The Observation Deck

At the risk of having arrows fired at me I need to ask if the moderators for the debate paid attention to the format?

Mr. Endress wrote:
2) On Wednesday, September 5, the three media experts shall each post a question to each candidate regarding each of the areas of concern identified by the candidates (9 questions total);

It seems like Mr. Gill is the only one who did as listed above. It is somewhat disturbing and seems like the other two are not taking it seriously or didn't care enough to follow the guidelines. It appears that the LO staff went to great lengths to design a format that was fair to all but that requires that the format be followed.

OK, fire away.

Mr. Galvin:

I appreciate your post, because I too tried to connect the dots of the questions to the issues raised by the candidates.

Anyway, here’s my quick and dirty attempt to organize the questions in accordance with the issues and in recognition this is a work-in-progress.

I don't quite know how the flow of categories and questions would best work, or if that even matters.

Should these questions or categories be presented as distinct threads in the LO Virtual Debate space moderated by Jeff Endress?

This is a transparent, and to some degree improvisational process.

Let us know what you think.

CITY FINANCES

City finances: Lakewood faces a serious financial crisis in the next few years, with major capital projects looming and tax revenues leveling off. As Mayor, how will you help to avert disaster? Mulready

City finances: I hear a lot of grumbling these days about what people perceive to be Lakewood's excess spending. With the new library and new schools, people seem to believe we're spending lavishly for a city where most people are of modest means. Obviously, there are various things that factor into the two examples above, and they're not necessarily under a mayor's authority. But do you believe Lakewood's getting champagne tastes on a beer wallet? Kotz

City finances: The discussion of redeveloping Kauffman park and the Discount Drug Mart plaza is ultimately about city finances: The need for development to build the tax base, and the lack of available funds to adequately patrol a park hidden from the public view. If we address both of those challenges by cannibalizing public green spaceâ€â€￾and with it an important recreational asset for adult baseball and other playâ€â€￾how can we replace the asset in an accessible place so that the city retains its appeal for families who appreciate the availability of recreational assets in neighborhoods? Gill

DEVELOPMENT/INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure: What specifically is the most critical infrastructure issue in the city right now, and why? How will that problem be resolved under your leadership? Gill

Development/Infrastructure: Can you say, without qualification, that you'd never agree to sell Kauffman Park? Kotz

Development: Now that Madison Village is but a shadow of its former self, the impact of one person’s presence has never been more clear: Chris Andrews put energy into his own businesses, but a part of that was to coordinate promotional and other efforts with others in the neighborhood. The process helped the entire neighborhood by bringing complementary business and creating a destination identity. What can the city do to promote that kind of entrepreneurialism? Gill

Development: One result of retail trends is that a city of 56,000 people has to leave to buy a new pair of pants, unless we can afford to pay a little more at the one place in town that sells them. What can Lakewood do to show clothing retailers what a concentration of people we have here, all of us needing at one time or another to buy a pair of pants? Gill

Development: As Mayor, what would it take for your to recognize and work with the gay and artist population in Lakewood to increase economic development, or do you feel there is no opportunity for that to happen? Mulready

Development: What is your plan for attracting new businesses to Lakewood? Mulready

Development: As Mayor, how would you take advantage of Lakewood's proximity to Lake Erie? Mulready

DEMRO: Besides lowering taxes, what are your plans for economic
development for Lakewood? Mulready

FITZGERALD: Besides lowering taxes, what are your plans for economic
development for Lakewood? Mulready

GEORGE: Since becoming Mayor, what have you done to pursue a regional approach to reducing government expense, making Lakewood government smaller, and collaborating with Cleveland and other suburbs? Mulready

HOUSING

Housing: As Mayor, how do you plan to deal with Lakewood's transitory role in the flow of populations leaving the inner city, entering Lakewood, and flowing out to the outer ring? Please comment on Section 8 housing,
absentee landlords, the unavailability of new construction homes, the
lack of retail, street parking shortages. Gill

Housing: Sunday afternoon half a dozen police cars responded when a kid, apparently on the run after a burglary, hid inside a long-vacant house on my street. I do not know how many vacant houses there are in the city, but what would you do about them? Money for rehab? Attract more people to the city somehow? Reduce the number of houses? Be specific. Gill

Housing: high-end condos: How strong is the market for high end condos? Take a sober look at Rockport square, Rosewood Place, The Cliffs. Is this a good strategy for Lakewood? Gill

Housing: The condo development on the West End (Sorry, Jim, I forgot the name; the one by the Detroit theater) seems largely vacant, if not entirely
empty. Do you believe Lakewood's suited for such semi-luxury
developments? And if so, what specific economic indicators can you
site to support this notion? Kotz

CRIME/SAFETY

Crime: Do basketball hoops create crime, or attract it, or are they an amenity that makes the city attractive by giving people a healthy way to play? If people who play basketball suddenly have no public, easy-access place to do so, will they not find something else to do? How can a city of 56,000 peopleâ€â€￾which manages a dozen or so schools, their playgrounds, and several parks, two of which have pools, a skate park, baseball fields and playground equipmentâ€â€￾how can we manage our resources so that people can play basketball on outdoor courts? Gill

Safety: Are you capable of winning approval of whatever tax would be necessary to put more police officers on the street? Is that a good idea? Gill

Crime: DEMRO: According to the stats on your web site, crime in Lakewood is not up significantly, yet you have made it one of the key planks in your platform. Why? Mulready

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability: What is your vision for Lakewood for * 2010 * 2015 *2025? Mulready

Sustainability: All the candidates for Lakewood Mayor have served as City Councilpersons. Why do you want to be Mayor? What will you do as Mayor that you couldn't do on Council? Mulready

Sustainability: Over the past few years, Lakewood leadership has become divisive and fragmented, represented most recently by the effort to take power from the Council president. Each of you has been implicated in this power struggle. How can voters be assured that these power plays won't
continue once you're elected Mayor? Mulready

Sustainability: As Mayor, how would you tap the immense talent of Lakewood residents? Mulready

Sustainability: What is the single biggest opportunity for Lakewood's future? Mulready

Sustainability: I have to presume this refers to the fiscal sustainability of the city. If so, is cutting services in lieu of raising taxes a vicious circle that results in diminished quality of life, therefore continued outmigration, and therefore fewer people with less money to sustain a government that is continually whittled away? Gill

Sustainability: As an important inner-ring suburb of Cleveland, Lakewood faces opportunities to join in regionalism efforts to reduce government
costs, improve economic development and centralize services. As Mayor,
which of the following regionalism efforts would you endorse:

* Merge Lakewood with the City of Cleveland and the rest of Cuyahoga County.

*Merge Lakewood Schools with Cleveland and Cuyahoga County schools.

*Merge services (Safety Forces, Health Department, Garbage) with
regional services.

* Merge infrastructure management (water, roads) with the region.â€Â￾ Mulready

GEORGE: Your web site states, "For the first time in a long time, the
major institutions in the City are all working together." Please offer
proof of this, and how has your administration facilitated cooperation
between the school system, Lakewood Hospital, the Beck Center, major
employers, retailers and residents. Mulready

FITZGERALD: Your platform for Mayor seems narrow and aggressive, and doesn't seem in sync with the diverse and progressive community that
currently resides in Lakewood. How can voters be sure you will
represent their values rather than your own? Mulready

Kenneth Warren

Outstanding formation of parameters, Ken.

These are good questions, well put.

As per your own query, at least the subsets would seem to break into greater coherence if they each followed their own thread.

Whether that might be by topic, candidate, or questioner, there will be a lot of data coming in. For the sake of readability, some organization would certainly be beneficial.

As well, if somehow the subsets could segue into interactive thread for our 'Decker population to comment on, all the better.

I believe that we making history here.