First Ward election debate well attended

By Jewels Phraner

Published Feb. 26, 2008

Neighbors in the First Ward said they want help, and they’re looking to their next Columbia City Council representative to get it.

On Saturday, nearly all the chairs in the auditorium at the J.W. “Blind” Boone Community Center were full, as the Central City Get Out The Vote Committee played host to its second of three forums that allow community residents to get to know each of the four First Ward candidates running for the April 8 election.

The candidates are as follows: former neighborhood association officer Karen Baxter, former mayoral candidate John Clark, Ragtag Cinemacafé owner Paul Sturtz and incumbent First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton.

Questions from the audience ranged from accessibility to citywide festivals such as First Night Columbia, compensation to City Council members and utility bill problems. The candidates agreed on most of the issues — at one point, Baxter said she “surprisingly” agreed with Clark — but each showcased a very different personality.

Having the last word at the forum, Baxter said it ultimately came down to the kind of voice residents wanted to have on their City Council.

Clark emphasized his level of experience in each of his answers. He said he was the only one with the kind of experience necessary to start making changes immediately after taking office.

Sturtz used many of his opportunities to speak to emphasize sustainability and the environment, a refreshingly new perspective to attendee Linda Green.

“I was very glad to see that he touched base on the environment and sustainability,” Green said. “He was the only candidate to do that.”

Crayton emphasized her passion for change, explaining that now more than ever Columbia needs to address its problems head on. When asked about ways to help residents pay bills on time to avoid being cut off from electricity and running water, Crayton said she wasn’t satisfied with the programs Columbia offered.

“It looks good on paper,” she said. “But you’ve got programs around here that do not work.”

Finally, Baxter was quick to admit she wasn’t the most experienced, but said she had a passion for people and could identify with every neighborhood in the First Ward.

Glenn Cobbins, Central City Get Out The Vote Committee chairman, said he felt this forum was more successful than the first.

“We need to be heard,” he said before introducing moderator Pat Kelley. “We need to be held accountable, we need to hold these candidates accountable and we need to hold each other accountable,” Cobbins said.

The Rev. Larry McBride, who is a student at Moberly Area Community College, said he wasn’t really satisfied with the candidates’ answers.

“There are some neighborhood issues that I wish they had touched down on,” McBride said.

McBride was the first audience member to ask a question. He explained his electricity, gas and water had been turned off several times because he and his mother couldn’t afford to pay the bills. He said he wanted to know where he could go to voice concerns like this.

Although Baxter and Clark both promised meetings to come for citizens to be able to express anything going on in the neighborhood, and Sturtz said he would also try to establish a more open government, McBride said he wasn’t satisfied.

In the end, McBride said Crayton would probably get his vote.

“I’d rather stick with Almeta,” he said. “I think she’s been doing a good job, and she’s pretty well-known ‘round the

neighborhood.”

Grass-roots Organizing Chairwoman Mary Hussman asked about accessibility to citywide

festivals.

First Night Columbia is an annual festival that costs $10 to attend. Hussman said the admission price overtly denied access to some of Columbia’s low-income families, despite part of the funding for the event paid for with their tax money.

Hussman said none of the candidates offered a solution for accessibility to festivals.

“They were vague,” she said.

Baxter said she wasn’t sure how to approach the question, but said she felt that members of the First Ward should step up and help each other out.

“If you knew your neighborhood wanted to go to First Night, and they didn’t have the $10, why don’t you just buy them a ticket?” she said.

Sturtz, who runs the True/False Film Fest, said it is something he struggles with.

“We’re dealing with a city that has been divided by racial lines for decades,” he said.

The candidates also overwhelmingly agreed on the idea of compensation for serving on the City Council.

“I don’t want to come into this seat to make a profit. I came into this seat because I have passion,” she said. “But it’s a hardship sitting on the council.”