Kent Reporter debate has Kent mayor, Council candidates talking it up

Catch the televised version of the Kent Mayor-Council Debate on Comcast cable channel 21.

The show airs seven nights a week, at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., through Nov. 3.

• The KentTV21 website www.kenttv21.com also carries a live stream of the broadcast, so people will be able to watch online at those times.

• Additionally, KentTV21 offers a “video on demand” service. Go to www.kenttv21.com, click on “Archived Videos” and stream the debate on demand.

You also can see this debate on the Kent Reporter Web site, at www.kentreporter.com.

Voters from all over Kent turned the Senior Activity Center into the focus of the city’s political energy Monday as the candidates for the open positions in city government all gathered for the Kent Reporter-sponsored debate forum. Roughly 300 people filled the senior-center meeting room to watch candidates in three important city races square off.

The three pairs of candidates squared off, including Dana Ralph and Dennis Higgins, the candidates battling for council position No. 4, as well as Geoff Koepp and incumbent Elizabeth Albertson, who are competing for Council Position No. 6. The evening was moderated by Mill Creek Middle School history teacher J.P. Frame, with attorney Lisa Voso serving as timekeeper.

But the main event was the debate between Mayor Suzette Cooke and challenger Jim Berrios, who traded barbs over the budget, government efficiency and traffic, among other things.

Cooke-Berrios

Though it was saved for the end of the card like a heavyweight bout, all eyes were on the Cooke-Berrios debate.

The debate began with a brief introductory statement from each candidate before the grilling began, starting with a question a piece for Cooke and Berrios, each focusing on an issue raised by their respective critics.

Cooke, the winner of the coin toss, was first up. She was asked how, given the fact the city was facing job losses next year, she could continue saying there would be a jump in city revenues at the end of this year.

Cooke defended her budget projections, stating that much of the revenue projections are weighted toward the end of the year, when the majority of sales tax comes into the city following the holiday shopping season and much of the property-tax money comes in after residents pay their October tax bills.

“Sales tax revenues go up more dramatically at the end of the year,” Cooke said, noting this was a normal part of the budget cycle.

Berrios, in his response to Cooke’s answer, said that he has been tracking the revenue projections for months and is concerned about how the mayor and her administration are using the fund balance and increased sales tax projections to balance the budget. But Cooke turned the tables on her rebuttal to Berrio, saying it was “clear” her opponent was not involved in city finances because he wasn’t aware the way revenue comes into the city is weighted toward the fall.

“We will be balanced by the end of the year,” she said.

For Berrios’ critic-related question, he was asked about his role as President of the Kent School Board during the recent strike and accusations that his leadership lacked transparency during the strike, including the canceling of a board meeting while teachers were on the picket line.

“I would simply respond by saying ‘You don’t know Jim Berrios,'” the candidate said, noting that’s what he would tell those who say he lacks transparency.

Berrios said during the strike, he met in small groups with the picketers who gathered at his house and business, often inviting Superintendent Edward Lee Vargas to join them to discuss their concerns, while picketing his house. Berrios defended the canceling of the Sept. 9 Kent School Board meeting by saying there was no action for the board to take because school was not in session and therefore the meeting was deferred.

In her response to Berrios’ answer, Cooke said she had been asked by members of the community to become involved, and had gone so far as to alert Gov. Christine Gregoire’s office, asking for the governor to talk to both sides to reach some kind of agreement.

Following the direct questioning of each candidate, the debate shifted gears slightly and the candidates were offered a series of questions they took turns answering and rebutting, beginning with the state of traffic through the city.

Calling it an “ongoing challenge,” Cooke cited her work on the grade separations over railroad tracks, such as grade separation being completed on 228th, as ways she was working to help clear traffic. She also cited her connections and experience in getting grant money from the state and federal government.

“Our system has clearly become overburdened by our population,” countered Berrios, adding that the most important thing the city can do is be fiscally responsible and set aside money to make road improvements. He also sparred with Cooke over cost estimates of the work.

Berrios, who led on the next question, returned to his theme of fiscal responsibility when asked about how to make government more efficient, saying the city should have done a better job preparing for the economic downturn, and claiming that because of a lack of foresight, up to 40 employees will have to be cut and that would affect efficiency.

“City employees are going to have to pay the price and that’s a shame,” he said.

Berrios also claimed he took the job-loss number directly from a Kent Reporter article. (The Oct. 14 page 1 article stated that $1 million in budget cuts equals about 13 employees, as a point of reference, but it did not state the number of city employees slated to lose jobs. Savings could be made in cutting services as well.)

“Do the math,” Berrios added in his response, of the 13-employees-equals-$1 million in savings measurement.

In her rebuttal, Cooke again said it was “clear once again” Berrios did not know what was going on and refuted Berrios’ number of employees that would need to be laid off – noting she didn’t even know that number yet.

Cooke said she worked to make the city more efficient by working to put computers into police cars so they did not have to return to the station all the time, as well as streamlining the permit process to be more user-friendly and include a tracking function.

The candidates were also asked about flood protection and Cooke again cited her connections and ability to raise funding for measures – including $10 million for levee work — and said she was incredibly proud of the way the city was preparing for this winter’s potential flooding.

“That is my leadership based on past experience working with these folks,” Cooke said.

Berrios said he agreed there was a lot of work going on, but said he would have asked for $20 million, and added he was concerned that there are still a lot of valley residents who do not know what they need to do if an evacuation signal were to come and said the city was not necessarily taking the long view it needs to take to prepare for three to five years before the Howard Hanson Damn can be properly prepared.

Berrios also said there is an entire team behind the mayor working on this issue that should get credit for the work being done, not just Cooke. He also suggested a tax break for businesses in the valley that are spending money to protect themselves from potentially rising waters.

Asked about the city’s No. 1 problem, Cooke cited the flood potential and said in the longer view the the key is making the city’s new residents and immigrants feel like part of the whole and engaged in city life to create “cohesiveness in the community.” Berrios returned to his concerns over the city’s finances.

The night’s final question focused on crime prevention and Berrios said “credit where credit is due” and complimented Cooke on her selection of police chief and said the police are doing a great job in their work, but also gave credit to the council for a 2003 utility-tax increase that allowed increased money for police.

Cooke said she ran four years ago to make the city safer and was proud of the city’s improving crime statistics, which she said was due in part to the new chief and his view on community policing, but also in part because of her work to create neighborhood councils that get neighbors talking and create a larger sense of investment.

At the end, the two candidates met in the middle of the stage and shook hands. With the talking done, the decision as to who will lead Kent for the next four years now goes to the voters.

Albertson-Koepp

The debate for Council position No. 4 began with a question regarding the city’s finances and whether the candidates would respond to the financial crunch by cutting services or jobs.

Albertson, the incumbent, led by saying the council’s job is to look at the figures provided by the administration and can make changes, but does not have the support to say things like “this department should make less color copies.”

“We’re going to have to cut both jobs and services and it’s not going to be pretty,” Albertson admitted, adding “Our challenge is to make sure the numbers are right.”

Calling it a “trick question,” Koepp responded that cutting jobs is cutting services and said he would first like to see a full performance audit done to see what the city is doing well and what it is not.

Moving on to flood preparations and improvements that could be made, Koepp said Kent was “behind the ball” and that while he feels good about what the city is doing he would like to see more being done, including a long-term vision to protect citizens into the future.

Albertson defended the city’s response, calling it an “Outstanding job,” and said the bigger problem is that the federal government has to fix the Howard Hanson Dam before the water rushing from it becomes Kent’s problem.

The candidates were also asked about their views regarding the “adult-themed” entertainment being booked at the ShoWare Center and if the council should take a larger role overseeing what goes on at the building.

Both candidates talked about wanting to see the venue turn a profit and said they would vote with their dollars to support some of the shows and not others, hoping other residents would do the same as a way of showing promoters what the city would support without having to result to censorship.

From there, both candidates turned to the question of a reader sign outside the venue, with Albertson saying she’d like to see a sign there, but the cost was not within the budget. Koepp, on the other hand, said he thought the venue was losing money because people did not know exactly what was happening at the facility.

On the topic of a streamlined permit process, Koepp said the process could be further improved and “standardized” and promised to be an advocate for a more streamlined process because “business is in the balance” and those looking to open businesses would do so in other cities with an easier process.

Albertson defended the city’s permit process, calling it “extremely easy” and said the real problem at the moment is not the city’s permit process, but a lack of business lending at banks and said several projects would be in the pipeline as soon as the recession eases.

A question for the audience asked about when property taxes would begin to come down and Albertson led off saying the city of Kent has no control over assessment values, which set the property tax rate for most people, and said overhaul was needed at the state level.

“This is a painful situation for a lot of people,” agreed Koepp, who also said a new system of taxing must be developed, calling it a matter of “priorities.”

Koepp continued his theme about the tax structure through a question from the audience about the city’s growing welfare population and what can be done while Albertson again said it was not a city issue, but one for the state because many of the low-income housing centers in the city are county and state-owned, not city.

Ralph – Higgins

The debate over the lone open seat on the city council was the most cordial of the evening, with the two candidates often agreeing with each other while touting their own personal experiences as to why they would make the best candidate for the job.

Asked first about flood preparation, the two candidates said they felt the city had done a good job so far, while Higgins took the opportunity to highlight his work at the county level, including working in the King County Emergency Operations Center and saying it is the Army Corps of Engineers and the federal government that have to “step up to the plate” to fix the get “this dam situation under control,” prompting one of the lightest moments of the evening.

Ralph cited her time on the land use and planning board and the work done with flood maps and said she also supports further education to make sure everyone in the potential flood zone knows how best to protect themselves and their property should waters begin to rise.

Asked about “adult-themed” entertainment at the ShoWare Center, both candidates said the city has a right to be involved in decisions as to what attractions would be brought to the venue.

The candidates were also asked about the city’s growing welfare population. Higgins took the opportunity to talk about the city’s leadership in the issues of human services, calling Kent a “leader” and needing to remain so. Ralph cited her work on the “Re-envision Midway” Plan and the emphasis she would like to see put on trying to work with developers to create more low-income housing throughout the city as a whole.

Asked about the importance of preserving the city’s rich history, Ralph said she was a fourth-generation Kent resident and said it was “very important” for a community to know where it comes from in order to move forward and said she’s like to include more historical landmarks around the city to get across t new residents the city’s history.

Higgins also agreed that the city’s long history should be honored and suggested incorporating historical elements into design standards for new buildings in town as a way to connect with the past.