I'm a small business owner here in downtown Pasco for the last 26 years, Rotarian, former football coach and Pasco Parks & Rec. volunteer.

I will use my experience and knowledge as a baseline, but will seek to represent the prevailing viewpoints of District 5.

A combination of both experience and the voters' wishes should provide the optimum information needed to make a prident policy decision.

I am out knocking doors every single weekend, meeting the residents of Pasco. It is my duty to take forward the information I get from residents to the City. It helps me to shape my opinion on matters.

As a city we should make the flow of traffic our number one priority since there are projections of another 50,000 people moving to Pasco in the next 20 years. We need to have more freeway interchanges, 4 lane side roads like road 100 and move traffic along so as the mess that is road 68 doesn't happen again.

Car traffic is one of the biggest concerns for residents. It is a quality of life issue and something that must be seriously considered. These aren't dualistic ideas. Mitigating traffic is one of my priorities as a current planning commissioner while also planning "walkable neighborhoods." I have voted in favor of implementing bike paths throughout Pasco and voted in favor of connectivity of bike paths throughout the Mid Columbia region.

Pasco is both urban and suburban, requiring transportation that suits both.

Pasco must balance several forces, preserving its small town residential feel, but also carefully develop its urban core. We currently miss out on retail revenues leaving our city across the river.

As a planning commissioner, I take stock of the amount of land we have for housing. Then, I look at of that housing what are the various types and percentages of those types of housing. Another consideration I make when advising Pasco City Council on how to prioritize their housing goals are to look at our population. Pasco has median age of 28-34. These are young professionals, working people, families. As a city we need to provide enough housing for all the different economic groups that exist in Pasco from young to old.

The city sets planning priorities which can either shrink or grow housing stock (supply/demand). The city should have a variety of zoning options to manage growth and keep affordable options available.

As a city we can slow down growth (like what happened when the former City Council enacted impact fees) but as a City Council we can also work with developers to insure a well thought out city plan. Having a well thought out Capital Improvement Plan in the long run should reduce housing costs as well.

Providing affordable housing is not the city's responsibility and does not equate to eliminating homelessness. City input for planning of housing plats should act as guidelines for the free market forces involved in developing housing. I have seen the affordable housing provided by the socialist and communist countries in Eastern Europe, and no one wants to live in it.

Free enterprise does this job best, and government interference should be kept to a minimum of proper planning, thereby saving the taxpayers a lot of money.

It is great when private entities build projects like an aquatics center or outdoor theaters as overall the projects tend to be more cost efficient. On the other hand if citizens are willing to pay more taxes for amenities on a city level I'm always willing to listen.

Culture flourishes in the private sector. However the city should encourage cultural expression and include such involvement in public works projects.

Pasco currently has the aquatics park as a prime example of this. This is something the residents of Pasco have voted for in a super majority back when we had a Tri Cities wide vote on it. Seven years has passed and private sector has not come in to answer that call. Now, in a community wide effort that includes residents, Public Facilities District, Pasco City Council, people of all political leanings or apolitical people---they have joined their voices together to get this language in the RCWs and before voters on next year's ballot. If it is the will of the people, the City should support that.

When people come to the Tri Cities, they don't see the difference between Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick. If Pasco were to have a Public Market or an Aquatics Park, surrounding cities stand to benefit from those out of town visitors. Visitors potentially would stop in one of the other cities for food, gas, and other shopping. If we can adopt a more collaborative spirit in the Mid Columbia region, we will be successful together.

Yes a large set of projects for all three cities could have been great but they were voted down in Richland and Kennewick. It is best if Pasco moves on from the regional PFD and puts the aquatic center to a city wide vote for 2020.

Regional PFD is still viable. However cities should have the ability to vote and move forward on their own projects. When other cities "zig", sometimes Pasco must "zag", reflecting our community's needs.

The previous City Council did that at road 68 and look what happened. Massive unchecked housing growth without adequate infrastructure to sustain it. As a city it is always better when you follow a long term plan.

Because of the Growth Management Act, we are mandated to curb urban sprawl. I deal with this on a regular basis on the Pasco Planning Commission. We are getting innovative with our zoning and making adjustments to use the land we already have within the city limits. I have voted for the approval of mixed commercial/residential zoning which did not exist in Pasco's zoning until this past year. It is essentially allowing commercial businesses to exist on the main floor and condos or apartments above it. This would make sense in our downtowns or along major arterials that have retail and commercial zoning, that are close to public transportation routes.

We should guide sprawl because it eats up valuable land that could be used for commercial purposes. Careful planning leads to better economic opportunities long term. We can do that while also letting the market determine what investments are best suited.

The Growth Management Act of 1990 in Washington State mandates that the cities and towns address urban sprawl in the individual Comprehensive Plans. The Planning Commission of Pasco needs to address this concern.

As more and more negative data comes in about cannabis, it should still be a priority by the State and City to minimum its social and personal impacts with continued law enforcement efforts.

There is strong support for the retail ban in District 5 and I will not seek to remove it. Decriminalization laws still apply to Franklin County, but retailers must look elsewhere.

Pasco youth have enough challenges without having cannabis freely available in our city. I am not for bringing cannabis stores into Pasco.

Again, my boss is the voter. If my residents are not in favor of retail marijuana, I want to represent that position. I do not pass judgement on anyone who chooses to use marijuana recreationally; that is their choice and legal right.

Cities as has been shown by the large West Coast Cities have been unable to control homelessness (59,000 in LA). Code enforcement of pandering has driven panhandlers and beggars from the Road 68 Walmart parking lots by placing appropriate RCW signs in high traffic areas. The Class 4 (incorrigible) homeless cannot be made to even seek shelter in Pasco's new Union Rescue Mission because they do want the control asserted there. The homelessness problem is comprised of over 75% drug-addicted people according to some studies. The City Police have hired 4 new officers with a COPS grant to deal with homeless issues. This effort is probably tht extent to which a city has an obligation to address the problem (with enforcement). To fund further efforts is fruitless and a financial burden on the taxpayers of Pasco.

I'm a for finding a way to reduce homelessness but if a clear way cannot be found working with our community partners then code enforcement is an option in my book.

The City can only do so much to curb homelessness. One of the ways a city can do this is by providing a variety of housing. City's can be friendly towards and help Community Development Housing Organizations (CHDOs) in getting grants. There are not a lot of CHDOs in Tri Cities. I believe there are only 3 that have built in Pasco. I have been in support of all 3. Pasco can work to enforce rent control in high density housing, if it is needed. Pasco Planning Commission has created a designation called Single Residency Occupancy (SRO) which means that old hotels that are being used as affordable housing can convert to an SRO. Hotels are required to kick out renters on the 28th day, which means that for a 24-48 hour period of time, an individual has no place to sleep. There is a need for partnership to exist across local gov't, non profits, and private sector to solve this issue. We cannot ignore the fact that substance abuse is one of the major causes for homelessness as well as mental/behavioral health.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I support creating a regional comprehensive approach and improving information sharing among local agencies to better serve homeless individuals.

Pasco does a great job of providing multiple ways in which people can access city information. Municipal codes are hosted on the web and linked through the city website. All the city council, boards & commission meetings are available via video on the city website, on Charter TV, and on Facebook live streaming. Meeting minutes and agendas are also available as PDFs on the city website. People are also welcome to come to city hall and participate in person. I enjoy when people attend so I can meet them and get to know what their concerns are.

Yes the city of Pasco televises the City Council meetings along with utilizing Facebook in a way that allows citizens to interact with the city if they so choose.

The city of Pasco has set the bar high with transparency of meetings (broadcasting on tv and online) and good accessibility of city staff and data. Pasco also seeks to include and consider diverse viewpoints to better represent our community. Providing better cost of service explanations for utility rates, for example, could be an area of improvement.

Transparency is made possible somewhat by the City in negotiating its union contracts. Meetings are public and visitors are encourage to attend. The City does retain the right to hold private executive sessions, and this format is acceptable to most citizens and traditional with this type of City Manager-Council organization. We should conduct a survey as to how citizens feel about transparency, and review areas where transparency might be improved.

100 percent the Columbia River Shorline should be returned as the Army Corps of Engineers is difficult to work with along with there crazy regulations.

Certainly in those areas which are owned by the City studies should be made to assure that turnover will not impact those areas negatively such as reduction of flood control.

It is exciting to think of the prospect of having local control over our rivershores. We need to include the Tribes input because they are the original land owners. We must also consider how local gov't would maintain it.

I feel very strongly that key areas should return to local control. The Arny Corp should maintain functions related to flood management however.

The city sets the tone for inclusion and involement. I think our city council today is more reflective of our community than in years past and that's a very positive step.

Yes that is why the city introduced the inclusivity commision.

The extent of the welcome mat should be left up to the citizens.