OCTOBER 7, 2010 / THE SOURCE WEEKLY / 11 ELECTION 2010


terrific incentives either. But we still man- age to get a few city councilors who are willing to serve simply because they believe in keeping Bend a great place to live while helping the city meet the growing chal- lenges of the 21st


century. Mark Capell is one of those people. While


his stubbornly moderate positions have sometimes frustrated the community’s more progressive residents, Capell reflects the kind of middle of the road politics that are almost refreshing in today’s climate of polarized partisanship. A one-term veteran on the city council,


FOR BEND CITY COUNCIL: MARK


CAPELL It’s not the money, or the free food (yes


councilors are still provided meals before their meetings) and it certainly isn’t the prestige that attracts people to the job of city councilor. The long hours, late meet- ings and the scrutiny of an entire city aren’t


Capell has helped see the city through some of its most difficult times, including multiple rounds of staff layoffs, while making sure that the city continues to provide its core services and plan for future needs. Capell was among the councilors who helped bring in much needed new leadership when the city faltered under former city manager Andy Anderson. While Capell’s major op- ponent, former Freightliner executive Mark Moseley, faults him for not cutting deeper into city services, we applaud Capell


for holding the line on items like Bend Area Transit, which the city has continued to fund during these difficult times, provid- ing a large segment of our population with a reliable way to get to and from work, the grocery store and medical appointments. While there is certainly a shrinking range of services that the city can provide, we’re leery of candidates who believe that it’s time to gut city services upon which many taxpayers rely. And while all candidates agree that the


city needs to do more to recruit new indus- try and family wage jobs, we’re skeptical that the way to do that is with across the board fee reductions, which will only add to the city’s financial woes. Capell under- stands this. His opponents take a different view. Similarly, we’re inclined to agree with Capell’s vision for Juniper Ridge, which entails partnering with a professional de- veloper to implement the city’s vision of a high-tech industrial campus with room for a four-year university. The alternative is to turn the entire project over to a developer and give that person carte blanche, leav-


T O S A R O M


ing the city with little ability to control the ultimate product, but still holding the tab for the costly road, street and sewer improvements. These are tough times, to be sure. And


K


many Bend residents are feeling the pain of the ongoing recession. There’s very little that the city of Bend can do to mitigate that economic hardship, however, the city must find a way to provide a basic level of service that its citizens expect and deserve. With his experience and track record, we believe that Capell remains the best person to have at the helm right now.


FOR BEND CITY COUNCIL: CHUCK


ARNOLD The Bend city council is a non-partisan


board, but be assured, it has its ideological divides. That’s why the race for Bend City Council Seat 7 is so important this year. The seat has been held by former Mayor Oran Teater since his controversial appointment to the seat two years ago when the council deadlocked on a successor to Chris Telfer. Since that time, Teater has helped cement the conservative majority on the city coun-


cil, a block that includes realtor Tom Greene, Mayor Kathie Eckman, and attorney and former Greg Walden staff member Jeff Eager. It’s our experience that they are all honorable and civic minded public servants, but don’t hold your breath if you’re expect- ing them to raise fees on builders, support a transit tax or rein in the urban sprawl that the city continues puzzlingly to push in the face of a total building-industry collapse. That’s why we’re recommending that our readers vote for Chuck Arnold, as he rep- resents the most likely candidate to keep the council grounded in the middle of the political spectrum where it belongs. Arnold is well acquainted with the local political landscape having spent five years as the executive director of the Downtown Bend Business Association, a position that he plans to continue in if elected. While Arnold’s op- ponent Scott Ramsay has been involved with BendFilm as a board member and a volunteer for several years, Arnold has the edge in civic involvement dating back to his days work- ing on a community redevelopment project near his independent east Hollywood, Calif., record store. More recently, Arnold has served on the Visit Bend board of directors, the Mirror Pond Management Committee


and the Bend Venture Conference, among other things. Arnold's position as the DBBA director has kept him straddling the public and private sectors, an experience that we believe helps him better understand the role of government and its impact on individu- als’ lives for better or worse. While Arnold’s opponent Scott Ramsay brings a respectable amount of business experience (he and his wife operate the Sun Mountain Fun Center bowling alley and the Casarama home décor business), he is relying largely on his outsider perspective to shake up the way the city does business. Like other conservative candidates in this year’s election, he expects govern- ment to fundamentally change the way it does business, including paring back ser- vices and extracting strong concessions from public employees. That’s an understandable goal in these times of austerity, but we’re not sure that it’s a realistic one. We prefer Arnold’s more pragmatic approach to gov- ernance that emphasizes sensible solutions, such as working with fire fighters to form a new fire protection district that will relieve financial burden from the city and finding an independent source of funding for transit. For all those reasons we’re asking Source readers to vote for Chuck Arnold.


Upcoming Election Events


Fri. Oct. 8


Bend Business PAC City Council Candidate Forum


The forum is presented by the Chamber of


Commerce PAC and will focus on business- oriented issues.


Tues. Oct. 12 State Representative Forum


House Seat 54 candidates Judy Stiegler, Ja- son Conger and Mike Kozak will be on hand as well as the candidates for House District 53, Gene Whisnant and John Huddle. 5-7


p.m. Deschutes Public Library, 601 NW Wall St.


Bend City Council Candidate Forum


Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bend and moderated by former state Sen. Neil Bryant. 12 p.m. Location: The Riverhouse.


Weds. Oct. 13, Bend City Council Candidate Forum


A new forum that includes a change of pace format, including a novel bonus question with a chance to win televised stump time. The event is sponsored by 1,000 Friends of Oregon and the Environmental Center.


Measure 71 Would have Oregon legislators convene annually each year to tend to the state’s business, as opposed to every other year. – Yes.


Measure 72 Would allow the state to borrow money at a lower interest rate for large-scale construction projects – Yes


Measure 73 Increase mandatory minimum sentences for repeat drunken driving offenders and some sex offenders. Would add an estimated $250 million in corrections costs over the next 10 years at a time when crime rates are dropping. – No.


Measure 74 Would create a provision for licensed growers’ dispensaries in Oregon’s medical marijuana program – Yes.


Measure 75 Allow the construction of a private (non-Indian) gaming casino in Multnomah County. – No.


Measure 76 Would maintain the current funding formula for state lottery proceeds that allocates 15 percent of receipts to parks and restoration. This program has pumped millions into river and habitat restoration projects in Central Oregon – Yes.


7-8:30 Bend Park and Rec Center, Riverbend Community Room.


Coming Up


the Source Weekly’s election endorsement schedule


Oct. 13 – U.S. Senate, U.S. Rep. 2nd District, County Commissioner and County Clerk


Oct. 20 – State Representative Districts 53 and 54, State Treasurer, Governor


Oct. 27 - Recap


G T L


A


ME C


H D


' O E


R T


E S T U


U I


E T


D


U E I T


C B E E A R


S K


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40