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53 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, January 28, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 12, 2004 Talent contenders weigh issues By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune TALENT — Five candidates will seek election to the Talent City Council come November. Two seats have one candidate each, while the third gives voters a trio of choices. Issues of importance to candidates range from pedestrian safety and growth management to the more controversial topic of the election season: a $5 million bond for construction of a civic center on which voters seem divided by cost and need. City officials initially set out to ask for $8 million but architects scaled the project down to $6 million after a survey revealed residents might not support a bond levy of that size. Pending voter approval of the bond in November, the city’s urban renewal agency would provide $1 million to cover the gap in the civic center’s cost and the amount of the bond levy. In the one contested council race, the three candidates agree that services and infrastructure need to grow with the city, which is seeing an influx of new residents who want to be close to Ashland but can’t afford it. Incumbent Wendy Siporen, a 38-year-old former Mail Tribune reporter who now coordinates the Southern Oregon Economic Development Coalition, a nonprofit supporting sustainable enterprises and communities, was appointed in April 2003. She has served on the economic development committee, urban renewal agency board, enhancement committee, harvest festival committee and traffic safety and transportation committee. Advertisement "There’s a lot going on and I feel like I’m just getting started with things," she said. "I feel like I’m the candidate with experience in city government and with great listening and observing skills." "We’re a small town with not a lot of resources." One of Siporen’s two challengers, Edward J. "E.J." McManus Jr., agrees that the city needs to keep up with growth, but hopes to see it keep its "everyone knows their neighbor" feel. The 23-year-old full-time student and office assistant moved to Talent two years ago and is campaigning under the platform, "preserve the strengths and promote the future." McManus said the civic center is justified but pricey. "A lot of people are worried about the price tag on it, but I think that for a long time Talent hasn’t asked for a big thing like that," he said. "Our community is going to grow and everyone has different wants and needs and I think it’s going to be a great challenge to balance that and keep Talent great." A second challenger for Siporen, Ray Cecil "R.C." Davis said he needs more information to determine if the civic center project is appropriate but felt certain that increased growth warrants upgrades to city services and infrastructure. Davis, a Rogue Valley native and U-Haul dealership owner, moved to Talent nine years ago. "I know my little town here," Davis said. "I may not know every one of the issues going on right this second but those are easy to get a handle on� I’m very pro-business. I think we need to look at what’s going on with our growth in town. Since they lifted the moratorium on building, this little city has just erupted," he said. "There are houses going up everywhere and our infrastructure isn’t improving. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get to our saturation point again — but at one point or another we’re going to run out of water again or who knows what. We need to get a handle on where are we growing here." The lone candidate for Seat 2, 73-year-old William Smart Jr., said he could sympathize with voters not wanting a property tax increase but argues that the civic center is justified. Smart, who moved to Phoenix two years ago from Garland, Texas, and now works for a construction firm in Medford, will replace incumbent Darby Stricker, who opted not to seek re-election. Seat 3 incumbent Dawn Watson, appointed to the council in July, agrees that the civic center is needed and hopes voters pass the related bond measure. Watson, who owns a computer consulting business, was appointed to the council last July to fill a vacancy. Forum/ballots/register A forum in which Talent voters can ask questions of city government candidates or get more information on city ballot measures is planned at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Talent Community Center. Ballots will be mailed out Friday. They must be returned to the Jackson County Elections Center by 8 p.m. Nov. 2. Today is the last day to register to vote. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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