We received several emails asking if we noticed that Glenn Rousey is reading Walt Skowron’s notes while Skowron is speaking in the debate picture on our homepage. No, nobody here noticed it before your emails but now that you mention it that does appear to be what he is doing.
The candidates forum failed to ask any specific questions about the current employee lay-offs, city budget cuts or solicit differences from the candidates on how they would handle specific problems in city hall. Instead the general questions about regionalism, growth and others solicited general answers which made the forum a yawner for the first half. Once the candidates were allowed to ask each other questions the audience attention and interest clearly peaked.
All the candidates did fairly well but Dave Clark hit the biggest faux pas of the evening when explaining his vote for Don William’s golden nest egg (see story on LovelandPolitics regarding the issue). Clark first said he voted NO because…..only to be corrected by his colleagues that he voted for it. He acknowledged voting for it when corrected than explained why it wasn’t a good idea. According to Walt Skowron who voted against it, Clark once admitted his own company would never provide an employee full-time medical benefits until retirement if they decided to quit their job early. Thus Skowron asked the question of why people spend money on the council they never would if it were their own dollars.
The forum appeared well organized and the candidates seemed congenial to one another. Alexi Grewal offered to bring a Lance Armstong event to Loveland if elected while Glenn Rousey listed his membership in MENSA as a qualification to be elected mayor. Walt Skowron focused heavily on national issues that the Mayor of Loveland will not likely be expected to solve while Cecil Gutierrez talked about the need for greater transparency and more opportunities for public comment.
Most of the forum was captured by audio that can be accessed from our home page. What are your comments on the evening if you attended? Picking a winner of the debate is difficult so we would appreciate your vote on who you believe won.
Thanks
No, I was not reading Walt’s notes—if you look at the pic from the Reporter-Herald it looks as if Walt is reading my notes—which was also not the case. Membership in MENSA was mentioned during my openning comments along with being married with two daughters, 30 years in the fire service, eight years on council, etc. It was never brought up again.
And I agree, all did well.
OK, I attend the debate and found it interesting. A few of my observations
1. Most of the people in the audience and maybe half on stage were either pushing 70 or well past 70 years of age. This is a a sad thing that no young people or even middle age people want to get involved.
2. Alexi Grewal said some awfully strange things which made me question his sanity
3. Dave Clark says everything is perfect and nothing will change. If Mayor Pielin knows he can’t get re-elected why does Dave think we will vote for an unpopular Mayor’s right hand?
4. I like Mr.’s Rousey, Skowron and Gutierrez. They appeared to be both credible and informed on the issues.
These are my own impressions of the debate. And Mr. Rousey did seem to keep his head down lots but maybe it is sensitivity from the lights or something elese instead of cheating to read other people’s notes.
David Clark read some of his responses. He looked well prepared for his responses when he dryly read through “point 1″ and point 2 each time looking down at a paper to referenced the next point for each question. I noticed he didn’t take notes but had all the answers in front of him. Once they started the extemporaneous questions to each other he fell apart and couldn’t even remember how he voted. Am I the only one who noticed?
It doesn’t matter because I think i agree with Carol that the Mayor race is between Cecil and Walter and maybe also Glenn.
Caroll: I don’t know where you get your information from, but middle-aged people are involved in the political process. I am one of them.
The thing is my opinion is not allowed in the pages of The Reporter-Herald because, according to the learned editor, Ken Amundson, I am a right-gun, gun-toting, flannel-wearing, racist because I stand for the United States of America, and should not have the right to exercise my First Amendment Rights as LEGAL American citizens.
My telephone calls are not allowed on KCOL because I find the Gail a self-serving bore, and have said as much to the station management, who relayed my displeasure with her verbose nonsense to her.
The Republican Party, which would rather been known for and identified with Andrew Boucher, has told me to – and I am paraphrasing – take a flying leap onto a sharp flaming stick because I don’t condone the antics of Mr. Boucher.
And I was refused tickets to attend to the packaged dog-and-pony show that was the recent mayoral debate.
Therefore, my existence does not seem to exist.
But it does. The Reporter-Herald is losing money and getting thinner by the day because more and more advertisers and subscribers stand with me instead of them and their anti-American propaganda.
KCOL, which is owned and operated by Clear Channel, is bleeding red ink because fewer and fewer people find Gail and Keith interesting.
The Republican Party is losing election after election because they are a mirror image of the Democratic Party.
And the discrimination I experienced with regards to the mayoral debate – it was expected.
I suggest, Carol, you go into the real world and talk with real people instead of what you do. You will find it most interesting.
Wow, really? Carol and Walter must not have attended the same debate that I did. I do agree that there needs to be more youth involved, and I say that as a 25 year-old who will be voting this November because I am concerend about what happens in the beautiful town I live in.
I thought that Mr. Clark was by far the most well-prepared of the night. I yawned at the others when they spoke, as I felt their points were very weak. Mr. Grewal was like a train wreck, because when he spoke you didn’t want to listen, but couldn’t help it just to see what awful, uneducated statement he was going to make next. I am pretty sure he has no idea what Lodging Taxes are, based upon his weak response; “I agree with the other candidates.” Are you kidding me? He also made some statements about McWhinney that were absolutely asinine.
Anyone who states that McWhinney is a bad thing for Loveland MUST BE crazy. How much sales tax revenue does Centerra bring to Loveland? How many out-of-staters do you think stop at Centerra and eat/shop? How many people are employed at Centerra? How about new buildings that will be built in “McWhinneyland” (as some of you folks like to call it)? McWhinney is GREAT for Loveland…OPEN YOUR EYES!
Mr. Gutierrez seemed extremely smug when answering questions and when his opponents questioned some of his ideas. He also seemed to say “um” and “uh” a lot, and while that may not reflect intelligence levels, it sounds unintelligent. As far as I am concerned, Mr. Gutierrez is just another Mr. Grewal, the only difference being that he understands what he is talking about. These two scare me, and should scare all small business owners in Loveland.
Mr. Rousey and Mr. Skowron were more put together than Mr. Grewal and Mr. Gutierrez, but they seemed be more concerned with national issues rather than local.
As a concerned Loveland citizen, and an employee of a small business that does a lot of work in Loveland, the only candidate that makes any sense to me is Mr. Clark. Should Mr. Grewal or Mr. Gutierrez be elected to the position of Mayor of our wonderful city, I fear for the future of Loveland.
It would be nice to see a few tax cut or tax fairness candidates. Do any candidates support the current statewide initiatives to reduce taxes? There is a measure that would require enterprise funds to pay property tax. For example public golf courses would be required to pay taxes. Currently they get a free ride and make it difficult for private golf courses to compete. Talk about a subsidy. Any person with a home on a golf course reaps huge benefits and an increase in property value, at the taxpayers expense of course.
There is also a statewide initiative to eliminate government debt of any type. Do any candidates support this?
Finally there is a statewide government charge reduction measure. Any candidates support this?
How come not every story allows comments here at LP?
How come LP does not include names and sources? When citing developers concerns in regards to corporate welfare no names were given. For all we know, LP makes this all up?
Just askin.
john – i thought your dad did ok b you need to admit that goof about voting against somethin he supported lol wow man that was SSINF
TMOT your dad needs to look more like a player
HFAC he is toast already maybe walt can win but your dad’s out
L8RG8R
OK I am not sure I understand that post.
Patrick, I find it weird you are defending McWhinney’s increased sales and property taxes and the $600 million of future taxes they will receive. No other subsidy even comes close.
What about the $20 million you claim never went to McWhinney? Where did it go then
WWJD,
Okay, first off, he is not my dad. Just my impressions from the first debate a week ago.
Second, if you want to be taken seriously, try to speak like an adult. You are not text messaging your BFF.
Patrick, the bond proceeds do not go through any city account but instead straight to the Centerra Metro District accounts.
You apparently believe everything Chad McWhinney says. When they complain about not getting all the bond proceeds they often are discounting the cost of financing, administration and other items.
Last year $6 million went to buy-off their synthetic fixed rate swap agreement on interest. Nothing the city did just McWhinney’s gamble in choosing an adjustable rate and buying a swap agreement to fix the rate that he had to buy out when refinanced the $57 million bonds last year. All the Metro District’s choices and not the council. They don’t even appear to know what amount was taken from public debt bonds.
If you believe the city took $20 million from the Metro District do tell us. Otherwise, repeating the same baseless conspiracy innuendos is boorish behavior on your part.