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EDITORIAL: Vote Talkington, Hall for Twin Falls City Council
Oct 30, 2009 (The Times-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Since Dell announced on Sept. 10 that it was closing its call center -- and eliminating 500 jobs -- the economy has become the dominant issue in the Twin Falls city elections.
The city has made some questionable decisions about economic development over the past couple of years, refocusing its efforts on downtown and deferring to the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization on business recruitment and job creation. It's spent a lot of money on consultants with few tangible results. And the Urban Renewal Agency's ill-starred four-block redevelopment project suffered from a lack of transparency and communication, at the very least.
City Council members haven't been directly responsible for all those issues, but they're the folks we elect to make sure things get done right. So we think a change is due at City Hall.
Chris Talkington, a former mayor and council member, gets our endorsement over incumbent Councilman Greg Lanting, contractor Jim Schouten and downtown business owner Steve Garner.
We say that even though Lanting has had a solid first term on the council. As much as anyone, he was responsible for the new contract that will give the city-owned Twin Falls Golf Club a chance to break even after years of red ink. And we agree with Lanting about the need for higher impact fees, a local-option tax and a utility rate structure that charges the biggest water users more.
But Talkington would be more likely to speak up about city, URA and downtown Business Improvement District actions that don't make sense.
Starting with the economy. Talkington wants Economic Development Director Melinda Anderson working full-time on business recruitment. He's adamantly opposed to spending more money on consultants. And as a former journalist, he believes that the public's business should be conducted in public.
Talkington isn't afraid of being the voice of dissent, as he often was in his 16 years at City Hall. In this economic climate, some skepticism is needed on the council.
We like his ideas about consolidating services with Twin Falls County -- including aspects of law enforcement and perhaps parks and recreation, but there are issues on which we disagree with Talkington.
He's wary of higher impact fees and flatly opposed to a local-option tax. We don't see how a city that's growing at 2 percent a year can pay for the costs of growth just by tightening its belt.
Still, this is a candidate with a long track record of being careful with taxpayers' money. Talkington understands economic development, has been involved in many of the decisions that shaped current Twin Falls public policy, and would bring a wealth of institutional knowledge to the council.
In the other race, Don Hall has earned a second term over write-in Tony Ash. Hall has been a progressive voice at City Hall, and as an ex-cop lends valuable perspective to the council.
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