The Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association (SCNA) sponsored a candidates' forum on Saturday, March 20. The candidates for City Council are, from left to right, Leticia Hilbert, Patrick Kennedy, Henry Harry, Terre Johnson, and Jay Schenirer. At right, former SCNA President Dan Murphy.
The audience asks questions.After the Assembly District 9 debate, I stayed for the District 5 City Council candidates.
The candidates seemed united on one subject: the Sierra-Curtis Neighborhood Association (SCNA) is awesome! At one point, after much mutual agreement regarding the insufficiencies of the Petrovich development proposal, someone leaned over and whispered sarcastically "I can't believe they agree on so much!" I replied "We just haven't found the issue to separate them yet."
So, I asked about my pet hobbyhorse: jumping city utility rates (I posted an analysis regarding these rates last month). Leticia Hilbert responded with a surprising suggestion for a solution: privatization. The other candidates, however, responded with variations on a theme: tailoring rates to usage. Henry Harry was concerned about the illegal diversion of rate-payer funds into the general fund (something that bothered me less, because the diversion was apparently done in order to deal with illegal dumping). Patrick Kennedy was angry that large users (such as the proposed Nestle's water-bottling plant) would be charged the same rates as individual households. Terre Johnson talked about rate triggers to flag unsupportable rate increases. Jay Schenirer favored differential rates depending on utilization of city services.
So, not quite enough to separate the candidates, but a start!
Prior to the forum, I had been split between supporting Terre Johnson and Jay Schenirer. I hoped the forum would help make the choice for me. Instead, I think the choice is more complicated now. Patrick Kennedy and Henry Harry also demonstrated formidable command of the issues. I'll have to think more about this....
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