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Wednesday, October 07, 2009

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and challenger Eva Ng present starkly different views during forum

Please click onto the COMMENTS for the story.

posted by Bob at Wednesday, October 07, 2009

6 Comments:

Anonymous Pioneer Press said...

Coleman, Ng use forum to tout plans
By Dave Orrick
dorrick@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 10/06/2009 11:55:50 PM CDT


The first forum featuring both St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and challenger Eva Ng on Tuesday night underscored key differences in how each approaches the job and views pressing city issues.

Coleman, running for re-election for the first time, stressed what he called accomplishments of his tenure: solving a fundamental imbalance he inherited in the city's budget that forced repeated tax hikes, boosting the planned Central Corridor light-rail line, attracting new life to downtown — especially bars and restaurants in Lowertown — and "saving 500 jobs" at the Rock-Tenn paper recycling plant.

Ng, a first-time candidate, called for freezing property taxes and all fees "right now" and then working toward reducing them. She said the city spends too much on some of the very programs Coleman touts and suggested parks, economic development and police dollars could be spent more wisely.

The League of Women Voters billed the event, held at the Hillcrest Rec Center in Highland Park, as a "forum," not a debate, and the format didn't allow for face-to-face arguing.

But it wasn't hard to see the strikingly different perspectives each candidate brings.

Coleman frequently reminded the audience of 70 to 90 that he was born and raised in the city. He told a yarn he's fond of telling in speeches — that of a troubled boy whose father brought him to City Hall to show him a "different path."

Ng, on the other hand, described how her parents fled communist

China and how she forged a career in consulting. She told the tale of how she saved Texaco money by cutting through red tape to receive a storm water discharge permit.

Coleman is a Democrat while Ng has the Republican endorsement. On fiscal policy, they differ starkly.

"We are taxing our seniors out of their homes," Ng said in arguing for freezing all property taxes and fees.

To date, Ng has not articulated how she would balance the city's budget to make up for lost revenue, as the city's health care and labor costs continue to rise but state aid shrinks.

It was a counterattack Coleman declined to mount Tuesday but which his supporters quickly pointed out after the forum.

As can be expected, Coleman and Ng listed public safety as a top priority, and Coleman boasted he has hired more new additional police officers than any mayor before him.

9:20 PM  
Anonymous story continued said...

Ng acknowledged the growing size of the force, but she questioned the effectiveness of additional officers. "We do have police, but how are they working?" she said. "This is something a consultant will look at. Are they spending all their time in the office doing paperwork and not being present outside? ... Are they doing best practices?"

Coleman responded: "I agree 100 percent that doing a best practices audit on the police department is a good idea, and that's why we did it two years ago." The audit did find cops were burdened with paperwork, Coleman said, and he used the topic as a chance to tout a new citywide computer system intended to vastly improve calculating payroll and supply costs — important matters for law enforcement.

The candidates differed on the roughly $1 billion Central Corridor light-rail line linking St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well.

Coleman touted it not just as a new mode of transportation, but also as a way to create jobs and stimulate the local economy. "Now is exactly the time, and it is about time," he said, noting the project has been in off-and-on stages of planning for three decades.

Ng said she believes light rail has merit, but she said the current plan is "riddled with flaws," such as removing street parking from businesses on University Avenue, and she said now was exactly the wrong time. "If this was during an economic upturn, I could understand it, but during a downturn, the citizens end up bearing the costs."

Ng and Coleman also painted nearly opposite pictures of the city. Ng emphasized downtown vacancies, the perception of rising crime in some neighborhoods and abandoned homes throughout.

Coleman emphasized new businesses downtown, police and after-school programs that aim to curb crime, and home-foreclosure prevention programs his administration has spearheaded.

The only other joint appearance both have agreed to is on Minnesota Public Radio the day before the election.

9:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is there any different's between a Democrat or a Republican Mayor.
NONE
Do you really want a women running St.Paul, I don't.
Dose the letters Ng Stand for NO GOOD?

7:57 AM  
Anonymous Evaformayor.com said...

please correct spelling error's dose of drugs or does Eva want the best check her web site

9:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

1:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Do you really want a women running St.Paul, I don't."

Yeah, just get that #1 Value meal bagged and shut the fuck up.

2:00 PM  

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