Q Why are you running for the city commission?
A “It becomes kind of a habit, I guess. I’ve enjoyed my service on the city commission greatly for these past 14 years. It gives me an opportunity to have input at the state and national level in areas of concern for Emporia citizens that I’m not sure they would have that input any other way.”
Q What do you see as the three biggest issues facing Emporia and how would you address them?
A “I think the No. 1 issue is trying to recover from the loss of demand transfers, which we have been suffering from for several years. That was a huge revenue hit for the city ... and it’s been a very difficult struggle to adjust to that loss of revenue without raising local taxes. ... I think we’re kind of reaching a point where we’re kind of on top of it. We’ve got a $400,000 cash carryover from ‘06 and it’s looking pretty positive for ‘07. ...
“No. 2 is continuing efforts in job recruitment. We’ve concentrated in past years primarily on industrial-type jobs. We are now branching out and looking a lot harder at retail-type employment. ... I think we’re going to make some great strides in that area. ...
“The third item, I think, relates back to the first. We’ve made a lot of cuts in deferred maintenance, deferred capital investments ... unfilled positions., where we’ve not only cut to the bone but perhaps too much so ... The area that comes to mind for me is animal control. We should have three full-time animal control officers in addition to the shelter manager..”
Q What qualities do you consider to be most important in a city commissioner?
A “I think you have to be sincere. You have to be honest. You have to be a little thick-skinned, to take criticism when it comes. At the same time, you have to guard against the occasional word of praise not going to your head, too. It’s kind of a balancing act. You have to be willing and able to devote the time -- it takes a considerable amount of time to do it right. Hopefully, you have to have the intellect to deal with the complexities facing you. ...”
Q One of the most important issues facing the city has been the hiring of a city manager. What do you think of the process?
A “... I think hiring a consultant was probably some of the best money we’d ever spent. I think few people understand the amazing complexity of the skill set that is involved in being a city manager. ... It has been very helpful to have a consulting agency work on those issues with us. ...”
“The public was helpful in the input for creating the profile we started with ... but we’ll involve the general public again in some way when we get to the finalist stage. .. It’s a daunting responsibility. This is a rather unique position.”
Q Why should I vote for you?
A “I’ve got the most experience on the city commission — whether that’s a plus or a minus, I’m not sure. But I’ve got 14 years on there and I’ve used that as a way of having input on the Kansas League of Municipalities legislative policy committee ... Also now, for the second year, I’ve been appointed to the National League of Cities steering committee for policies involving public safety and crime prevention. ... And last year, I was very honored to receive the Kansas Coalition award for outstanding ally in domestic violence. ...”
Q Is there anything else you want to say that I haven’t asked?
A “Well, you didn’t ask me about snow removal. I am in favor of snow removal. And until such time as we can afford a dome to go over the entire city so no snow will ever fall on our city, I think we do a pretty good job with the allocated resources. The question is whether we allocate enough resources to it.”