More than a dozen East Lansing residents gathered Monday for “Meet the Candidates Night” to question the four East Lansing City Council candidates.
The hour and a half debate between candidates Kevin Beard, Liz Harrow, Vic Loomis and incumbent Bill Sharp was hosted by the Bailey Community Association and held in the Bailey Community Center, 300 Bailey St.
The Bailey Community Association has been an organized group for more than 30 years and has has hosted a “Meet the Candidates Night” for almost as long, association chairman Jim Liesman said.
“We’ve set up a meeting every year for the past 20 or 30 years,” he said. “We do it to inform the Bailey Community - and the rest of the community - on the candidates before the election.”
While the candidates’ responses were very similar on issues of neighborhood conservation, the distribution of liquor licenses and the university’s and city’s views for the next 20 years, candidates’ plans for revamping and balancing the city budget differed slightly.
But all four candidates agreed the issue of balancing the budget could take the foreground in the remaining weeks of the campaign as a result of the slowing economy after Sept. 11 and a loss of some federal funding following the 2000 Census.
Beard suggested a delay on capital improvements, reminding citizens that everyone needs to watch their pockets as a result of recent events.
“When this campaign began, no one foresaw the events of Sept. 11,” he said. “As a city we need to be responsible with our cash just as each of us do in our personal life as we balance our own checkbooks.”
He said small cuts from many projects could be the solution.
Harrow agreed, saying she did not like the idea of completely cutting any city programs.
“I’d like to really look at the police and fire departments to make sure all their programs are truly essential,” she said. “Just like in the national budget we wouldn’t want to protect all aspects of defense and sacrifice all social services. We need fair cuts across all the services.”
Loomis and Sharp agreed with their co-candidates, stating a need to keep essential programs and make cuts where possible.
But Loomis said the decision should be made by department heads within city hall. Sharp said he didn’t believe in cuts from the so-called defense budget of police and fire, and instead he suggested an overall leaning down of city hall staff.
He highlighted some of his city council projects.
“There have been many things I am responsible for or had a hand in that I am very proud of,” he said.
The city council election will be held Nov. 6.
