With David McHenry having stepped forward, it seems Durango voters will have an election for two seats on the City Council. That is welcome news. Uncontested elections cheat the voters out of the debate and discussion they deserve. And it is not as if there are no issues to talk about.
It takes nothing away from Dick White and Sweetie Marbury – both of whom are running for second terms on the City Council – to say that all incumbents should be challenged to defend their records and their actions in office. Nor is it a knock on either to say that the voters deserve to hear the give and take inherent in a contested race.
(That nobody wants or needs the vacuous nastiness that characterizes national politics is another matter. City elections are refreshingly civil.)
City Council races are all at-large, which means that with two seats to be decided, it only takes one challenger to make it a race. The top two vote-getters will join the council, so a challenger could conceivably unseat either incumbent.
What the voters need, however, is not a personality contest, but a serious discussion of the issues facing the city. Take, for example, just a few:
Together with La Plata County, the city is looking at a major expansion of the terminal at the Durango-La Plata County Airport. So far, the issue has been largely confined to talks among officials. It should be interesting to hear what questions the voters might have for the candidates on that topic.
How do voters feel about the hefty increases to city water and sewer rates? There is no doubt city infrastructure needs work, particularly the sewer plant. But were the rate increases the right way to address that?
How about vacation rentals and so-called accessory dwelling units? Is the city on the right track with those? For that matter, what do the voters think about the city’s overall push to increase density?
Regardless of whether or when the STEAM Park project gets off the ground, at some point, the city has to look at how pedestrians and bicyclists can better cross Camino del Rio. Are we going to wait for a fatality? What are the candidates thoughts on that?
The city has done a great job promoting and defending downtown, but what about North Main? Is letting that part of town go to seed somehow part of the plan? Are there redevelopment ideas out there?
Also on the ballot will be the city’s proposal to renew the half-cent sales tax passed in 1999 to fund the rec center and the Animas River Trail. What do the candidates think about that and will exactly how that money should be spent be an issue?
Again, those are just a few examples of questions facing the city – and the voters. There are more. But they can realistically be asked only in the context of a contested election.
And while three candidates for two seats ensures a vote, that still offers little in the way of a real race. With that in mind, more candidates should step forward. They would be doing their neighbors a favor.
