In a matter of days, two very important races that hold a lot of influence over how business is done locally will be decided.
We're talking about the race for Clark County Commissioner and for Vancouver City Council. Both governments face an array of challenges that the victors will be called on to resolve.
Clark County Commissioner
In the county commissioner race, incumbent Steve Stuart is seeking his second four-year term. His challenger is independent businessman Alan Svehaug, a newcomer to elected public office.
At a recent candidates forum moderated by Vancouver Business Journal publisher John McDonagh, both contenders talked at length about the need for county jobs. Svehaug offered little by way of specifics, except to say tolling the Columba River Crossing would be a deterrent to business and would hold down job creation. The Svehaug campaign website reveals much of the same – a heavy dose of no tolls but little in terms of what else he would bring to the position.
Stuart, on the other hand, pointed to a host of accomplishments in his five years on the commission. He talked about the need for infrastructure that will allow businesses to locate in Clark County, and on his website, speaks of "Retooling" county codes to make the permitting process more efficient and less costly.
We believe Stuart is the clear choice in the contest for county commissioner, and is deserving of another four years to work on the initiatives he's been a part of starting.
Vancouver City Council
Much work needs to be done in building a Vancouver City Council that can respectfully work together on issues where they may disagree individually. Consequently, we believe adding an element of change to that effort would do more harm than good.
Bart Hansen has spent time on the council gaining an understanding and perspective that would be foolish to lose. His opponent, John Jenkins, does offer a variety of experience that includes work on non-profit boards and as an IT network manager. However, we believe Jenkins is too focused on one issue – no tolls on the proposed Columbia River Crossing.
There is no question that the interstate bridge project will have significant consequences for the city – both good and bad. It's also important to keep that issue in perspective as the city faces other challenges. And let's not forget that it will be the state legislature making the tolling decision and not the city council.
Meanwhile, Hansen is on record saying he expects staff to re-examine department budgets and to cut anything that's not a core service the city should provide, rather than eliminate police or fire positions. It's a very business-like approach that speaks to the rightsizing of city government. It's also an approach we feel warrants Hansen's re-election.
