer buses.

In his book, “Earth in the Balance,” Gore addressed every concern from clean air and clean water to global warming and cleanup of toxic waste.

Bush lets polluters regulate themselves. Dick Cheney, his running mate, voted seven times against the Clean Water Act when he was in Congress.

If you care about the environment, vote for Gore. Elinor F. Nuxoll Spokane

Bush is a good governor

I am a teamster, born in Texas. Most of my family still lives there, under a government where George W. Bush is governor. Who better to tell you what a wonderful job he has done in the state of Texas than people who have lived there all their lives? My Mom tells me the past eight years under Bush have been some of the best years of her life and she has lived in Texas since birth.

Please vote for Bush. He will not let you down in the White House as he has not let the people from Texas down while in the governor’s mansion. Ken A. Rogers Spokane

Double standard favors Bush

I am continually amazed at how the two presidential candidates are characterized. Gov. George Bush gets his numbers confused; he is considered dumb and ignorant. Al Gore gets his numbers confused; he is considered dishonest and a liar.

Look at the history and experience of governing of these two candidates. Can you imagine Bush trying to negotiate Middle East peace? Can you imagine what the environment would look like under a Bush administration? If you believe in a woman’s right to have control over her own body without government interference, imagine that right being taken way by a Bush Supreme Court.

Look beyond “Gore is stiff and wooden” and “Bush seems like a nice guy” to who you want to help govern this great nation. I urge you to vote for Gore. Flora J. Goldstein Spokane

What about that last tax cut?

I see where Vice President Al Gore is promising us middle class taxpayers another tax cut. I still haven’t received the 1992-1996 rebate that we were promised. Is there anyone I can call to see why my check is still in the mail? Pat D. Kilpatrick Post Falls

I can’t afford Republican policies

Why in the world would anyone vote Republican?

I remember the Great Depression of Republican President Herbert Hoover. Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt got us out of that big one.

Ever since, Republicans have gotten us into recessions and Democrats have pulled us out - just like Bill Clinton pulled us out of George Bush’s recession! Why don’t we wise up?

Now, Gov. George W. Bush and the other Republicans are talking about investing Social Security money in the stock market. If the market fails, I’m out looking for a job at 73 years of age. No thank you, Republicans. Ron Jackson Spokane