The candidates agree that fiscal responsibility is essential for the next District 4 representative on the Fresno City Council. Revenues are shrinking while demand for city services is high.
Incumbent Larry Westerlund and challenger Susan Good disagree on who is most qualified to oversee city finances and handle other issues. On June 3, voters will pick their next representative for the City Council district in east-central Fresno.
A former banker, Good says her business background makes her a smarter choice than Westerlund, an attorney. She criticizes him for approving a large pay raise for council members and for voting to buy downtown property for $1 million more than the appraised value.
Westerlund defends the votes and says he's the most fiscally conservative member of the council. And while Good has proposed several reforms to make City Hall more accountable, Westerlund said he has a strong record of serving the district's needs.
But Westerlund will soon have to rely on others to make his case.
Information about local candidates and campaignsOn May 16, less than three weeks before the election, Westerlund will turn over his campaign to his wife and mother and prepare for military duty in Iraq. A lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve, he expects his deployment to last 12 months.
The City Council recently picked an attorney with a downtown private practice to fill the remainder of Westerlund's term. The next council will have to assign a temporary replacement if Westerlund is re-elected.
Good says Westerlund is entitled to serve the country and run for office. But she criticizes him for missing candidate forums before his deployment.
"It's unfortunate. We have an opportunity to see the vast differences between the two of us," she said.
Good worked in banking for nearly 20 years before becoming district director for then-state Sen. Jim Costa, and then his successor, state Sen. Dean Florez. She has been district director since 1996.
Good questions Westerlund's approval of a pay raise for council members. In 2006, the council unanimously approved a 46% raise for council members and a 31% raise for the mayor.
Westerlund won't get the higher salary, $65,000 a year, unless he wins another term. He currently earns $44,511 a year.
Still, Good says the higher pay is inappropriate because it's more than most people make in District 4.
Westerlund defends the vote, saying the higher salary was needed to attract high-quality City Council candidates.
As another example of Westerlund's fiscal record, Good points to his approval of a land purchase downtown for $3 million in 2005. The council voted 4-3 to buy the land on M Street for a planned hotel.
The land remains empty, a testament to failed negotiations, Good said. The city should have set up a purchase contingent on the hotel construction, she said.
What's more, the city paid too much, she said.
Westerlund said the city paid more than the appraised value because of a prior agreement with the owners. The city would have lost in court if it had not paid off the owners for the prior agreement, he said.
Westerlund said he consistently probes spending proposals to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. He cited his creation last year of an audit committee, which includes him and Council Member Blong Xiong and meets periodically to review the administration's financial practices.
Westerlund said he spends a lot of time identifying specific district needs, such as traffic controls and hazardous railroad crossings, and getting them fixed.
But Good said more accountability is needed at City Hall. She has come up with a list of 22 "Good Reforms." The proposals include posting council agendas earlier and making the calendars of council members and the mayor publicly available.
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