Mayoral candidates face off

The two Liberty Lake mayoral candidates went toe-to-toe last Thursday night in a polite, Marquis of Queensbury debate in front of more than 150 potential voters.

Incumbent Steve Peterson and challenger Wendy Van Orman faced off in Liberty Lake Elementary School’s multipurpose room amid colorful school posters asking students to reflect on the theme: “I can make a difference by …”

For almost an hour and a half, both candidates, with their one-minute answers and 30-second rebuttals, attempted to lay out how they could “make a difference” to Liberty Lake – Spokane County’s fastest growing municipality.

Throughout the debate, Peterson returned to his campaign theme of providing leadership and experience.

“Liberty Lake has been a leader in the region and well-respected on a number of different issues,” he said. “When I look back on the last six years, we’ve had good leadership.”

Council member Van Orman repeatedly stressed her collective approach to governing.

“Unity in the community is what I offer,” she said. “I am welcoming all of our residents to have a voice.”

In Peterson’s opening comments he reviewed a number of accomplishments during his six-year tenure.

He spoke about public safety, beautiful parks, maintaining the city’s infrastructure and working with the Central Valley School District to provide necessary school facilities.

“I have steadfastly focused on increasing services while not increasing taxes,” Peterson said.

In her opening remarks, city council member Van Orman reviewed her community experience.

She pointed to her six years on the city council, being part of the governance study group in 1998 and “leading incorporation efforts” as spokesperson for Liberty Lake 2000.

“Once we incorporated,” she said, “all of the county laws went away and we needed to start from scratch. Since then we have passed over 176 ordinances and made our blueprint, the comprehensive plan, for the next 20 years.”

While it was not a slugfest, the debate gave voters an opportunity to see and listen to both candidates side-by-side. The debate touched on familiar issues of managing growth, the I-90 interchange at Exit 294, property taxes, and progress on the community center and library project.

One early question asked why the council is allowing developers to “aggressively build, knowing schools are maxed out and traffic is getting worse.”

There were a few chuckles from the audience when debate moderator Gary Jespersen finished reading the pre-submitted question: “Or, to be blunter than that, can anyone in this town say no to an idea from a developer?”

“We now have a comprehensive plan in place,” Van Orman said. “We are looking at ways of curbing growth.”

Peterson reminded the group that the city inherited most of its growth from the county.

“Yes, we can say no to developers,” he said, “and try to educate them as to what our needs are.”

When asked what is taking so long with the community center project, Peterson said, “Community involvement.”

“If it takes another six months or another year,” Peterson said, “I’m willing to wait because I want a premier, number-one facility. I want it to be the crown jewel of our city.”

Van Orman said the council is still seeking suggestions about what people want to see in the community center.

“I know if we wait too long, we are going to be paying a lot more than we would right now,” she said. “So give us input on the building.”

The debate was sponsored by the Liberty Lake Kiwanis Club, the Liberty Lake Splash newspaper and Liberty Lake Community Directory.