Editor’s note: This is the first of a four-part series of answers from Sweet Home’s eight City Council candidates to questions presented by The New Era editorial staff.
Eight candidates are running for four City Council seats in the Nov. 8 election. The top four vote-getters will serve terms beginning Jan. 1 – four years for the top three and a two-year term for the fourth-place candidate.
The New Era presented a list of 18 questions to the candidates and will publish their answers weekly through Oct. 19, when ballots are delivered to local post offices.
Also, the public is invited to attend a City Council candidate forum at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Jim Riggs Community Center. More details on that event will follow.
The following are the candidates in randomized order using random.org. In the following questions, the list is adjusted downward by one, with the eighth candidate moved to the top.
Here are the candidates:
Susan Coleman, 44, is a home engineer. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in Christian education and a master of arts degree in intercultural studies.
She is a volunteer at Hillside Fellowship, Mid-Valley Women of Christ and HOPE Center. She has volunteered at Sweet Home Junior High, Oak Heights and East Linn Christian Academy.
She is married to Matt Coleman. They have four children: Emily, 19; Anna, 15; Nathaniel, 12; and Madalyn, 6.
Dave Trask, 66, is a retired CenturyLink installer. He is a 1968 graduate of Sweet Home High School.
He has volunteered as a firefighter with the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District for 44 years. He also has coached youth sports and has four children.
He is an incumbent on the council.
Theresa Howard, 65, is retired. She attended one semester of junior college and is involved in the Fair Share Gleaners and Sweet Home Area Voters Alliance.
She is married to Gerald (Jerry) and has two children, including a daughter who is a registered nurse and a son who works in the oil fields in Texas.
Andrew Christopher Allen, 34, is a business owner. He graduated from Sweet Home High School in 2001 and earned a bachelor of science degree in finance at Boise State University.
He is a member of the city Budget Committee and Parks Board.
He is engaged to Dana Simonson and has two children, Christopher and Lexi.
Diane E. Gerson, 80, is a retired school administrator. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Whittier College and master’s and doctoral degrees from Brigham Young University.
She has served on the Sweet Home School District Board of Directors, the Sweet Home Economic Development Group Board of Directors, and the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
She is the former president of the KidCo Head Start Board of Directors and former chairwoman of the Linn County Commission on Children and Families.
She is the president of the local FA Chapter of the PEO and a member of the Sweet Home Economic Development Group Board of Directors. She also is involved in the Friends of the Library. She is a member of the Library Board and chairwoman of the Budget Committee.
She was married to the late Gus Gerson and has three adult children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
She is an incumbent.
Lisa Gourley, 55, is a special education assistant at Sweet Home High School. She is a graduate of Sweet Home High School, with various additional training.
As president of the Linn-Benton-Lincoln Central Labor Council and correlation chairwoman for the Councils for the State of Oregon, she coordinates communications and community outreach among a variety of volunteers and organizations, including the annual “Easter Egg Hunt and Breakfast” at the Corvallis Outreach Center and the annual “Turkey Run” in Albany.
She also was a co-organizer of the “First Book” event in Sweet Home. As Zone III director for the Oregon School Employees Association, she works with staff from 21 different school districts throughout the Willamette Valley.
“My volunteer experience is varied and extensive,” Gourley said.
She has been married to Jim Gourley for 35 years. He is the current mayor, with a term expiring on Dec. 31. He is not seeking another term. They have four children and five grandchildren.
Lisa Pye, 47, holds a bachelor of science in business administration, with specializations in human resource management and marketing, a master of arts in education specialization and is working on a doctorate in business administration.
She is the volunteer executive director of Sweet Home Gleaners.
She is married to Aaron Pye. They have one daughter, a son-in-law, two grandsons and a third grandson due in January.
James Goble, 42, is a production manager. He studied criminal justice at Linn-Benton Community College. His volunteer activities include the city’s Adopt-a-Park program. He has personally adopted Upper Sankey Park and the BMX track.
He is an incumbent.
The following are the answers to the first four questions from The New Era’s questionnaire:
Please briefly explain why you are running for office.
Dave Trask: This is the city I love. Been here most of my life. Wouldn’t live anywhere else. Trying to improve our community.
Theresa Howard: I feel it’s time for a change. I think that there are too many decisions made in “closed-door meetings,” which says to me that the citizens of Sweet Home are often paying for things they never even know about.
Andrew Allen: I grew up here, left here for Boise and La Grande, and returned. We make the world we live in better when we invest our time and energy into our community.
I am here to serve in making policies and systems that will provide our citizens a basic foundation to live and grow their ideas, economic and social. We have to move from the idea that “Sweet Home has potential” to the context of “Sweet Home is potential” and further our focus on doing with what we have rather than talking about what we’d like.
Diane Gerson: My administrative and leadership experiences provide a solid background for understanding and engaging in the complex work of the council.
I have the time and the energy to fulfill the responsibilities of the position as well as represent a growing senior constituency in the community.
Lisa Gourley: I think Sweet Home is a wonderful place, with so much to offer. We have a rich history of hard-working people who get things done. We need council members that focus on collaboratively getting things done. I think that was the deciding factor for me. I understand Robert’s Rules of Order. I understand and value process.
I also understand the problems facing our community.
Lisa Pye: I care about the community in which I live and would like to see our community become prosperous.
James Goble: As I was moved from Planning Commission chairman to Sweet Home City Council this summer, I feel like I’m just getting a foothold in seeing how I can start helping our community and changing some of the issues that are concerning us the most at this time.
Susan Coleman: There seems to be a need, I would like to offer my time to serve Sweet Home.
Some have suggested altering how Sweet Home’s mayor is selected and holding elections for mayor. Currently, the mayor is elected by the City Council to serve as chairperson of the council. Would you support changing the charter to allow citywide elections for mayor? Is this important to you? If so, why?
Theresa Howard: Oregon state allows the mayor to be appointed or elected. Perhaps a poll should be done with the voters to see if they would change it or keep it like it is. Personally, I would keep it as it is now.
Andrew Allen: No, I do not wish to change the charter. The mayor is the chief coordinator and public spokesperson and should be appointed from their council peers to ensure proper representation of the council and accountability to the council.
Diane Gerson: The mayoral position does have legal authority to sign contracts, etc., and is not just a figurehead. Thus the position should be filled through a public election.
Lisa Gourley: I think there is wisdom in the council selecting the mayor. It encourages them to work together. They are able to select a mayor based on performance and experience. It means that monthly the mayor has to be a consensus builder.
Lisa Pye: I will support what the members of the community want through voting.
James Goble: I have been very open for two years now about how I feel the community should vote for a city mayor. For me this brings more community involvement and helps eliminate the Good Ol’ Boy system.
Susan Coleman: More importantly, do the people of Sweet Home believe it is important for them to have a role in this matter? If so, then why not allow their involvement in this? I think it is important that the people have a voice in their own government.
Dave Trask: I would change the charter. It is important the people of the city should choose their mayor.
What do you think is the role of government? Please give us a brief explanation of how you believe your views in this area translate to city government in Sweet Home.
Andrew Allen: Government serves as base level of public infrastructure that enables its citizens to build upon it. They are to ensure citizens’ safety, provide public services that benefit the general public, work to create systems for economic and social advancement, and provide policy for the public to move ideas forward without harming others.
Diane Gerson: The role of government is to provide necessary services for the safety and well-being of the citizens.
Government should also provide leadership to help the community grow and prosper and foster collaboration with other agencies and groups. Listening is an important skill for councilors to acquire in order to be aware of the needs and frustrations of the entire community.
Translated into action for Sweet Home, I believe the council needs to set goals, focus budget and energy toward these goals and work to be proactive to the community’s needs rather than reactive.
Lisa Gourley: I feel that government should facilitate the business and livability of our community. Anything more should be beneficial to growth, maintenance and access.
Lisa Pye: The role of government is to represent the citizens and to promote the general well-being of the community, which it represents. The city government of Sweet Home is there to promote the general well-being of the community and to make decisions regarding the betterment of the city as a whole.
James Goble: To serve the will of the community and to make decisions that best serve the community regardless of how it makes council member look in everyone’s eyes.
Susan Coleman: In my opinion, the role of government is to serve the community by overseeing the proper use of resources. By administering justice, providing law and order and providing certain public services such as sewer, water, and transportation infrastructure.
Dave Trask: To see that the city is run according to the needs of our community, also to be fiscally responsible.
Theresa Howard: Government works for the people. I don’t see how Sweet Home’s governing body is any different than those on the federal level. Our elected officials are employees of the citizens of Sweet Home, and being as such, they should make decisions based on what the voters want.
What are Sweet Home’s greatest needs? How will you pursue meeting them?
Diane Gerson: The greatest need is economic development, concentrating on keeping the businesses we have and searching out other business opportunities. Tourism is a part of this development, but we cannot just bank on people stopping by.
We need businesses that our local people can and will support, services to meet their needs and opportunities for jobs. Surrounding smaller communities should be looking to Sweet Home for shopping and services.
Lisa Gourley: Sweet Home has a huge need to attract business. We need to develop the infrastructure to support businesses that consider locating here. Retaining business and creating jobs will help many of the other issues we face, so that is a huge priority for me.
Lisa Pye: Employment, safety and protection for all through having proactive involvement great and small. It took a community to get our city where it is now, and it will take the community as a whole to make the changes necessary to improve the city.
James Goble: Economic growth is still one of the greatest needs for Sweet Home along with supporting our downtown core. This would be accomplished easier by working with the groups that are in place to help revitalize our community.
Susan Coleman: I believe the greatest needs in Sweet Home are an increase in job opportunities and hope and joy for those who live here.
I would pursue meeting these needs by encouraging the development of local businesses and building a vision for the future that the citizens can get behind and continue to take pride in this is wonderful community.
Dave Trask: By far, economic development – appoint personnel to aggressively pursue that.
Theresa Howard: Sweet Home needs new businesses. City government should be trying to recruit new industries, offering tax breaks, etc.
Andrew Allen: We need to take a much more proactive role in economic development. We need to work better with SHARE (Sweet Home Active Revitalization Effort) and SHEDG (Sweet Home Economic Development Group) on creating systems and solutions that enable ideas to grow.
We need to do more than just show support in a letter. Systems need to be built, such as a better website that guides people with ideas through the proper channels.