Maplewood forum draws five of eight candidates
Event organized by several local business organizations
Katy Zillmer
staff writer
As they described themselves, a retired police officer, Maplewood citizen and taxpayer, two current City Council members and a business owner/follower of local politics all gathered last week for a candidate forum. A primary election Sept. 11 will narrow the field for two open Maplewood City Council seats.
The Aug. 30 forum was voluntary for all eight candidates to attend and was hosted by the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, White Bear Area Chamber of Commerce, White Bear Avenue Business Association and the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale Rotary Club.
The five candidates who attended were Rebecca Cave, James Meehan, John Newphew, DelRay Rokke and Will Rossbach.
Candidates not in attendance were David Bartol, James Dykes and James Moreno-Llanas.
An audience of about 25 also attended.
Questions of candidates centered around issues important to business in Maplewood, among other topics, and they were given opportunities for opening and closing statements. Ted H. Lillie, chairman of the board of the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and co-publisher of Lillie Suburban Newspapers, was moderator for the candidate forum.
Meet the candidates
In her opening statement, Council Member Rebecca Cave said she has followed through on her campaign promises since being elected last year, and is now committed to preserving parks, open space and neighborhood preserves. "I will put Maplewood citizens first. I support reducing the property tax burden to our citizens," Cave said.
James Meehan, who worked as a Maplewood police officer for 25 years, introduced himself as both a retired officer and as a business owner in the city. "I have a strong commitment to the city. I've been a resident to this city for over 30 years and I am interested in both small business as well as large," Meehan said.
John Nephew, a small-business owner as well, introduced himself as a candidate with interest in Maplewood's politics after he started attending council meetings last year. "The longer I watched, the more disturbed I became. I want to restore our pride in Maplewood through fiscal responsibility and good government," Nephew said.
DelRay Rokke, who said he is not a native of Maplewood, but moved to the city after he and his wife were hired at 3M, stressed in his introduction that he wants to improve the place he and his family live. "We love Maplewood and want to be a part of that," Rokke said.
A council member for four years and planning commissioner before that, Will Rossbach focused on his history with the city in his introduction. "I am a 52-year resident of Maplewood ... as I grew up I remember doing things like skateboarding on (Interstate) 694 when the pavement was being put down. I don't need to know the history of Maplewood totally because I've lived it," Rossbach said. "When I get involved in something I am committed about it."
Question and answers
In the question and answer portion of the forum, candidates were first asked about the role of business in working with the city and attracting more commerce.
Rokke said he wants to see more high-paying, good jobs in the city as well as more educational opportunities for business employees, which are a benefit to them and Maplewood as well. "Businesses are the life blood of the community ... they need to have a voice in Maplewood," Rokke said.
For Cave, decisions needed to bring businesses into Maplewood have to be made together with the City Council, as a team, she said. Retaining businesses and adding new ones to the city may mean working with transportation in the city. "There is a lot of businesses that want to come here but they need to be located on a bus route," Cave said.
Meehan's comments also centered on transportation and how customers, employees can get to businesses. He said businesses should be located on a major traffic artery and be supported by mass transit options in the future. "Without the city having any businesses, the city is going to disappear," Meehan said.
As a small business owner, John Nephew said, "I think it's very important that business is included at the table" when City Council decisions are made. For example, Nephew said he thinks the city needs a new manager to replace Greg Copeland and if that process occurs a committee of citizen representatives should be formed to provide their input.
Council Member Rossbach said in making city decisions, "It doesn't work to create a new ordinance or tax levy unless everyone is involved. Businesses along with everyone else needs to have a strong voice and be a participant." When asked about business retention, Rossbach said it is important to do so, but questioned where new properties could be located with Maplewood being a fully developed city.
Budget outlook
When asked at the forum their outlook and priorities for the 2008 budget process, the candidates included their personal experiences and positions in their responses.
John Nephew was the first selected to answer the question and said, "I hope the 2008 (budget) is not like last year's, but it looks that way." He added that at this point in time the public should already have a draft copy of the 2008 budget available because at the next City Council meeting a vote will be made on the maximum tax levy; but as of Aug. 30 there was no draft available. "This is not the way to run a city. If my business ran like this I would not be able to sleep at night," Nephew said.
Based on working as a financial analyst at 3M, Rokke said the city should follow a strategic plan when forming the budget and with property values declining, the city needs to "hold the line" on tax increases.
Rossbach said he agreed with Nephew and that Rokke brought up a good point about strategic planning. "Maplewood should go back to the way things were before the last election," Rossbach said. Taxes had declined from 2003 to 2006; however last year's was the highest in a decade, increasing by 10.2 percent, he said.
Cave followed Rossbach's comments and said she agreed the budget process needs some "tweaking." Next year, she said priorities such as public safety will not decrease in Maplewood and while the council can look financially in different areas, it shouldn't promise there won't be an increase in taxes.
Meehan concluded the responses about taxes. "If I ran my home the way the city runs their business, I would be at best looking in the couch for coins," he said. The city needs a council elected that will run the city as a business, he said.
City employees
The city's past budgetary actions were a topic of responses when the five candidates were asked about staffing changes that occurred in the last year.
Rokke was selected to respond first and said the budget reorganization which resulted in some employees losing their jobs did instill fear in people still working in Maplewood. "Maplewood has gotten a bad rap for the last couple of years, for the reorganization and the new council," Rokke said. He added that while he has a goal of keeping everyone's job safe and intact that change does happen and taxes need to be kept level.
In his response, Rossbach said 33 employees were "lost" during the reorganization and that many were key people in the city. He said this is a action that came during a time when other types of employers are trying to retain their staff. "It's not like making a big change in personnel has saved us any money," Rossbach said.
Cave also acknowledged that fear is "stirred up" with the staff changes but that employees in the city are happy. She defended the reorganization she voted for and the combination of parks maintenance staff into the public works department. She said it was a cross-training program to allow the two departments to help with snow plowing and landscaping. "People have fear from this?" she said. "If this is a problem and a fear, I take responsibility for that."
Meehan was next to respond, including his experience being a former police department employee. "The city of Maplewood was a great place to work but there are a lot of people keeping their heads down, trying not to be noticed in a positive, or negative, way," he said. "It's unfortunate and it's nothing that can change overnight."
Finally, John Nephew commented that with the environment of "fear and retaliation" in the city, it shouldn't be a surprise that employees will say what they think wants to be heard. He added the impact the employment changes have made, including the financial costs from the public's pocket due to several lawsuits, is one of the top things that has gone wrong in Maplewood.
30 seconds to close
To conclude the forum the participants were given 30 seconds to address why they are a good candidate in the election, followed by closing statements.
"When I started on the council, I did it for the people, to be a voice for the people. I'm not going to just vote for something without doing my homework," Cave said. As a mother of five, and a small-business owner, Cave stressed her ability to work with people and find solutions when problems come up.
Meehan told the forum audience that he is available to talk with anyone now and will be if elected. "I want your vote and believe I can step into (a) council position representing the city."
Rossbach closed his comments at the forum stating that he is the most experienced candidate in the current City Council race.
"That can be a double-edged sword in politics. In politics sometimes the view is if you're experienced, you're tainted. I don't think I've reached the point in my political career where I've become tainted ... If you want someone who actually knows what they're doing, vote for me," Rossbach said.
DelRay Rokke concluded his portion of the forum by saying one of his campaign platforms is for a cleaner Maplewood and a greater use of community services. "I think I'm coming in with fresh ideas and new ideas," Rokke said.
Nephew, in his closing statements, used the time to share his endorsements and diverse campaign supporters. "I'm a businessman, but I'm supported by labor. I believe I have diverse supporters because they recognize the crisis that faces Maplewood," he said.
The primary election will be held Sept. 11. The top four vote-getters will move on to the general election on Nov. 7.
Katy Zillmer can be reached at kzillmer@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7822.
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