THE FIRST DEBATE

Here are my thoughts regarding the first debate sponsored by Micah Ministries held at Fredericksburg Methodist Church. The major topics were Kalahari/incentives, the homeless issue, and taxes. A question was also asked of the Mayoral candidates on how they would work with the Council. Lets take them one at a time:

Kalahari/Incentives:
Mayor Tomzak is a supporter of both the Kalahari project and the use of incentives as an economic development tool. He stressed that the revenue from this project will take the pressure of city taxpayers and provide jobs. He also saw it as a catalyst for future tourism development at Celebrate Virginia that should not require incentives. On the issue of incentives the Mayor pointed out that we had been touting our location and character for years and that had gotten us very little in the area of economic development. If we want to protect our unique quality of life and services we were going to have to actively work to expand our tax base.

Mrs. Girvan has added a few new twists to her opposition to Kalahari. She has now added that she would try to attract business that fit Fredericksburg’s historic character. No explanation on how she fits this new position into her prior actions of supporting a prefab (5) story parking deck and a cookie cutter Marriott hotel in our historic downtown. You know what they say, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Another new twist was the emphatic statement that she was opposed to the amount of the incentive from the start and took issue with the Mayor’s statement that we had reduced the original incentive request. She went so far as to claim Mr. Honaker of the Silver Cos. told her that Kalahari had asked for 60% and he had gotten it reduced to the 47.5%.

This is news to yours truly. Actually, what happened was that the original request was in the 50% range. However, staff pointed out that our policy on incentives was that the city always gets the higher return. Staff handled the preliminary discussions and the 47.5% figure was put before the Council to see if we were willing to begin discussions. Everyone, including Mrs. Girvan, agreed to move forward with discussions. Thus her smiling face appearing in the Free Lance Star at the announcement of the project.

She again stated that she was not opposed to incentives but had concerns about the City’s policy in awarding them. What those concerns are were not—as expected-- explained.

When asked by the moderator Ed Jones to explain what was “Plan B”--What if Kalahari didn’t come to Fredericksburg? What plan did she have to replace the revenue the project would bring? Mrs. Girvan again had no answer.

Both Vice-Mayor Devine and Mary Katherine Greenlaw supported the Kalahari project and the use of incentives for the reasons of expanding the tax base, taking the tax burden off city residents, and having the resources to provide the services citizens expect and maintain the City’s unique quality of life.

Mr. Huff stated that he was not really opposed to Kalahari but felt the city should have negotiated a better deal. I would have been interested in hearing exactly how he would have negotiated a better deal but that was probably too much to expect. In the end he played it safe. Neither fully supporting nor rejecting the project. A textbook answer from Politics 101—Try not to alienate anyone on an issue. STRIKE ONE

Taxes:
Mrs. Girvan stated she didn’t like taxes and suggested that the Council should have more time to look at the budget. How this is going to help she didn’t explain. She also talked again about problems with the budget process but again no solutions to correct these alleged process problems. Yet she later talked about subsidizing the Cal Ripken facility, building a cold weather shelter, and a transitional facility for immigrant students. No taxes but all the programs you want. Pandering at its best.

Mayor Tomzak, Vice-Mayor Devine, and Mrs. Greenlaw were on the same page sighting the current revenue problems, keeping the services residents expect, and the possibility that a tax increase may be possible. They again stressed the need for economic development in the tourism/business areas to bring in revenue and take the tax burden off of real estate.

Mr. Huff avoided comment on raising taxes. He instead stated that he would go through the budget to make sure we are spending our money wisely. He did point out what he believes are the Council’s wasteful spending on outside consultants. He pointed to how the Feds deal with consultants and suggested we use them as a model. I had to ask my neighbor twice if I had heard that correctly.

Mr. Huff was provided a copy of the budget so why not be specific on how much we waste and where he would cut? Because the Politics 101 textbook tells him that to do so might alienate a voter or two that a particular cut may affect. STRIKE TWO


The Homeless Issue:
This is an issue I’ve been involved in for a while and we have made a bit more progress than was alluded to last night. We have reorganized the Continuum of Care (COC) group regionally which is now meeting on a regular basis. The membership includes all local social service groups, both public and private, that deal with the homeless and housing issues. The COC is the group, with assistance from City Staff and the George Washington Regional Commission, which has been submitting the application to HUD for funding. During the previous year we were awarded funding for the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) that will allow us to better tract the homeless and the services provided. Funding also allowed for the hiring of a part time person to integrate the system region wide.

We did lose funding this year due to our low score. However we know, and have known, where the problems are that we are not addressing. They are dealing with the chronic homeless and affordable housing.

Mayor Tomzak talked about the recent initiative launched by Micah and the City to bring the discussion of a facility for the chronic homeless to the regional level. The first meeting of this group was held a week ago and Micah will be making a presentation on the types of services and facility we will need at the end of the month. Representing the City in these discussions are Mayor Tomzak, myself, the City Manager, Chief of Police, and our Director of FRED.

On the housing front the George Washington Regional Commission has a taskforce representing local governments, builders, bankers, real estate interests, and service groups to come up with a regional approach for affordable housing. The preliminary report is due in about three months.

Mrs. Girvan talked about getting interested groups together, identifying resources, and coming up with a plan. Well she is about two years behind the power curve. Here statement shows how little she has followed this issue.

Mrs. Greenlaw has a good understanding of the issue as a member of the shelter board. Vice-Mayor Devine has been involved in the front line efforts volunteering in serving meals and in dealing with homeless students in our schools. Mr. Huff applauded the communities’ involvement in this issue but had no proposals or ideas to put forward as he has no real experience with the issue.

As Mayor How Would You Work With Council?
The most telling exchange between Mrs. Girvan and Dr. Tomzak was on the issue of running meetings. Mrs. Girvan was correct in calling the Mayor on his comment that there will always be people who oppose projects. It was an unfortunate comment as all residents have a right to speak before the Council no matter what views they express. While the comment was unfortunate I would ask anyone to provide an instance where Dr. Tomzak has cut a citizen off or denied anyone from speaking.

However, after chastising the Mayor for his comments she complained that he had allowed three individuals to “attack” her during their presentations at the last Council meeting. I would ask anyone to look at the tape of these presentations and see whether you would define them as an, “Attack.” In each case a citizen pointed out inaccuracies in Mrs. Girvan’s public statements. They took issue with her positions not her personally. So if Mrs. Girvan is elected Mayor residents will be able to speak as long as they don’t criticize her positions. Did any one else catch the hypocrisy in this statement?

She went on to imply that at the last hearing people who were opposed to Kalahari were in some way intimidated into not speaking during the public hearing. No evidence was presented to back up this claim. On this point Mrs. Girvan owes both the Mayor and the City Council an apology for making such an unfounded and false accusation. This statement is also indicative of the regard Mrs. Girvan has for other members of the City Council.



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For the most part the closing statements were predictable. All of the candidates but one talked about their experience, what they saw as past accomplishments, and what they bring to the City Council. Mr. Huff, however, made the point that the City needed to be more proactive and less reactive. That he would be out front looking for opportunities and going after them. Yet throughout the entire debate he did not suggest one initiative, put forward any type of action plan, or outline what he would achieve while in office. In fact, he followed the political playbook and stayed away from making any commitments. STRIKE THREE

Last night you were presented a choice between electing good leaders or good politicians. From Mrs. Girvan and Mr. Huff we heard some pandering on issues, no vision, nor any plans or proposals to deal with the hard choices currently facing the city. In the end we do not know what they stand for and that is called good politics.

Whether you agreed with them or not Mayor Tomzak, Vice-Mayor Devine, and Mrs. Greenlaw explained to you the realities we face and told you how they were prepared to act. This is called leadership. I'm off to pick up my Mary Katherine Greenlaw sign.