[Vision2020] Election questions, redux

[Dan Carscallen]

I'll bite:   Be gentle . . . 
 
1) Would you support a two-year moratorium on any elected official doing
business and/or bidding on a contract with the city after he or she has
left office? 
Not necessarily.   Moratorium is a pretty strong word.  What if someone
stepped down so they could have a chance to make some money rather than
being stuck with the 500-some-odd dollars they make as a member of the
council?   Maybe I'm a pollyanna, but I don't see that big of a
conspiracy.  Of course an official would have to keep out of contracts
while they serve, and would also have to recuse themselves from
decisions where they may have some sort of influence or could
potentially see some gain.  
 
I'm having a hard time thinking of the "who" that would be affected . .
. 

2) Would you enforce existing city code even if such enforcement were
painful, uncomfortable, or not politically expedient? 
 Of course.  Sure things "slip through the cracks" on occasion, and
usually its a neighbor that notices it.  While we do have staff to keep
track of these things, it's still a relatively small staff when you
compare it to other cities.  Do I want to hire more staff?  Not
necessarily.  I think the staff we have now is trying to fill those
cracks by rewriting the comprehensive plan, but the plethora of recent
complaints takes their attention away from it.   
 
 Hopefully with a rewrite things won't be so "complaint driven".

3) What is your position on the Third Street Bridge project? 
This is a sticky wicket just in my house, as I live nearby.  I can argue
with myself for hours about whether the bridge should be there, but
people cannot really say this is a "new" idea, as it has been in the
plans for over 20  years.  When I moved into the neighborhood I realized
that the bridge was an inevitability.  Otherwise, Third Street on the
East side of Paradise creek would have been made into a cul-de-sac like
Dogwood Court to the south.   I do, however, think there are steps that
can be taken to mitigate problems that would be associated with the
construction of the bridge.  
 
That being said, I don't argue against anyone's right to voice their
opinion to the city regarding the proposed bridge.  I've been on both
sides of the same type of situation.  Whether things went my way or not,
I abide by the decision made, and try to do what I can to make that
decision liveable. 
 
Just to be clear, I'd have to see ALL the evidence as a council member
before I could say I was goint to vote for or against the bridge.  As
Joe Public, though, I've survived without it for the last (almost) 37
years.  I can probably make it a few more.

4) What do you believe are the most difficult issues facing ethnic and
racial minorities in our community? Also, what are the most challenging
issues faced by women, gays and lesbians, and the economically
disenfranchised? 
Being a university town, Moscow has been pretty culturally diverse for a
long time, so I have a hard time thinking there are "difficult" issues
facing these groups.  I'm not going to blow sunshine up everyone's
collective skirt and say there are none, but Moscow is a pretty neat
place to live.  Sure, there may be some who lack tolerance for said
groups,  just like in any other community,  but  I think they are in the
minority.    
 
By pointing out the differences, sometimes that causes more harm than
good. 

5) What are Moscow's three greatest opportunities in the next five
years? 
1.  We need to pay more than lip service to economic development.  I
would like to see Moscow get someone here that actually MAKES something.
I keep thinking about Post Falls and Buck Knives.  Moscow will always
benefit to a certain extent by having the shopping options here (Pullman
residents will come here to pay less in sales tax), but having some
name-brand manufacturer would be a real boon.   I'm not against "box
stores", per se, but I do think we can have conditions which will make
said stores less "boxy".  For all its perceived ills, the current Wal
Mart does not encroach as bad as it could, since you don't really see it
from the highway. 
 
2.  The joint law-enforcement center needs to become a reality.  While I
saw the dollar savings of Moscow dispatch going to WhitCom, I think the
ball was dropped by not combining with the Latah County Sheriff's
department.  Now it seems we have a Sheriff who is ready and willing to
work with the Moscow Police Department to get this done.  I think we
also need to get our legislators to work at making a local option tax
available to pay for it.
 
 3.   Water is and always will be a big issue.  I would like to see the
City of Moscow follow Latah County's lead and try to come up with a plan
to help protect this resource.  BUT, I would like to see substantive
research, and with the recent grants for said research, I think the city
will be able to make informed decisions regarding water issues instead
of having to take a shot in the dark.   Hopefully nobody drops the ball
on the $450,000.00 that has been earmarked for this research, like the
recent "oops!" regarding the $100,000.00 for the test wells over at WSU.
Of course, I don't know the whole story, only what I've read in the
paper. 
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