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Three vie for City Council Seat 1 Dennis Slattery, Doug Burns; Debra Neisewander's picture not available Monday Oct 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM The following are contenders for Ashland City Council Position 1. Ballots were mailed Friday and must be returned to the Jackson County Elections Office by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. Twenty-four-hour ballot drop boxes open today at the Elections Office and libraries in Ashland, Central Point, Eagle Point and Rogue River. Doug Burns Age: 70 Occupation: Retired Education: Master's in Business Administration, Harvard University; Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Denison University Political experience: Fiscal officer, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, first fiscal officer for state arts council Top priorities: 1) Have the city immediately file a class-action suit in the name of the tenants of Ashland who have been abused and defrauded by the illegal actions of property management companies and individuals who have broken Oregon tenant law repeatedly, with triple damages awarded to each tenant and the city. 2) Institute a mandatory monthly open town hall meeting solely devoted to the mayor and councilors answering questions, providing information, listening to and discussing comments and concerns of Ashlanders and discussing councils' policy ideas and recommendations. Require open dialogue with public officials, including conflicts of interest, accountability and improving our government.   Dennis Slattery Age: 62 Occupation: Professor at Southern Oregon University Education: Master's in Business Administration, certified public accountant Political experience: Ashland Budget Committee, Ashland City Council, SOU Board of Trustees, numerous other city committees and commissions Top priorities: 1) Strategic planning — we need to identify our spending "musts" and ensure we’re using resources efficiently to meet those demands. Then we need to identify the city's "disposable income" (just like the rest of us) and prioritize the use of those resources to impact the greater good. 2) Economic environment — for me, it always comes back to economy. With a strong and resilient economy, we can do more, take care of more, and provide more. Without, we can do none of these things. Making sure our economy is healthy is an absolute must. Next four to eight years will be very challenging.   Debra Neisewander (Editor's note: Neisewander did not respond to requests for information and did not file information in the Voters' Pamphlet. The following information comes from her filing paperwork.) Occupation: Not currently employed. Former employment included 911 dispatcher, charter aircraft coordinator, airline dispatcher Education: Sauk Valley College (GED), attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Political experience: None listed