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http://www.omniture.com --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Forum Photo Gallery Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games August 17, 2006 Council election season kick-off By Vickie Aldous, Alan Panebaker and Robert Plain Ashland Daily Tidings The 2006 Ashland City Council elections will likely prove to be one of the more important and hotly contested campaigns in recent years, many familiar with local politics are saying. Former councilor Jack Hardesty's death in May created a situation in which four of the six seats on the city council will be up for grabs this year. His passing means the seat he held, as well as three regularly scheduled others, will be on this November's ballot. Because a majority of the council is in play this year, the political makeup of the city's elected leadership could be vastly different come November 8, the day after the election. Add to this the increased political partisanship and bickering that has made its way into local politics since the last election and it is easy to see why many Ashland residents predict this election will be more contentious than those in years past. "I think it will be a debate about where we are heading as a community," Martha Bennett, Ashland's new city administrator, said. "There is clearly dissatisfaction in the community. But how that will play out in the election, I don't know." Though the politics might be amped up, the issues Ashlanders will be selecting their council candidates based on are clear. They are the same issues Ashlanders, and its politicians, have been grappling with both recently and for years: growth, affordable housing and municipal finances, to name just a few. In an effort to educate Ashland voters on what these issues mean to their lives, the Daily Tidings has created an election primer that identifies some of the issues that candidates will be talking about during the campaign that officially kicked off on Wednesday at 5 p.m., the deadline for registering as a candidate for the council election. ** More information about the candidates and their vision is available in today's printed paper. Current Comments: Well, unless I've missed something here, these articles don't even list who the candidates are for the various open positions other than incidental mentions of a couploe of them. Wouldn't it be nice if the Tidings found it appropriate to pass along THAT information...but then, I suppose it is a lot to ask that it become a real news source! David - Ashland, OR - August 17th, 1:37 PM Well dave, you are missing something. The 50 cents to buy a paper. The printed version has bios on each and every candidate. Good thing the Tidings was more thorough with its reporting than you are with your evaluation of it! Also, even the web site has pictures of each candidate and the seats they are running in. Mr. A. - Ashland - August 17th, 3:06 PM Sure would be nice if the Tidings and League of Woman Voters forums this election could get beyond the endless lip-service we always hear about "livability" in Ashland and get the candidates to talk about the SPECIFIC issues. Bill - Ashland - August 17th, 4:02 PM Aren't we self-important, "Mr. A."? The images that now appear on the web page were NOT there when I read the article online at the time I sent in my comments. Perhaps someone at the Tidings (you, Mr A?) saw my message and corrected the error. By the way, you should feel lucky I spend even a few MINUTES on the online version (mostly for the entertainment value) as I have far more valuable things on which to spend 50 cents...buying a plastic bag to pick up dog s%&t. BTW, my name is not 'dave' David - Ashland, OR - August 17th, 4:14 PM ...nor did the article have the final line "**More information about the candidates and their vision is available in today's printed paper." Good thing people like me spot your errors so you can fix them! David - Ashland, OR - August 17th, 4:22 PM OK Dave, you whacky conspiracy nut you. I'll bring you my copy of the paper if that will help... friends?!! Mr. A - Ashland - August 17th, 4:38 PM I love the comments and the fact that we have a say with this "paper". Conversation, even it is childish or selfserving, is better than silence. As the election heats up, I invite more conversation and more thoughtful conversation! Mark Mark - Ashland - August 17th, 10:28 PM OK. ...and I still think you guys messed up on the story about the guy on the 'grassy knoll'. ...sigh... :-o --David (that's D-A-V-I-D) David - Ashland, OR - August 18th, 10:53 AM I agree with Mark, let's have a more thoughtful conversation. Which group of candidates would work together to represent and influence the best of Ashland. ed - ashland - August 18th, 5:15 PM I agree with Mark, let's have a more thoughtful conversation. Which group of candidates would work together to represent and influence the best of Ashland. ed - ashland - August 18th, 5:16 PM I read the Daily Tidings....daily on the Web and don't buy the paper as an environmental conservation measure. I would request that in the future the web site includes full articles/information about the candidates in this important city council election. Also, will the LoWV be having the forums this year? Where/when? Possibly, the forums could be organized with specific, issue-oriented questions to the candidates. Joyce ( [email protected] ) - Ashland - August 20th, 9:45 AM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.