Local Candidates Forum
September 21, 2005
Here are my notes from the Thurston County Young Democrats local candidates’ forum. I missed some stuff, but I wrote down what I thought was pretty interesting.
I also heard tonight that the TC-Pro Net/SPEECH forum was being cancelled.
It was about 8:28 before I noticed that Sam Hunt was sitting behind me.
Brendan Williams moderates “Democracy is alive and well in
General question – what are young people interested in from your POV and how would you get young folks involved?
Paul Telford
Not having thought about this for several years
YP are very busy
Young people end up leaving the community, I didn’t come to any conclusions, we need a group of younger people to come up and replace us because we’re kind of busy
Ed Stanley
Housing, parks and recreation, expand job opportunities
Steve Pottle
Get involved, stay involved young
The environment, they’re interested in salmon habitat, they’re interested in cleaning up Cascade Pole. Parks a rec opportunities.
Carlos Perez – you want a place that is going to be nice, that is going to have the amenities that you want as you grow older. The port should be making money
Lacey
John Darby – while Lacey is a good community
Restore salmon habitat in
Dick Yates – I used to see Salmon come up behind St. Martins, and I would like to see that happen again. I think it’s a great community, but I think it can be better
Continue to grow.
Karen Messmer – volunteer, advisory board, community groups, people need to find their passion about what they want to do for the community.
Jeff Kingsbury – almost primarily because I work with young people, which make sure
I want to make sure we are conscious about leaving a legacy, that our environment is protected, a community where everyone feels welcome.
I want a community where young people want to invest in the future. This is a community for everyone who lives here
Doug Mah – environmental issues, good programs so the kids bring that home to the parents. His daughter is apparently involved in the South Sound GREEN program, an educational.
Being involved in Stream Team, People for
Phyllis Booth – Is there more pressure to be a consumer or a citizen. One of the reasons she decided to run was to help create more pressure to be citizens.
She flubbed the JFK line but was helped out “ask not what
A new spirit in
I see myself as a protector, not accepting any more than $100, because she sees young people saying that if they don’t have money, then you can’t get involved in the political process.
Andy Kapowitz – Joe is the youngest person on the city council, 32. Sustainability is the hallmark of Joe’s campaign.
Through leadership opportunities, through volunteer activities in private
Steve Klein for Yelm Mayor, the youngest manager of a fortune 50 company.
The young people of Yelm are looking for something to do, Drew Harvey theater, when are you going to give us a place to share our talents, we have no facility out there
Lightening round
Do we need a public swimming pool? Green, except Darby
Create projects that would compete with business, such as conference center? Only Hyer, Mah yes
JK no on the vote question
Should schools allow partisan political speech? All green but Yates and
Did you attend public school, all but Darby
Should schools charge for extra-curricular activities? Significant reds
Increase tuition for wealthy students, so poorer students would have more scholarships? People gave up on that one
Tax deductions grants for young home ownership? All green
Have you used pubic transit recently?
Has there been gas price gouging? All green
Do we need public parking garages? All green but Booth
Should schools offer medically accurate sex ed? All green but Darby Yates, and
Did you support gay civil rights bill? Green but for Darby Yates,
Do you support the smoking ban initiative? Mostly green.
Describe yourself in three words
Darby – integrity, involved and young
Kingsbury — Enthusiastic, progressive and fair
Messmer, determined, patient and experienced
Pottle, leader, decision maker
Mah, professional balanced and active
Hyer, balanced, enthusiastic and well-prepared
Booth, integrity, dedicated and humorous,
Yates – energetic
Perez – integrity, experience
Safe downtown, trouble bars?
Kingsbury – we have in our recent past a particular night club contributing to a real black time in our history. I think that we need to be a little more aggressive in saying that is inappropriate. There is a significant problem with that club and that club alone.
Messmer – I don’t disagree with Jeff, possibly emphasis patrols from police. From downtown residents there are noise issues.
Mah – I think we can do more, do more working with our state partners, working with the Department of corrections and the liquor control board. Work with the ODA, developing a business improvement district
Hyer – By making downtown a place where everyone wants to be. Giving support to law enforcement, this isn’t solely the city’s responsibility (depend on state), and giving incentives to developing a broader business base.
Booth – If we use our tax money responsible we won’t have to cut cops, library time and community. As far as the Bar Code, we need to hold those businesses accountable.
Permanent housing for homeless residents?
Darby – we look at is as a regional problem. Lacey will house the cold weather shelter. (comment from the crowd, 9 homeless camps, 124 homeless people). Sat down quickly after that.
Mah – We provided a lone to CCS and Bread and Roses for a shelter. Behavioral Health resources for chronically mentally ill housing in Tumwater. Continue to build partnerships. No break in
Hyer – The central role for government to provide a safety net. Joe has served as a board member for the Cold and Hungry solution, but it isn’t going to be a totally public solution. Such as providing affordable housing.
Booth – I haven’t been too impressed by the city council. Bread and Roses came to the council for a grant to continue their lease and the city declined. She reminded the failed car camping ordinances.
How to get young people involved in the political process?
Steve Klein – There is a program for high school students to audit the city council meetings.
Booth – I’m already drawing out youth, my son has already campaigned for her at Oly HS. There are boy scout troops coming into the city council and watching how it happens.
Hyer’s man – Educating youth of what the civic process is about. Attend meetings, we don’t have enough young people involved. You don’t have to have a vote to make a difference.
Mah – Get kids involved in city sponsored activities. Adding a student position to the advisory committees. Speaking to classes.
Pottle – One in four jobs is related to port jobs.
Messmer – As member of planning commission, she helped develop the land-use game, which has brought land-use decisions into the classrooms.
Kingsbury – its not enough to encourage you, but you need to help bring young people involved in politics. He did a really good job making this point.
Darby – All the boards and commissions in Lacey have a voting student member. Apologized for screwing up the homeless question. Wants to waive fees for habitat for humanity homes so they can be $10,000 cheaper.
In Lace why do
Dick Yates – When I was a kid we used to have salmon running up behind St. Martins College. We need to have growth in there, but not necessarily
Darby – He doesn’t know. Might have something to do with an old ditch district problem. But, the city is looking into it.
In Yelm how do you balance population growth and resources?
Klein – The city needs to look at growth harder than they have been. There is also a looming water problem.
For Port commission (
Pottle – rail instead of roads.
Teleford – Port is addressing the traffic issues in downtown
Perez – Any time you make a decision, you need to be aware of the environmental impacts, that you have a legacy to leave. You have to live with it for… the rest of your life that the lead agency not be the port.
Do you support I-912?
Darby – I have a family with two kids, and I’m voting with my family budget and he is voting no.
Kingsbury – I don’t have a choice, I do support the gas tax, I think it’s critical for us to be prepared. I do not support the repeal.
Messmer – Doesn’t support the repeal. Its not just the gas that is costing us, the environmental impact. She does with that more of the tax was dedicated to alternatives.
Pottle – Does not support I-912, and the fact that we don’t have more roads or mass transit right now is from a lack of forethought.
Mah – Does not support repeal, it would hurt local projects.
Hyer’s man – Repealing a gas tax is not the right choice. There isn’t enough being done for alternatives.
Booth – She has mixed feelings. Why are we coming up with taxes when we still don’t plan well? Different modes of transportation, but we need to be realistic about it.
Steve Klein – doesn’t support repeal. Its time to change our thoughts about fuel.
Yates – support repeal because poor people can’t afford the new gas tax.
Perez – the infrastructure has to be paid for.
If you had a superpower what would it be?
Perez – The live 250 year or more, so he could see the growth, so he see the changes.
Yates – be able to create world peace
Klein – To be able see the future.
Booth –
Hyer’s man – To be able to see the future.
Mah – Manipulate the past, so he could make up for past mistakes.
Pottle – To be able to have a super power to make a super education system.
Messmer – To save the world and save the environment, end
Kingsbury – Wishes he could be invisible, whimsically. Would like split second travel, hates being in cars. Power of compassion, power to lead.
Darby – Batman! If you look at Batman, he didn’t have superpowers, he had what he had and he still changed the world.
Leave a Reply