Council candidates share views, offer few specifics
Posted on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Ward 4 candidates for Fayetteville’s City Council agree or nearly agree on many issues.
Craig Honchell, Sarah Lewis and Bernard Sulliban are vying for the seat left vacant by Lioneld Jordan, who is seeking the mayor’s chair in the Nov. 4 elections.
At a League of Women Voters debate Tuesday, they tended to support and endorse ideas and wanted to create and promote good things for the city but in most instances offered few specifics about how they would do that. The candidates had one minute to answer each of 10 questions.
The three candidates like the library, the Walton Arts Center, the bikes and trails systems and favor sustainability and green initiatives.
They see the arts and the arts culture as key to the city’s character and worthy of funding.
All three candidates love the city and are ready to take an active role in its governance.
Honchell is a strong advocate of job training. He has concerns about economic trends and the way the city is going. He said the city needs to concentrate on a technology park, getting jobs back into Fayetteville and filling the homes that are sitting empty.
Lewis said her platform is to promote smart business and community development, uphold the quality of life, protect the community and support an attainable city. She places an emphasis on enhancing partnerships between the city, the university and public schools.
She wants to bring new ideas and new legislation that will make and facilitate programs that will create new jobs and efficiencies.
Sulliban thinks the city needs to rely on the perspective of the people who live here.
He is interested in attainable housing to increase home ownership and would like to see a more streamlined revenue stream.
Sulliban wants ongoing communication with the city’s residents to produce better cooperation. He sees no reason not to reward conservation and recycling and supports keeping schools in the neighborhoods.
He said bikes and trails are excellent, adding that because of economics, “ there are going to have to be cuts more than likely. ”
In his answer about bikes and trails, Honchell said the council will face tough decisions and will have to prioritize.
“ It comes down to economics, ” he said, asking if it would be better to use asphalt for trails or streets.
Lewis is “ wholeheartedly in favor of trails. ”
She said she understands they take money, but she also believes they bring industry which can help fund quality of life initiatives, such as the trails and parks.
Moderator Bootsie Ackerman asked the candidates to consider budget limitations as they explained how they would maintain parks and recreation programs.
“ As far as funding further, it’s just going to come down to prioritizing, ” Honchell said.
For Lewis, the question needs to be approached as the big picture because parks are part of what Fayetteville has to offer. The Green Valley initiative and becoming more efficient about bringing business to town will bring in revenue for parks, she said.
Sulliban said the parks help create the city’s environment and encourage people to move to Fayetteville. He suggested that alternating financial support, such as having fireworks one year and Gulley Park concerts the next, might help with budget concerns.
Asked about use of the city’s surplus funds, Lewis said they should be used “ maybe only in case of emergency. ” She said it would be better to rely on efficiency and bringing businesses to town.
Sulliban said the city’s budget looks good and healthy in terms of the reserve. He said he is not interested in getting into the reserves and does not want to redefine city policy.
He is interested in using surplus funds to satisfy and address internal customer needs, specifically noting that staff have not had a cost of living increase in recent years.
Honchell said the city must first satisfy safety needs, fire and police, then roads. He said if the city had money, he would invest in a research and technology park.
He said Fayetteville needs “ a real convention center. ”
All three candidates said they appreciate the library, but none was sure that it should receive the additional funding requested of the City Council.
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