10A | OCTOBER 29, 2020 Candidates from A1 to bring attention to the na- tion’s state of division and the need to keep the Cottage Grove community united. “I’m mostly running be- cause I’ve watched politics go completely mad in the last year and I want to talk to peo- ple and say, ‘We need to find a way to get along,’” he said. “I’m honestly not really running to win. I’m voting for Jeff.” Some of the following top- ics were discussed during the forum: • City Budget and Charter In general, candidates spoke favorably of the way the city’s budget has been handled considering the year’s uncer- tainty. Ervin suggested increasing community promotions and investing more in the city’s image while Gowing pointed out that the city has failing streets which should receive attention. In reference to the city charter, DelSol advocated for rank-choice voting system such as STAR voting. “I would like to see more people on the ballot and not have single entries in there to encourage participation,” he said. • City support for business community | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Candidates agreed that the city maintained a supportive role of the business commu- nity. Gowing and Roberts praised the city’s various ef- forts such the COVID-relief loan program, options for parklets and free mask distri- bution. While praising the city’s overall support of local busi- nesses, DelSol expressed a need to keep vigilant of the city’s focus on smaller, local businesses as opposed to larg- er corporate giants. He also thought greater flexibility in fixing downtown buildings would be helpful. Ervin and Savage empha- sized the importance of keep- ing dollars local. “I think it’s important that the dollars that we earn here are spent here,” said Savage. • Housing Housing projects such as those associated with DevNW, Cottage Village and Legion Cottages received praise from candidates and there was gen- eral agreement that the city was moving in the right di- rection when it came to pro- grams such as MUPTE and the Housing Development Cost Assistance Program. “I’d like to see more low-in- come and affordable housing come in to balance out our work force,” said Roberts. “I think we get an A plus on housing at this point, but more is always better.” Savage made similar points in that she would like to see all kinds of housing and the city must ask itself, “How do we keep people here?” • Urban renewal districts While Savage said she would like to learn more be- fore making a decision, both DelSol and Stinnett said they believed urban renewal efforts were worthwhile projects, but any increased taxation de- served deeper consideration. Other candidates were more cautious about the idea, expressing a need to consider projects on a case-by-case ba- sis. “It’s got to be a right fit for the right time for the right outcomes,” said Ervin. • Martin v Boise Ninth Cir- cuit Court Case Opinions differed on how to approach the issue of home- lessness in the area. “I would like to explore something that works to es- tablish a permanent shelter in Cottage Grove for those who find themselves unhoused,” said Stinnett. DelSol agreed and added his support for the city’s de- cision to purchase Pallet Shel- ters. Ervin expressed his con- cern about property crime and was not in favor of a per- manent shelter. “I think the role of tak- ing care of the poor and the destitute is incumbent upon individuals and groups of in- dividuals banded together,” he said. “And each of those indi- viduals is part of that buy-in. I don’t think it should be placed on people unwillingly. … But compassion on an individual basis and collectively is im- portant.” Gowing focused on seeking out the root causes of home- lessness. “I feel that we need to work on finding out why people are homeless and help them to become not homeless,” he said. “If it’s a drug or alcohol addiction, we need to help them some treatment and help them get back to where they can hold down a job and help them get into permanent housing.” Roberts said he wanted to see a permanent shelter with all the services people need to get back on their feet under one roof. Savage recommended fo- cusing on housing first so that people can bootstrap them- selves through the avenue of ownership over one’s growth. • City council relationship with city manager and com- munity Candidates overall agreed that the council is generally responsive to community con- cerns, but that improvements can always be made. Special praise was given to City Manager Richard Meyers from all candidates as well. “The city manager is the CEO of city and the city coun- cil is the board of directors basically,” said Gowing. “So we’re there to implement pol- icies and procedures, but he’s the one that runs the city and I think we have a really good re- lationship with the city coun- cil and the city manager.” • Greatest challenge for the city Dealing with growth emerged as candidates’ main concern among the city’s chal- lenges. Ervin said that growth is in- evitable, so determining how to create a vision for the fu- ture deserves careful attention moving forward. Meanwhile, Roberts advo- cated for “balanced growth” by taking care of housing and roads, while Savage pointed to the need for a well-informed and educated approach in the face of uncertainty. Stinnett said that estab- lishing an identity for the community was important to fulfilling any vision of growth and inviting more voices to that discussion would aid in that endeavor. DelSol, meanwhile, was mainly concerned with a cul- tural and political divide. “The political divide has people in such a state of mis- trust,” he said, admonishing the politicization of issues such as wearing masks. He added that the city council can have a leadership role in estab- lishing unity. Finally, Gowing highlight- ed the financial disruption of people’s lives caused by COVID-19 as his main con- cern. During the audience call-in portion of the forum, candi- dates highlighted the limita- tions of the city to address specific rural concerns but pointed to some solutions. Stinnett, DelSol and Rob- erts, for example, advocated for a rural representative to communicate with the city council while Ervin talked about the importance for ac- cessibility and transportation options. On child abuse and do- mestic violence in particular, candidates were supportive of better partnerships with exist- ing programs. Support for services such as 90by30 and Family Relief Nursery were raised as imper- ative to addressing the issue as well as bringing awareness of those services to the wider community. Your connection to local professionals in every area of home improvement. 10 Year Labor Warranty OREGON METAL ROOFING CCB# 230471 Cottage Grove • 541-649-1507 ALPINE HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CCB# 193586 Full Service Heating & Cooling aplineheating.org • 541-942-857 Stylish Furniture at Great Prices HOMESTEAD FURNITURE 615 Main St • Cottage Grove 541-942-8711 • homesteadcg.com New Installation, Service and repairs DAVE’S PUMP & CONSTRUCTION Durable & Beautiful Flooring for every room ROGERS & SON 1324 E. 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