What would your goals be during the next four years as a Bowling Green city commissioner?

I would see myself as a servant leader. This means I represent the community as a whole, not one single neighborhood or constituency, which is why we have an at large council-manager form of government. It also means that I would put the interests of the community as a whole ahead of my own personal gain or interest. I would like to restore transparency to city government by eliminating backroom dealings and white elephant projects that donate benefit the whole community.  I also want to restore accountability to city government by making sure that we as your city government understand that we SERVE you, not the other way around. I would like to reform a number of municipal departments. Codes Enforcement for instance, has, rather than its proper and legitimate function of ensuring public safety by ensuring compliance of physical structures, has become the Aesthetic Gestapo. Citizens have been harassed about so much as a œmissing strip of lattice from a fence, as well as about project automobiles in their backyards that are protected by state law, and should not use their power to fine as a backdoor to eminent domain. Also we need a full accounting of every dime bilked the city by former CFO Davis Cooper, and measures need to be taken to recover taxpayer monies by all reasonable means including substantial restitution following his release from prison, or as condition for early release.  I also support holding the line on taxes, we need to reduce our overall tax burden so we donate have a slush fund in the future that future Davis Coopers would use as their own petty cash drawer, but not so much that we lack reserve savings.  Families should have a reasonable emergency fund, government is no different, but we must remember its the people's money first.  I also support continuing backing of the Kentucky Trimodal Transpark, because we donate know the full potential for job growth in the community resulting directly or indirectly from it, but it has the potential to nearly double our economic base. Having such a facility, combined with I-66, will guarantee an increasingly higher standard of living for years to come. To allow bickering over it to leave plans for new factories in flux will cost the city hundreds of jobs in the short run, and millions of dollars in the long run. As your city commissioner I will be a good steward of city tax dollars, and will hold the city manager accountable for managing the city like a successful business.  I will also examine repealing the Pre-Pay ordinance.  While it is reasonable for private business to dictate prepayment for gas, and lucrative for them to incentivize prepayment, it is not the place of city government to require it, even if it reduces drive-offs.  While police may no longer have to deal with drive offs, it is already the law in Kentucky that if you drive off, you lose your license, and that was enforced vigorously. All prepay does is reduces the traffic inside of gas stations and convenience stores, where those establishments make most of their money. Also I support taking measures at the local level to combat what was once called a federal problem, but has increasingly reared its ugly head as a local problem, and that is the issue with illegal immigration, and the strain it has created on our medical services, schools, and jail. Employers who knowingly hire illegals should be fined by local government up to and including revocation of their business license and property owners that harbor illegals in their rental properties should be fined.

Would you support a citywide smoking ban, and if so, in what form: all publicly owned buildings, indoor and outdoor public spaces, private businesses open to the public, with or without exemptions for certain types of businesses.

Government buildings, and all public services, smoking should be banned, and already are. As for private businesses, including restaurants, bars and tobacco shops; no, that is the right of private business the type of clientele they wish to attract. We have more restaurants per capita than every large city in the country except Los Angeles . That makes it a vital asset to our community, both for local consumers as well as tourist traffic generating millions of dollars in personal and business income for business owners and employees, that is largely spent in Bowling Green .  Lexington has a smoking ban, and the surrounding cities of Winchester and Richmond have seen substantial growth in restaurants.  This didn't occur in a vacuum. We are too close to Nashville to turn a golden goose into foie gras. Also any ban along the lines of New York or Lexington could have the chilling effect of banning smoking in vehicles, where they are the workplace, or affect home based businesses all would have negative effect on commerce and tourism. It is not the place of city government to engage in policies that will stifle business or intrude on the private sector.  Where possible, government can and should empower private enterprise.  A smoking ban, regardless of its intentions, will hurt private business.

Do you think that city government should fund local nongovernmental organizations from its budget, and if so, should these contributions include charitable organizations and/or arts programs?

Without culture, we don't have much to stand on to distinguish us as a city; we should support the local orchestra and SkyPac, and I would like to see final settlement on where SkyPac will be located, because delay will cost the city millions of dollars more than settling on a location, even if it is imperfect. I for one believe wherever the final location would be, that it should be in the downtown area, and should be a vital pillar in downtown redevelopment. We should not allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good. As for charity, it should begin at home, with private individuals, but where the city can, it should help private charitable organizations, both secular and faith-based, to provide services to alleviate poverty and other substandard conditions for citizens that fall through the cracks, because private organizations can provide such assistance in a far more efficient manner than can government.

What do you think the cities priorities should be in encouraging downtown redevelopment?  What specific projects should be promoted, introduced, or abandoned?

Downtown redevelopment has been mixed so far, because of the land earmark issues involving Lifeskills and the lack of transparency in that matter. Long term, it can, will and must succeed, because without downtown redevelopment, business will not likely move back to downtown in a manner sufficient to make redevelopment viable. We must take measures to attract business in the form of tax incentives to draw new business to the city center, and attract more corporate headquarters to Bowling Green . This is important because corporate headquarters for any company is where the majority of the net profits find themselves from companies. Redevelopment carried to its fruition is vital to carrying out my vision of life enhancing city government.

Please disscuss your priorities for projects involving county infrastructure, public recreation and public safety.

Any new infrastructure developments should be directed towards our progressive evolution as a city, particularly in improving water treatment and wastewater management to support our growth as a city for the next century. Also we need to take serious steps in relation to the outer beltline project, which city and county alike will have to work together to create the necessary linkages to mitigate traffic congestion for the foreseeable future.  We need to work with planning and zoning as well as county government to incentivize economic development county-wide so that, companies, no matter whether they are on the corner of Main and State, 31-W and 240 in Woodburn, or 68-80 and 259 near Merry Oaks, that they locate in our area. With many projects being funded that was considered further along in the planning phase before, we need to improve recreation options in the community. While I believe the Skatepark could have been done for considerably less expense, provided it draws enough people to use it to make it worthwhile, it could serve as a recreational benchmark much the same way as the soccer complex and the embattled Beech Bend do.  However, we should devolve the finished Skatepark to private enterprise to manage it in a more efficient manner. There are limits to what government should undertake.  In the area of public safety, no unreasonable expenditure should be ruled out, and now more than ever, particularly in the area of civil defense preparation, what many now refer to as homeland security.  Our law enforcement and emergency services personnel are the best in the state, and they should be paid a level commensurate with the quality of their work and the level of their professionalism.

What is your opinion on opening discussion to unify Bowling Green and Warren County governments, possibly by 2009?

Given the current state of our city finances, a unification would be borne on the county taxpayers backs, but any incorporation of city-county government that eliminates duplication of services, saves taxpayers money, and improves our opportunities for economic development, maintaining a balance between industrial development and our agricultural roots,  would be foolish to rule out. However, an artificial deadline for such an important unification would be detrimental for all. One thing I would support is incorporation of zoning to make it easier for industry to locate in Warren County without having to locate in the city limits. This will increase the number of jobs for people in Bowling Green .  Fears of unified government should not be unwarranted paranoia, we would not go from small town to a megalopolis overnight.