Comments on: Ward 4: Higgins, Elhady Answer Questions

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:35:47 +0000

Preliminary results, not yet certified, but which include absentee ballots: Higgins 2183; Elhady 1299

By: John Floyd

John Floyd — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:28:04 +0000

Don’t forget the $7 million the city spent to get 16 policemen to retire (i.e. stop policing) 2 years early. Somehow, this government has money to spend on everything except the things that matter most.

By the way, the bonds issued for BOTH the new police station/courthouse AND the underground parking lot were General Obligation bonds, i.e. they are paid from the taxing authority of the city, NOT from specified revenue sources. “Bonds paid for from specific revenue sources are called “Revenue Bonds”. Again, the city did not issue REVENUE bonds for either project: they issued GENERAL OBLIGATION bonds. If My Two Cents doesn’t understand these basic principles, then he is not qualified to comment on other people’s qualifications.

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:59:57 +0000

Yeah, I disagreed with Dave on the McGovern column (and still do) but my gratitude for the Chronicle’s coverage of this and other local issues is undiminished. (I really wish the Scio election last fall had had this level of scrutiny–you wanna talk carpetbaggery…)

(I hate the Skyclock, though. :)

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:49:45 +0000

I’d like to thank Dave for his complete and even-handed coverage of this forum. I hope that everyone concerned has learned some things from the unfortunate dispute and aftermath from the McGovern column, and that we never see another election where this type of issue is the major topic of discussion. The Chronicle is a class act, and this story on the candidate forum shows it.

By: Mark Koroi

Mark Koroi — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:12:29 +0000

Something needs to be done about Stadium Bridge.

By: Ross

Ross — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:16:26 +0000

So, after a “football-sized chunk of concrete” falls through somebody’s windshield, will we have another discussion of basic principles? If you’re keeping track, the estimated cost of a new bridge is roughly 1/3 that of New City Hall.

By: Blaine Coleman

Blaine Coleman — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:07:27 +0000

I would like to hear the candidates’ views on the long-proposed City Council resolution to boycott Israel.

This boycott issue can’t be perpetually left for “later”, after so many years. Palestine is being starved now, is blockaded now– by the Israeli military. Gaza’s water supply is already collapsing and contaminated by raw sewage.

As you know, Israel has received $300 billion of your tax dollars.

Let the boycott-Israel issue be heard like all other issues in City Council.

By: David Cahill

David Cahill — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:44:34 +0000

I would also point out that money can be shifted from one fund to another by City Council, even within a budget year. Priorities can be changed, if City Council has the will to do so.

The millions of dollars from the General Fund spent on the courts/police facility used up the City’s “savings”, making the current budget crunch much worse.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:29:03 +0000

A lot of people apparently don’t understand those basic “principles”. I keep getting confused by the fact that several million dollars from the general fund balance were used right off the bat. The original budget also called for using $3 million from the sale of First and Washington, which has not gone through. Money is fungible. If it is spent on one thing, it is not available for others. That is a basic “principle”.

By: My Two cents

My Two cents — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:18:15 +0000

Elhady is ill-informed. We cannot use police/courts money for roads. The money being used to pay for the new police/courts facility comes mostly from the DDA, bonds paid for using court rents, and court ticket fees. If Elhady doesn’t understand these basic principles, then he is not qualified to hold office.