Candidates running for La Center Mayor
| Jim Irish |
| La Center, WA |
| Declined Interview |
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COUV.COM invited every candidate competing in a contested race for city or town council positions, or for mayor, in each of the eight cities in Clark County to share their views on seven different issues. We also invited candidates competing to represent the 49th legislative district. Read more about the process on candidate interviews. The questions are listed below and quick links are next to the video player.
List of Questions:
Impact Fees
Chuck’s produce wants to open a new store to create 80 new private local jobs. They face nearly $1 million in impact fees. Specifically what steps would you take to attract new businesses and what is your view on impact fees?
Raising Taxes
Vancouver city is not able to maintain police and fire budgets without federal assistance. Do you support increasing taxes such as a new 5% entertainment tax for a baseball stadium or new debt for operations? Specifically how should we prioritize taxes and expenditures?
C-Tran Bus Rapid Transit
C-Tran is spending $2 million to study Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for Fourth Plain Blvd that could cost up to $300 million to serve as a feeder for light rail. What is your position on BRT and taking away traffic lanes on Fourth Plain Blvd?
C-Tran Management
C-Tran has been adding $222,000 per bus to add the green hybrid option to save 15 cents per mile for a net loss of $195,000 after 1 million miles. Do you support these priorities and raising the sales tax for C-Tran? Or can C-Tran be better managed to serve citizens more efficiently with existing taxes?
Light Rail
The Vancouver City Council and C-Tran recently approved the CRC light rail project to move forward with funding and construction without a vote of the people. Do you support building Light Rail in Clark County?
Growth vs. Sprawl
When I-205 freeway was built 30 years ago, it fueled much new growth in east Clark County. Do you support and encourage that kind of growth or do you consider that as undesirable sprawl that should be restrained? Would you support building a new Columbia River Bridge at NE 192 Ave knowing that it would likely fuel new east county growth?
Financial Stewardship
The City and county spends virtually all income on operations and maintenance every year and leaves nothing for new capital projects. That practice requires virtually every new project to be funded with new debt and new taxes. Do you support continuing that practice or do you have a better way to handle finances?
Closing Comments
Candidates were given an opportunity to make an impromptu closing statement, in case they felt compelled to address different topics or share why they were running for office.
If you have your own questions for the candidates, please leave them in the comments section. Look for a poll to be added soon. Please only participate on valid choices for your particular ballot.
If you want to see the rest of the candidate interviews for Clark County go to http://couv.com/issues/elections.
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