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Brash challenger wants mayor to prove it Hand says she�s just being forceful; to Berryman, it�s name calling By Jessica Smith Mayoral candidate Susan Hand stepped out of obscurity this fall and into the path of Lindsay Berryman�s re-election. She�s been aggressive and argumentative, challenging Berryman to "prove" why she should be re-elected to Medford�s highest office. She makes no apologies for her brash style in debates and forums where she criticizes Berryman and city leaders for what she says is a lack of foresight and a "status quo" approach to governing. "I tried to give her an opportunity to show me why she should be mayor," Hand said. "I�m not impressed. And I want to be. I want to be OK with my city government." In one televised meeting, Hand told Berryman she lacked "the imagination, the intellect and the leadership" to make decisions that would steer Medford on the right course. Berryman has largely side-stepped Hand�s challenges, however, declining to respond directly or to participate in what she characterizes as "name calling." Instead, Berryman has talked mostly about her record as a 25-plus-year Medford resident and activist. But Hand, who moved to Medford in mid-1999, says decisions made in Berryman�s two-year administration have put the emphasis on growth and development at the expense of infrastructure, neighborhoods and other livability issues. Hand questions the city�s use of system-development fees to fund improvements to infrastructure. If Medford is a regional center that draws visitors from all over, then shouldn�t visitors be asked to chip in? For example, Hand says instead of using the proposed transient-lodging tax increase for parks, the money should fund improvements to roads, storm drains and sewer lines. Using the money for parks might not be what Hand wants, but it�s what the community asked for, Berryman said.Though there may never be a way to make "growth pay for growth," Berryman says the city has taken steps to relieve residents of some of the burden to improve roads and services. System-development fee increases are charged only to new development and pay for projects like the planned overhaul of the south Medford Interstate 5 interchange, Berryman says. While Berryman and Hand agree on the need to guide growth in Medford and beyond, Berryman said Hand�s proposed moratorium on all development is the wrong way to go. "I don�t think you can call a moratorium on building in the city of Medford and not think the growth isn�t going to come to the valley," Berryman said. It�s also unrealistic to expect that Medford, a regional commercial hub, won�t be affected by development elsewhere, she said. One of Hand�s biggest complaints about Berryman concerns the "vision" process the mayor led a year ago to encourage residents to define a future for Medford. The result was a document that outlined Medford�s ideals in housing, transportation, education and other issues. "(Berryman) got 350 people together, and they gave the city good information that has been turned into a passive policy," Hand said. "The information that came out of that process should have been used to make community indicators to measure how policies are promoting livability standards." The vision document, Hand says, offers no real guidance on how to maintain or improve the quality of life in Medford. Berryman, however, balks at the notion her administration has made no contribution to livability. "I think the council and the mayor are being extremely responsive to the community," she said. Efforts to restore and enhance Bear Creek, the expansion of Rogue Community College�s downtown campus and the renovation of the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater are all examples of citizen-inspired projects the city has embraced, Berryman says. If re-elected, Berryman says she�ll continue to pursue projects that make Medford a better place, such as neighborhood restoration and multicultural awareness and outreach. "Nothing happens overnight," Berryman said. "You can have a vision, but it takes an inordinate amount of time to make it strong." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.