From what I can tell through various meetings and discussions, there are about six individuals who can become members of the Davis City Council. I am not going to endorse people and I don’t want to disparage individuals who have put their hat in the ring and their necks on the line.
I am going to make a couple of generalized comments about the process and then I will handicap how I think this will play out.
First, to a person, the council recognizes that they should have put in a provision to winnow down the process to five candidates by tonight. Ten is unwieldy and unfortunately, at least in the first round, there are several individual swho have no chance who will eat up time. Time that could be going to better and more questions of those with a chance.
So in the first round, each councilmember will ask one question, each candidate will have 90 seconds to answer each question, and then the council will publicly vote for their top four. Everyone who receives two votes will stay on. Everyone who doesn’t, will go home.
Welcome to Davis’ version of Survivor. By my calculations that means we will have a minimum of four, maximum of 8 candidates left after the first round.
Second point, I am disappointed in the general lack of public interest. Our sources inform us that very few have submitted public input forms to the city. Reading the number of comments and the readership, this is not a burning issue. So despite our record readership since the beginning of the year, most of the focus has not been on the issue of council appointment.
That is a shame because this is a crucial position, as we have to grapple with the key issue of the fiscal house of cards and hope to build on what we have accomplished these past two months in terms of a newfound sense of decency on the council.
Third point, councilmembers insisted on using the League of Women Voters for their candidate’s forum. I noted that during the last election, the LWV forum was the least informative, and unfortunately that continued this time. The questions were not good.
I am sorry Picnic Day is not a key issue facing this city. Businesses and the DDBA have dealt with this matter, the situation will either calm down, in which case Picnic Day continues, or it will explode again, in which case it is gone.
Two key issues were not asked, unfunded liabilities and the RDA. Right now those are the biggest issues, with some of the growth issues as Senior Housing, Covell Village and ConAgra looming on the horizon. The LWV needed to find a way to make their questions more relevant.
Handicapping the process. I’m not going to breakdown the whole process. I think there are six candidates that will be a factor in this. I think the biggest wild card is going to be Dan Wolk.
A lot of people think he is the prohibitive favorite in this. However, I see a scenario where he wins and a scenario where he does not even make it past the second round.
I like Dan Wolk personally, he is a good and decent person in a very genuine way. He is a very bright guy and he has a strong future. However, he has the asset and baggage of being a son of a former Mayor and current State Senator.
What that means is not clear. The council, to vote for him would be facing the potential criticism of favoritism. Because of that, the onus is going to be on him to show himself to be the best pick for the council. He needs to show a command of issues.
At the candidates’ forum last week, I thought he did a good job on the plastic bag issue, showing that he was his own person by separating himself from the well-known public position of his mother who opposed the ban. However, others criticized him for not being as clear on the issues as he could have been.
Tonight, for him to position himself to get into the final round, he needs put those concerns to rest by being clear about where he stands on key issues. He has a genuine concern about the fiscal climate, he has a young family and thus is concerned about the future, and his other asset is that he has a good personality that will enhance the newly-found peace on council.
On the other hand, he has strong ties to developer interests in this town and he must show himself to be the independent moderate that I think he sees himself as.
I have spent a lot of time on Dan Wolk here because in a lot of ways he is the key factor. He needs to make a strong sale so that the council can counter concerns of favoritism.
In a lot of ways, the rest of the candidates will have to set themselves up as the alternative. There are really two sets of issues that will define this. One is the fiscal issues, that is, which candidates can set themselves up as the strongest on fiscal issues. The other is land use issues, and, yes, they will still matter to the council.
In the end, I think you are going to see the council work hard to find a member that can be acceptable to everyone, in order to keep the peace.
Honestly, this thing is as wide open as it can be. It could be Dan Wolk or it could be any of the other five viable candidates if things break the right way for them.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
dmg: “I have spent a lot of time on Dan Wolk here because in a lot of ways he is the key factor. He needs to make a strong sale so that the council can counter concerns of favoritism.”
Why can’t Dan Wolk run for city council just like everyone else, and be evaluated solely based on his answers like all the other candidates, period? I really don’t understand why the issue of “favoritism” is constantly being injected into the discussion almost to the point of obsession here. I assume the current City Council can choose the best candidate – based on the answers they give to questions…
DMG….. “Our sources inform us that very few have submitted public input forms to the City.” …
I missed the deadline, so I am posting my comments here:
Endorsement of Mr. Walter Bunter Jr. for Davis City Council by Dr. and Mrs. Stephen P. Hayes
Mr. Walter Bunter, Jr. is a major asset to East Davis (an area long under-represented in Davis City Council politics) as a result of his many volunteer activities which include acting as a Neighborhood Watch (NW) Coordinator and Election Voting Supervisor among others. He has a kind, direct, and effective manner and possesses excellent organizational skills. These assets have been a major benefit to me and my wife, Pegi, during our long tenure as Poplar Lane Area NW Co-Captains. I believe Mr. Bunter’s maturity and demonstrated life skills would be major assets to the Davis City Council, and he would serve the City well in this capacity.
“Why can’t Dan Wolk run for city council just like everyone else, and be evaluated solely based on his answers like all the other candidates, period? I really don’t understand why the issue of “favoritism” is constantly being injected into the discussion almost to the point of obsession here. I assume the current City Council can choose the best candidate – based on the answers they give to questions… “
It depends on what you want. You can naively believe that Dan will be evaluated like everyone else on the list or you can acknowledge what every candidate and councilmember I have talked to has and that is that his name is part of the equation. That may not be fair but that is life.
Elaine, I posted the following in David’s other thread before reading your comment above. Seems like we are thinking alike . . . once again.
“One interesting aspect of this process is that one candidate is noticeably different than the others. Dan Wolk is on the threshold of a professional political career. All the other candidates are stepping up with a “here and now” focus. How is that relevant? There is a part of me that feels Dan’s first elected office should actually come from an election rather than an appointment. I believe a professional politician should be forged in the crucible of a public campaign, and that public process will make him an even better public servant.
If none of the nine “volunteers” were qualified, I wouldn’t feel that way, but based on the LofWV process last week and the other materials the candidates have shared, I strongly believe there are at least four of the nine who would make very good Council Members.
I wish Paul were a bit less glib. He is impressive, but he sometimes makes me wonder if he is auditioning for a gig on the Council or a gig at the Comedy Club. Steve Williams and Water Bunter bring both skills and a gravitas to their candidacy. But the most intriguing candidate for me is Kerry Daane Loux. She reminds me a lot of Rochelle Swanson. Skills, perspective, balance and humility. I think she would be a great addition to Council.”
dmg: “It depends on what you want. You can naively believe that Dan will be evaluated like everyone else on the list or you can acknowledge what every candidate and councilmember I have talked to has and that is that his name is part of the equation. That may not be fair but that is life.”
I base my opinion on what a candidate says and does, not on his/her name recognition… do why assume the City Council will not?
Assume? I have had extended conversations over the last week with many involved in this.