Ms. Jollota
has kindly sent in the following comments for posting. Please note that
there is no explanation of the
Women's Political Caucus
endorsement she obtained.
Sexually explicit displays. The city
council passed an ordinance controlling adult entertainment businesses
several years ago. While the Supreme Court has ruled that we cannot ban
them outright, it has given us the power to regulate them as far as zoning,
proximity to schools, churches and parks. This has already been done.
Appointments to boards and
commissions. The council is divided into two committees who interview those
who have applied for appointment to our several boards and commissions. We
try to maintain a balance on all boards as far as profession, neighborhood,
other skills. Those may vary within the board from year to year. The
candidate who is perfect this year may not be perfect next year. For
instance, if we have an attorney on a board, we may look to another
profession. If we have several members from the west side of town, we may
look more favorably on a candidate from the east side of town. We avoid
appointing single issue candidates on any board, as we have found that their
interest wanes when other matters must be brought forward.
As far as the library board
procedures, those fall outside the purview of the city council as decreed by
the voters when they established the regional library board.
Employee benefits. We extend health
benefits to declared partners of our employees. We must stay competitive
with similar cities in order to attract and hold the very best employees we
can get. If our benefit structure is too high, it is unfair to our
taxpayers. If they are too low, employees move on to other jurisdictions
causing the added expense of hiring and training. We take annual surveys of
similar size cities to make sure that we are right in the middle.
The major issues facing city council
at this time and in the near future will revolve around budgeting for public
safety, roads and streets. How those services will be provided without
placing undue burdens on any one group is a problem that must be dealt
with. They must be dealt with utmost sincerity and vigor. The other issues
are far out of our sphere. One thing that I learned in my years working
with law enforcement is that you uphold and enforce the laws that are on the
books. If they change enforcement must also change. I have, several times,
taken oaths to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and
the laws of jurisdiction wherein I serve. I take that oath very seriously.
We must continue planning for the
Urban Growth area. The Growth Management Act has decreed that cities must
eventually annex urban areas, or they must incorporate into cities. Our
challenge will be to provide necessary services for those areas as they
become part of Vancouver over the next several years. Those who are
currently residents of the city cannot be expected to pay more to serve new
areas. That is why we have instituted Traffic Impact fees and Park impact
fees on new construction. We must examine those fees and make sure that they
are fair and that they are providing the services needed.
We must find a way to distribute the
tax burden fairly. Voter initiatives have shifted the burden to the
property owner to a greater degree than we have ever seen. I am more in
favor of a "user pays" assessment whenever possible. Finding that method
will be a challenge in the years ahead. The business community has
recognized that they must assume their fair share to pay for roads and
streets to maintain their business. We must work with them to enable that
to happen equably.
I have served this city well for
several years. I enjoy many endorsements from those on both sides of the
political spectrum, Republicans and Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals,
business and labor, builders and conservationists. They know that I am
diligent, that I care about your community,
*****************************************
Infamous Vancouver Human
Rights Commission
ANALYSIS:
(Excerpts)
Jeffrey
Mize, The Columbian, Nov 8, 2001
Months ago,
Larry Patella came up with the catchy slogan that Vancouver voters will
"remember in November."
The persistent city hall critic insisted that voters
would punish Mayor Royce Pollard
and other city council incumbents for backing the special events center and the
human rights commission. ...
... "And when we go astray, they certainly let us
know. "Which is precisely what voters did Tuesday in
shooting down the proposed human rights commission by a
margin almost as wide as Pollard's lopsided win.
... The mayor, along with
Harris and
Jollota, had voted for the
commission. There had been speculation the issue, plus the council's support for
the $62.7 million events center-convention center project, would drag down
Pollard and open the door for Councilwoman Jeanne Lipton to seize his gavel. ...
Jeanne Stewart, who won
the only open seat on the seven-member council, said the bottom line is voters
"were not satisfied with the opponents enough to make a change."
"If they don't know enough about an opponent, it
isn't likely they are going to punch that person's name," she said. ...
... While voters shunned Lipton, they turned to
Stewart, a soft-
spoken woman who has criticized the council for insulating itself from different
viewpoints.
"The Women's Political Caucus
is a multi-partisan grassroots membership organization dedicated to increasing
the number of women in elected and appointed office at all levels of government.
Our mission is to identify, mentor, educate and support women leaders in our
community who demonstrate a commitment to
Reproductive Freedom and Women's Economic
and Social Equality."
