Election hopefuls debate city issues
Alex Mudd - April 10th, 2008The April 3 city council debate held at NAU gave the eight candidates running for city council and mayor a chance to differentiate themselves on issues concentrated mostly on economic growth, environmental sustainability and Flagstaff infrastructure.
Despite an overall cordial debate, the most substantive criticism was from council hopeful Morgan Hagaman, who used the affordable housing crisis as an example of the necessity for more common-sense thinking.
“Everyone talks about the affordable housing. How can you get to affordable housing? Then they come in and say, ‘we’ve got to add these fees and change these codes,’” Hagaman said. “Don’t get me wrong, we need to go greener, but we don’t need it all today. It’s going to be baby steps. We cannot realistically say we need an affordable house, but then tack on 40 percent to the cost of building it and expect the house to be affordable.”
One of the few disputed issues was the hot-topic of downtown parking and the city’s new plan. Al White, a current member of the council running for re-election, defended the plan as comprehensive, arguing against the many critics who say it is not thought-out and who question what the revenue from new parking meters will be spent on.
“It provides for enforcement, it provides for new parking spaces, it provides for a number of things people have asked for,” White said. “And when they say that is what the money should be spent on, that is indeed what the money will be spent on.”
John McCulloch, a former member of the council and the most animated candidate on stage, was particularly incensed by the new plan. As a resident of North downtown, he attested to the issues the downtown parking plan caused with his neighbors and the city in general, going so far as to call the plan absurd.
McCulloch said he thinks it is just a superficial solution that did not take into account the opinions of local downtown businesses and residents, in addition to adding unneeded employees and costs while accomplishing nothing.
“We’re going to have six additional what they call ‘ambassadors’, which really, come on folks, they’re parking meter-maids,” McCulloch said. “They are running around giving everybody tickets so they can generate another $1 million a year to keep the whole system going.”
Another important issue was the city government’s role in economic development. The solutions ranged from direct involvement to relative distance.
City council candidate Micole Shorty suggested it was the city’s job to spearhead economic development efforts. Mayor Joe Donaldson said the city has limited resources, so wooing large companies to Flagstaff should not be their top priority.
“Any new businesses on the outside that pays good wages, or is something that is really attractive, there are 3,000 other cities out there that want them,” Donaldson said. “Well, the state of Arizona is very conservative. We don’t have the kind of money that other states have invested in their economic development, so it is left to us.”
Sara Presler-Hoefle, the mayoral challenger to Donaldson, does not think the city should be competing with local organizations and businesses in the realm of economic development. She thinks collaboration is the most important thing.
“I think we need a balance,” Hoefle said. “Yes, the city should be involved in some ways in economic development, but I don’t think the city should be competing with local organizations and businesses that can drive this effort.”
Council hopefull Karla Brewster said she tells students that even if they do not ride the bus, the five transportation propositions will improve the city’s carbon footprint.
Hoefle also used NAU’s new Applied Research and Development building, which has a green living roof, as an example of environmentally-conscious leadership style she would pursue if elected mayor.
The debate was arranged by ASNAU and the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce. More information on the eight candidates can be found at www.azdailysun.com/elections2008.