The NewsTimes asked the council candidates the following questions and here is my reply:

1.      Why are you running for public office?

I have enjoyed serving on the city council for the past two years and believe that this is the best city in Oregon. I served in the Newport Police Department for thirty years and want to give back to my community. I want to continue to work on the financial policies we have put in place to make the city more fiscally sound, strengthening the reserve accounts and getting the finance department software up and working so citizens can pay their bills online. Also finding additional funds to pay for and finish the undergrounding of utility poles on highways 101 and 20 is a goal.

2. In your opinion, what are the top 3 priorities facing the city and
what do you intend to do about them?

 The top 3 priorities in my opinion are infrastructure, fiscal problems, and an aging city pool. To continue to keep the deteriorating pipes, roads, and buildings on the front burner and not putting projects off for another council to deal with. To continue the fiscal policies we have set in place to further enhance the cities bond ratings. To find a better solution to rebuild the municipal pool and a workable bond measure for it.


3. If elected, what unique personal strengths or qualifications you
would bring to the city council?

I feel that my experience in working for the city gives me an understanding of the work that can be accomplished by the cities great staff. Being on the council the past two years has given me the knowledge to handle the more complicated and sometimes politically hard decisions. I have also worked hard at consensus building when dealing with complex issues to find the best solution for everyone. I am also known as somewhat of a cheapskate and I also like to use that when dealing with spending issues. But also making sure the cheapest deal is also the best deal. After all, it is my money too that the council spends.

4. When issues get hot, how do you plan to stay cool, win friends and
influence enemies?

I once took a supervision class that taught me the parent/adult/child theory of communications or Transactional Analysis. When we talk to each other on a child or parent level we get little accomplished. When we talk on the adult level we get everything accomplished. Moving discussions at council to the adult to adult level gets more constructive work done and greatly lessons people getting hot.

5. Who or what have been the greatest influences on your life that
have made you the person you are today?

 This is an easy question, my parents. My father always taught me the hard work ethic and always said to try and accomplish one thing a day. At the end of the year you will have accomplished at least 365 things. He also taught me to approach life with a sense of humor. My mother taught me to be compassionate and humble to put other people first. She also taught me how to cook beef stroganoff from scratch. I try to use these principles when dealing with the people’s business at the city council.

Chamber of Commerce Questions

1)    How would you assign priorities to City services and what will you do to ensure that quality of life for this community is not diminished?

We need to continue to concentrate on the core services such as sewer, quality water, police and fire services.

 

Of course everyone wants more and more services from the city but we need to be realistic and work hard to stay within our budget and be honest with the citizens about our finances. We can’t do additional services until the economy turns around. I have worked very hard to get the city reserve fund back up to levels where we can be confident that we can cover the expenses that always come up as an emergency expenditure.  We now have a financial policy that dictates that the reserve fund will be added to every year until it reaches a 15% level required to keep the cities bond ratings high.

We need to look at the ‘Must Do’, ‘Should Do’, and ‘Nice To Do’ model when looking at city services. In this age of limited funding we need to stay closer to the ‘Must Do’ list.
Quality of life issues should be at the top of the priority list. We need clean drinking water, an efficient waste water system, and being safe in our homes by having highly effective police and fire services.

2)    If elected, how will you represent your constituents including those who didn’t vote for you or have a different opinion than you?

This is an interesting question as I will not know who votes against me unless they specifically tell me that they will not vote for me. Since we do not have political parties at the city level, the members of the city council represents ALL the citizens of Newport regardless of who votes for or against the council members. I will represent all the constituents the same with the goal of more sustainable and accountable city services.

 

3)    How will you establish stability and harmony with Council and the community?

I believe that we have a good stable and harmonious relationship now. When I first took office two years ago I started the town halls that bring the council out to the neighborhoods. I saw at our regular council meetings that very few citizens come to these formal meetings so we needed to have the informal meetings. We have had the informal meetings throughout all neighborhoods and people seem to like the direct contact with council members and city staff. If elected I will make sure that the regular neighborhood meetings continue.

I have also met with a few home owner groups and have brought their concerns to city staff in additional meetings and found positive solutions that all parties can work with.

 

4) What are your visions for the future of Newport and how will you make that vision a reality?

I want to continue my work on assuring financial security, maintaining essential city services, assisting businesses to remain competitive and create new jobs, supporting tourism, and remaining responsive to residents. We need to work hard to keep up with rising costs of city services and demands for those services. We need to find workable solutions to the cities aging infrastructure.  Though we have addressed some of those issues such as water/sewer/storm water pipes we still have an aging pool and other aging city buildings that will soon need attention.

I believe the city is on the right track, but we've got more work to do to make Newport more affordable and livable for everyone. With new businesses like Walgreen’s and O’Reilly’s poised to build here, there is opportunity here. These large national chains would not establish here if there was not room to grow. I firmly believe that with the new business coming that existing businesses will also see additional growth.

I have announced that I am running for office in 2012:

It has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens on the Newport City Council the last two years. I believe this the best city in Oregon and I would like to continue to work hard to keep it that way.

One of the things that I am particularly proud of is establishing the City Council Town Halls. To date we have had five meetings around town where the council meets informally with area residents. The goal is to have direct talks about specific issues that they face in their neighborhoods. I have met with small neighbor groups to discuss a particular problem in their part of town by bringing city staff and citizens together and we were able to get specific needs solved.

The city over the past few years has been faced with difficult and complex financial issues and I believe that the council has been successful in turning them around and pointing them in the right direction. The city’s reserve fund was dangerously low and we were able to develop a policy that will incrementally increase the reserves to an acceptable level. The elimination of the negative budget funding methods that were not proper is another major accomplishment we have addressed in the last two years.

Looking forward we still have financial issues that means we need to continue fiscal responsibility to make sure our limited resources go further. This will include a close watch on current city spending in such areas as the water treatment plant and find the resources to fund the Agate Beach Water tank. We need to continue the collaboration between city staff and citizens in directly approaching complex issues and finding workable solutions that satisfies all involved.

To these ends I would ask for your vote for Dean Sawyer for City Council on November 6^th, 2012. If elected, it will be my honor and privilege to serve you. If you wish to contact me please email me at retcop@charter.net

Newport City Council Race

In a tightly contested council race, Richard Beemer led the way, racking up 1,374 votes, followed by David Allen (1,317) and Sandra Roumagoux (1,289). Dean Sawyer (1,282) trailed Roumagoux by just seven votes - not close enough to trigger a recount, according to Lincoln County Clerk Dana Jenkins, who noted that a five-vote margin or less is the flashpoint.

The crowded field also included Melanie Sarazin (1,124), Peggy Sabanskas (1,049), Richard Kilbride (991), and Randy Holman (506). The new council will appoint someone to fill McConnell’s council seat after he takes the reins as mayor in January 2011.

Newport Public Works Union endorses Dean Sawyer

The union that represents Newport’s twenty public works employees has endorsed City Councilor Patricia Patrick-Joling for Mayor. Union spokesman Michael Eastman told News Lincoln County that their endorsement of Patrick-Joling was based on their belief that she will bring greater communication and transparency to discussions surrounding the city’s many challenges that lie ahead. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3275 also endorsed David Allen, Dean Sawyer and Melanie Sarazin for city council. Allen is a former city councilor, and has been co-chair of the Newport Citizens Budget Committee. Sawyer is a retired Newport Police Officer, and Sarazin is the wife of a current Newport Police Officer.

Transparency creates accountability

Transparency creates accountability, accountability creates restraint and with it cost reduction.

Sign in local shop

I talked with the shop owner and she had never met me before. She said that she decided on me after reading my comments in the voter's pamphlet and in the local newspaper. After we talked she made the correction to her sign. I really love voter's that are informed.