Two of the three candidates for Vancouver City Council Position 5 fielded questions about the city’s finances, economic future and council issues at the League of Women Voters forum Thursday.
In front of an audience of about 100 at the Vancouver Community Library, candidates Ty Stober and Linda Glover were the final panel of the night, preceded by the Clark County Council chair and Port of Vancouver commissioner panels. A moderator asked them a series of questions, giving the candidates one to two minutes to respond.
The third candidate vying for Position 5 in the primary, Kathleen Metzger, was not present.
“The only disappointment tonight is we don’t have all the candidates here,” remarked Stober, 44.
The city needs to continue pursuing a solution to the city’s affordable housing crisis, Stober and Glover said. With just a 2 percent vacancy rate and rents soaring 30 percent in 2014, Vancouver’s housing crunch led to the displacement of hundreds of low-income renters this year. This prompted the city to form an Affordable Housing Task Force in May to make recommendations on policies to protect tenants.
Stober, who advises businesses on the marketing and adoption of energy-saving technology, said the city can set policies and develop partnerships to leverage the private sector to help. The affordable housing problem needs to be addressed on both sides, he said.
“There is a housing problem in Vancouver, period,” he said. “It is affecting families of all income levels now.”
Asked about what skills the candidates would bring to the council, Stober touted his ability to build relationships with elected leaders statewide. With his broad business background and master’s of business administration degree, he has a broad perspective and understands how city policies can affect business, he said.
Glover, 66, said she brings her ability to listen to people as well as her past experience as an elementary school teacher and a school principal. She’s also a business person — for the last 18 years she has been executive director of the nonprofit “Gifts for Our Community,” which runs businesses including Divine Consign downtown.
Both candidates agreed the city is in a “very strong” financial position because the city manager and council were fiscally conservative, enabling the city to emerge from the recession in good shape. Stober said now the city should invest in infrastructure so it can survive future downturns. Glover praised the city for its ability to maintain public services, police and fire, and said it was doing a great job of surveying transportation needs.
“I think they’ve got us in a good position to move into the future,” she said.
She wants to polish the city’s image so visitors see a vibrant and vital city and want to relocate their families or companies here.
“I want to bring people together. I want to solve problems,” Glover said.
Stober said this election is about investing in a vision for the future.
“We have an opportunity to determine what kind of city we want to become,” he said.
