EARLY BIRD CANDIDATE SURVEY: Paul Love for Columbia Mayor

EARLY BIRD CANDIDATE SURVEY:  Paul Love for Columbia Mayor

This time, Mayoral candidate Paul Love answers questions from:

 

George Kennedy, professor of journalism and columnist, The Columbia Missourian

Tyree Byndom, Host, Kore Issues, KOPN radio

Mary Daly, Managing Editor, The MU Maneater

Jonathan Sessions, columnist/blogger, Columbia Business Times

 

Paul Love's answers are below each question. 

 

George Kennedy asks:

1.  What does “smart growth” mean to you?

Smart growth is about long range sustainability with growth around a city center to avoid urban sprawl.  

 

It is designed to maximize city resources and use mixed used development to reduce transportation requirements.  It is designed to promote a sense of community and tolerance for other people and cultural values. 

 

It will require education to promote the advantages of the system.  There are aspects of the system that I believe would be beneficial to Columbia, and in certain areas it would work well.  

 

But I believe trying to implement smart growth city wide would generate significant initial resistance -- it would have to be something that was gradually worked toward.

 

2.  What should be the top 3 priorities for the next council?

1)  Crime prevention.  The citizens of Columbia should be safe in public and in their homes.

 

2)  Fiscal responsibility.  We need to make sure we are spending our dollars wisely and not overspending

 

3)  Expansion of the Columbia job base.  We need to develop new business and industry opportunities to provide jobs for residents and retain our student population.

 

3.    Should council members be paid?

Depends.  It is a lot of work, and the time commitment restricts who can or will run for office.  

 

However, a paid position opens it up to professional politicians (leaving a regular job for 3 years is pretty much a career change after all).  

 

I understand the Boone County Commsioners are paid.  If the decision is reached to pay the council, it would probably require a change in the city charter delineating additional responsibilities to the Mayor and Council.

                                                         

4.  What do you see as the proper relationship between the council and the manager?

 

Currently the City Manager handles the day to day running of the city and does so under the guidance of the ordinances of the City and the direction of the Council.   This allows experienced management to be separated from the cyclical change of the council. 

 

According to the city charter, the only person the council can directly impact is the City Manager, and simply because he serves at their pleasure. 

 

My understanding is that this has caused some conflicts with members of the current council during requests for some information and questions raised with various decisions and policies.  Ultimately however, power rests in the people and the authority of the elected officials of Columbia, as it does in the State and the Nation.  The division of duties and responsibilities might also be altered if the Council and Mayor were to be paid by the city. 

 

Tyree Byndom asks:

1.  If elected Mayor of Columbia, Missouri what will be your main priorities? 

My goals if elected mayor of Columbia would be to reduce the amount of crime, particularly violent crime, in Columbia.

 

Additionally, I'd like to increase fiscal responsibility to make sure we are spending our money wisely and only spending money we have.   Currently the city has a projected 2-2.5 million dollar shortfall between projected expenses and revenue for the next several years, and it is simply not sustainable.

 

2.  How will you implement your plans/vision to better our city?                         

 

With regard to crime, it won't/it can't just be more police.  We need to encourage more community involvement, and the new geographical policing model implemented by Chief Burton is only part of that. 

 

We need more citizens involved in neighborhood watches, to raise the risk level for criminal activities and prevent crime rather than simply reacting after the fact. 

 

With regard to fiscal responsibility, we need to look critically at every dollar we spend and ask how much value we receive from that expenditure.   With regard to the budgetary shortfall, did you ever see the movie Dave?   You sit down with those involved set your targets and work your way through the projects to reduce expenses until you reach your goals. 

 

Will it be pleasant?  No.  Will it be hard?  Yes.  When someone asks for something, yes is easy, no is hard.   I'm willing to take the heat for making hard decisions.

 

3. What type of legacy would you like to leave behind?

 

I'd like it to be an unfortunate day to read about violent crime in Columbia rather than a weekly/daily occurrence.   I'd like to leave a fiscally sound city with clear cut goals for the future and a well thought out plan for how to provide the services necessary to all our residents. 

 

 

Jonathan Sessions asks:

1.   In this voluntary position, what are your expectations of necessary time commitment? 

It's like picking up a second job.  In my case, rather than being paid in cash, I'll be paid in the opportunity to make an impact on the City -- hopefully making it a safer place to live and work, and to make sure my tax dollars are well spent.

 

2. How do you plan to keep up with a demanding city council?

As a single individual, I don't have a family to occupy my time.  Rather than taking little Timmy to soccer practice or Sara to swim lessons, I'll be working with community leaders, planners and various civic organizations.

 

Additionally, I have some flexibility with scheduling as long as I'm willing to put in the work.   My job as a Network Administrator at CARFAX operates under a work environment similar to a practice called ROWE (results oriented work environment), which means do your job and do it well, but you're not locked into a regular 8-5 job timeframe.    

 

Mary Daly asks:  

 

How do you view students living in the city of Columbia as part of your plans for mayor?

I'd like to see students take a larger role in our community.  The students currently put in a lot of volunteer hours for the community providing valuable services.   However, frequently this is done as a requirement rather than as a deliberate process of improving the community.

 

This is somewhat the failure of the community, which provides relatively few opportunities to continue in Columbia after graduation.   Students are often transitory residents, which leads to a somewhat predatory attitude, as they are sometimes viewed as a revenue source to be harvested before they leave.

 

If Columbia were to utilize the phenomenal resources of these well educated and civic minded individuals, to provide them the means and incentive to stay in Columbia after they finish their education, Columbia would experience an unprecedented explosion of growth and prosperity. Unfortunately, the vast majority are often here just long enought to get their degrees and leave for greater opportunities elsewhere.