Document text
D'Alessandro, Herndon, Lancaster vie for Medford Council Ward 2 seat Tim D'Alessandro, left, Jim Herndon, Nick Lancaster Saturday Oct 15, 2016 at 12:01 AM Oct 17, 2016 at 6:42 PM Tim D'Alessandro Age: 58 Occupation: Operations manager at Rogue Valley Transportation District Education: 12th grade Political experience: Medford Planning Commission, 1½ years, Site Plan and Architectural Commission, one year, Joint Transportation Subcommittee, Rogue Valley Clean Cities Coalition board member, three years. Top priorities: 1) To foster partnerships with community leaders to address the lack of affordable housing inventory. I have spoken with a lot of folks who have jobs and have the means to pay rent, but are unable to find available rentals. We need to invest in our workforce. This is not acceptable. 2) To assist the council in working together to improve communications within the city government, with city manager and staff and with Jackson County. A specific example would be the city and county working together to develop a comprehensive plan regarding emergency preparedness if we were to have a Cascadia subduction event. Jim Herndon Age: 70 Occupation: Retired, disabled veteran Education: Pima Community College degree in Criminal Justice; attended Wayland Baptist College majoring in Criminal Justice and Intelligence. Political experience: Precinct committee person; worked with political personnel in Washington, D.C., and while working with the government. Worked with city on Vietnam Wall project. Top priorities: One of my first priorities would be to not inundate businesses with inflated fees and permits. We need to create a business-friendly environment, especially in Ward 2, where we need more cost-effective goods and services for low-income families and seniors. As a 14-year vet, I feel the homeless veteran crisis in Medford must be addressed. Veterans must be assessed and have both mental and physical health resources available to them. I’d work tirelessly with a multitude of agencies to help these men and women become healthy and integrated back into society. Nick Lancaster Age: 34 Occupation: Jackson County Roads and Parks employee Education: North Medford High School (class of 2000), Rogue Community College, three years Political experience: Vice president of Jackson County Employees Association SEIU 497, 2013-2015, SEIU 503 general council delegate, 2012-2015 Top priorities: 1) Keep pressure on the Medford Water Commission to continue to provide transparency and communication with regard to recent lead issues. 2) Promote legal sales of recreational marijuana inside Medford to keep tax revenue generated by Medford residents inside their city.