An interview with four others doesn’t give any candidate much
room to stretch his or her legs, so with Will
Maupin and Patty Lent advancing in the
mayor’s race I’m ready to see what separates them. (Especially
since we heard from readers in the primary essentially saying, “not
much.”)
This afternoon about 100 business people got an early
evaluation, at a Bremerton Area Chamber of Commerce forum. There’s
still some pushing to be done on the issues, and a few more public
forums to allow it, including another editorial board interview
we’ll broadcast on kitsapsun.com. But quickly, today’s highlights
(or at least a sample of some areas where the two differ):
Parking: Maupin will fix the parking problem
downtown, he said, and early in the administration. He’d like to do
it with meters, of the automated variety they use in Seattle, which
“are the answer.” Lent agreed there’s a problem, and said the
planned downtown lot will help ease the strain. (Maupin also
referenced the lot, which could be part of a public/private project
on the corner of Burwell and Park, as a parking solution and
economic driver.)
Economic Development: Lent trotted out an idea
“that hasn’t been mentioned before,” as she put it: Attracting the
scientific manufacturer DuPont to the SKIA property. Right now the
company has offices in the East and South, as well as around the
world. Maupin said he’d expand “Community Empowerment Zones” to
boost neighborhoods and small business, and look for tax exemptions
or other incentives to encourage growth.
Tourism: Here was the first real split in
opinion. Lent said the Admiral Theatre should be “weaned” from the
help it gets through the Lodging Tax, with money being spent
promoting tourism instead. Maupin maintained the Admiral’s support
should continue, but come from new tax monies.
Passenger-only ferries: For Maupin, those
should be part of a long-range state plan that current service
should start conforming to now. For Lent, passenger-only should be
operated by the private sector.
— David Nelson
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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