(Video now added) City council candidates have differing views
Hansen, challenger Forsman do agree on need to aid homeless
By Amy Fischer, Columbian
City Government Reporter
Published: October 7, 2015, 8:40pm
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Vancouver City Council candidates Bart Hansen, left, and Justin Forsman speak to The Columbian's Editorial Board on Wednesday. (Lou Brancaccio/The Columbian)
Vancouver City Councilor Bart Hansen and his challenger in November’s election, Justin Forsman, faced off in a Columbian editorial board meeting Wednesday, offering a distinctive contrast between the two candidates.
Their resumes are wildly different, as are their visions and expectations for the city — except when it comes to helping the homeless and vulnerable, which both are passionate about.
Hansen, 40, a key accounts manager for Clark Public Utilities, said his top issue is transportation — finding a sustainable way to pay for street maintenance, construction and repairs. Hansen said a blend of funding sources to pay for streets, including a $20 car tab fee, probably will be needed. An uptick in sales tax and property tax from the growing economy will help, too, he said.
“It’s going to take some political courage to get something done,” Hansen said.
When it comes to streets, Forsman, 27, suggested putting the $800,000 the city is receiving this year in recreational marijuana excise tax money toward building roads. He doesn’t support any tax hikes. He thinks the city should ease congestion and idling traffic by adding more flashing yellow lights and employing “smart” technology at intersections.
Hansen, on the other hand, said it would make more sense for the city to spend the marijuana excise tax money on public safety with the addition of traffic patrol officers and property crimes detectives.
Forsman, a part-time student who said he has attended part of one city council meeting and watched others on CVTV, is running for office because “I am truly for the people. … I’ve walked in the shoes of the citizens.”
He wants to eliminate housing discrimination, an issue he’s personally encountered as a convicted felon with credit problems. He lives in a trailer on someone’s property, trying to scrape together enough money for gas and cat food, he said.
Forsman, whose rap sheet includes property crimes such as burglary and theft, doesn’t think his past criminal history is relevant in this election.
“You could focus on the good things I intend to do. … I’ve tried to move forward,” said Forsman. “I’m not that guy anymore.”
Forsman’s biography is detailed on his campaign website. He doesn’t have a paying job, but he’s working on his veteran friend James Bond’s project, Broken Pole Fishing Hole 4 Veterans, which aims to provide a tranquil place for wounded veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat ailments to find peace.
“I’m basically a giver,” Forsman said. “I give away every part of myself till I don’t have enough for me.”
If elected, Forsman’s goals include upholding the U.S. Constitution, eliminating fluoride from Vancouver’s water system and helping the homeless. The $70,000 the city spends annually to fluoridate the water could be better spent on other programs, such as separate homeless shelters for families, men and women, he said.
Like the Nazis did in World War II, “we’re forcibly medicating the public” with fluoride, Forsman said.
Vancouver’s water has been fluoridated since 1961. A citizens’ referendum vote in 1962 supported the city council’s decision.
Hansen voted Monday with the rest of the city council in favor of banning personal fireworks in city limits starting in 2017. However, he had advocated for a public advisory vote so residents could weigh in.
“I’m not happy with the process. I worked for an advisory vote,” Hansen said.
Forsman, too, favored an advisory vote. He said he’s not a fan of fireworks because they scare animals and cause distress to military veterans.
“Does that really represent the Fourth of July? Does that represent independence? I don’t think so,” he said.
Likewise, both Forsman and Hansen oppose a proposed crude oil-handling facility at the Port of Vancouver. Hansen has safety concerns. Neither wants to see the city go in the direction of fossil fuels.
Hansen’s biggest achievement on the council has been this fall’s launch of the Youth Opportunity Pass Program, which provides 1,500 free bus passes and free entry to the city’s community centers to low-income students in the Evergreen and Vancouver school districts. Hansen, who conceived the idea as a way to provide transportation for students after school to a safe environment to study or recreate, was able to get approval for the project from the city council, the school districts, Clark County and C-Tran.
Justin Forsman
Age: 27.
Job: Student; board member of Broken Pole Fishing Hole 4 Wounded Vets.
Job: Key accounts manager for Clark Public Utilities.
Political experience: Appointed to the council in January 2010 to fill the vacancy created when Tim Leavitt was elected mayor. Successfully ran for election in November 2010 and then won re-election in November 2011. Serves on the Children’s Justice Center board, the Elder Justice Center board and the C-Tran board.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington State University, master’s in business administration from Marylhurst University.
Hansen also helped develop the city’s utility assistance program, in which the city helps struggling working families pay their utility bills through donations from other customers. The program is modeled after Clark County Public Utilities’ Operation Warm Heart.
“I want to drive home more projects like that, that help folks,” said Hansen.
Forsman wants to insulate the local power grid, saying that if it fails, 9 out of 10 people could die. He also wants to ensure the United Nations doesn’t impose sanctions on the city, he told the editorial board.
“I want to do everything I can for freedom, liberty,” he said.
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