Q&A with City Council Ward 3, Position 2 candidates

1. What are your reasons for running?

The council has become totally dysfunctional in the last two years. I hope to use my five years of prior experience in that office to restore the council as an effective governing body once again.

2. What are your priorities and goals once you are in office, if you are elected?

I have no agenda. I have no plans to force change where it isn't needed. I want to bring grown-up common sense to the table. This council's hostile attitude toward the mayor, the department heads and the business community has denied this city the effective government it deserves.

My only priority is to work with the mayor, the administration, and the other council members to analyze city problems and find workable solutions that make sense and are fiscally responsible.

The workers who serve this city deserve our support. I want to study the issues that come up, do my homework, have intelligent discussion and move things forward.

3. Do you have any personal ties, such as children and/or relatives or close friends who work for the City, or have you worked there yourself?

No. No relatives, no friends for whom I want to do favors, nobody I dislike and want to cause grief. The only time I've been on the city payroll is when I served as alderman. My past record will show I get along with everybody.

4. How do you feel about public participation at City Council meetings? Should the public be allowed to ask questions or give a response during each topic's discussion or be confined only to the public comment portion at the start of a meeting?

Democracy is a government by and for the people. It belongs to them. Elected officials have been chosen to represent them and they should have their say.

Before the "old business," and the "new business" portions of each meeting, there should be a time for citizens to be heard who want to address those items on that agenda. There have to be time restrictions, but everybody should have their say.

5(a). What is the most admirable thing about the City Council to you?

I haven't found anything to admire.

5(b). What is the least admirable, and something you believe should change?

The childish behavior, the complete disregard for the law and the rules of procedure, the disrespect shown public officials, the insistence on bringing inappropriate items to the agenda--those things over which the council has no say--and some members failure to do their homework before they get there.

What would I change, if I could?

I'd find a better place to meet.

6. Where do you stand on the deer hunt?

There is no position. This is a democracy. As elected officials we've been entrusted to carry out the wishes of the people within the limits of the law. The people have voted to cull the deer herd with a hunt and told us how it is to be done. It is the duty of the council to make that happen. Being elected isn't about you and what you want, nor is it an opportunity to force your point of view on your constituents. You serve at the pleasure of the people, not a few of your friends. Forget that at your peril.

7. Where do you stand on the taxi vs. limo debate?

First: Taxis and limos are two separate businesses with two separate functions and should be two separate business licenses.

Eureka's transportation needs are unique because of the demographics of the town. I can't take that further with the limits imposed on these answers; however, I don't think we have found the solution that meets our needs. I keep hoping an enterprising entrepreneur will come up with a business plan that is "outside the box," and some venture capital. If it takes changes at the state level, we'll make that happen.

8. How do you think the City Council should deal with the upkeep and/or replacement of aging infrastructure -- sewer system, sidewalks, etc. -- and how should the City pay for it?

That's like asking what Eureka Springs should do about the situation in the Middle East. Except for the sidewalks, the infrastructure has gone beyond us moneywise. It will need state and federal attention if we are going to preserve this city. We can handle the sidewalks the city owns, if we get to it. I worked on that ordinance and the one thing that I don't like is the pattern and color we chose for the replacement. We could do better and I'd like to revisit that.

1. What are your reasons for running?

Two words: Civic responsibility. Eureka Springs has been my home for over 20 years. My spouse and I own properties and have children and grandchildren residing within this quaint village. Over these past two years of serving our community on City Council I have grown in knowledge and experience and if elected will continue to represent citizens who want our city government to maintain and improve our sadly neglected city infrastructure and to apportion our tax dollars wisely in an effort to advance toward a healthy and sustainable future for our families, our neighbors, and future residents.

2. What are your priorities and goals once you are in office, if you are elected?

My priorities and goals are focused toward a balanced budget that meets the needs of our community. I am committed to facilitation of maintenance and improvement of infrastructure. Right now our city maintains approximately $2,000,000 per year (roughly $1000 per year for every man, woman and child in ES) police/fire/EMS departments for a village of 2000 residents while spending negligible funds on streets, water and sewer pipes, retaining walls and sidewalks. We owe it to ourselves to re-evaluate our priorities and take action before our infrastructure falls into a further state of decline from which we may never recover.

3. Do you have any personal ties, such as children and/or relatives or close friends who work for the City, or have you worked there yourself?

I have several delightful and beloved friends/acquaintances who work for the city. To the best of my knowledge, neither I nor any of my relatives have ever been an employee of the City of Eureka Springs (unless it might have been my great-great grandfather or grandmother or any of their 3 children, who were residents of Eureka Springs during the first decade of the 1900s).

4. How do you feel about public participation at City Council meetings? Should the public be allowed to ask questions or give a response during each topic's discussion or be confined only to the public comment portion at the start of a meeting?

I am strongly in favor of appropriate public participation at City Council meetings during the public comment portion of each meeting. City Council should allow members of the public to be acknowledged for pertinent input during discussion of various issues.

5(a). What is the most admirable thing about the City Council to you?

The most admirable thing about City Council is when the alderpeople strive to compromise to bring about the best results for our community.

5(b). What is the least admirable, and something you believe should change?

The flow of information among the mayor's office, department heads and Council is dismal. I've been forced to file dozens of FOIA requests (many of which have gone unanswered) to obtain information related to the city's finances. The withholding of information/lack of transparency by our mayor and finance director(s) is alarming. Other least admirable situations include the shameful way Council dealt with Nellie Clark after Public Works jetted raw sewage into her home and giving Pat Costner the brush-off after she was injured on city property due to negligence, while restoring private property damaged during the Spring Street landslide without question.

6. Where do you stand on the deer hunt?

Best case scenario, not between the projectile and the intended target! On a more serious note, however it turns out it has been eye-opening and disheartening to learn how many neighbors are willing to slaughter innocent creatures, as long as they don't personally have to do the deed, just because their expensive plants are being eaten and/or due to fear of ticks which will never go away no matter how many deer we massacre. I believe there are better solutions, including a comprehensive and ongoing professional deer management program and effective fencing.

7. Where do you stand on the taxi vs. limo debate?

I am strongly in favor of our codes being upheld and enforced. We need to clarify once and for all what the law specifically entails and protect our franchises as state statute and city code dictate.

8. How do you think the City Council should deal with the upkeep and/or replacement of aging infrastructure -- sewer system, sidewalks, etc. -- and how should the City pay for it?

We need a clear and comprehensive plan for the ongoing maintenance and upgrading of our aging infrastructure. We need strong checks and balances and safeguards against mayor(s) utilizing unallocated municipal funds as a private slush fund to fritter away hundreds of thousands of dollars on pet projects and unscrupulous city council(s) rubberstamping the waste, all the while callously neglecting our fragile infrastructure. We should deposit unanticipated revenue in a protected account dedicated to helping fund municipal infrastructure projects. We need to act responsibly and proactively.