RECENT COMMENTS
Meet the candidate: Garry Powell
Garry Powell recently sat down for a video interview. Get his background and experience; his take on Housing, Public Safety, Echo Harbor, and Old and Historic Districts; and find out why he has accepted no money for campaign…
I’ve been trying to interview the various candidates, which has been a mixed experience. Almost everyone has made themeselves available to me, but I have not been able to keep up with actually getting the interviews written up and posted.
To take some of the work off me and to also better remove myself as any kind of possible filter, I tried something new for CHPN with candidate Garry Powell. This short segment video interview brings the candidate to you directly, and relatively quickly as well.
What is your background?
What relevant experience do you bring to the job?
You highlight 4 isssues on your site – Housing, Public Health, Safety, and Education. With regard to Housing, what are some specific programs that you have seen to be effective and would support or would like to see put in place?
Public Safety?
Your campaign has apparently not raised any money. What’s up with that?
Echo Harbor?
Union Hill Old & Historic District?
Is there anything else that you’d like to say?
You can follow all of the election-related posts in the ELECTION category. Three of the other candidates’ interviews have already been published:
- Lewis picks up WCLM endorsement (09/11/09)
- Meet the candidate: Robin D. Robinson (09/21/09)
- Meet the candidate: Cynthia Newbille (10/25/09)
You’ve got my vote, Mr. Powell!
John: Great idea; that interview was very helpful. I thought I had made up my mind; but now feel I should give Mr. Powell some consideration.
I trust Mr. Powell.
Me too. I wish that he’d been able to get in front of more people.
Since I don;t live in the district, it would be presumptuous to endorse a candidate. But…City COuncil is not a management job, yet it is responsible for anal;yzing a bnudget proposal from the mayor, then making what changes are necessary and passing it. CC has the authoroiity to review the operation of city government, but not to micromanage. In fact, it is a violation of the charter, punishable by removal from office, for a member of council or the mayor to give a direct instruction to a member of the administrative/executive branch of government. Council is the policy/legislative arm of council, and it works best when it represwents the whole city. It works poorest when each member of council has an individual satrap and makes individual decisions on delivey of services in that district, often to the detriment. This shows clearly in discussions about Echo Harbour. The question, when it ever gets to council, ought not to be what’s best for Libby Hill, or even the Seventh District. It is what is best for the city as a whole, and I don’t presume to know what that answer should be. I know how I will vote on it, but other reasonable people certainly differ. More important that EH is how the candidate will approach development issues and economic development poliocy. This administration supports a social development plan, redistributing public dollars to achieve a social policy goal. Where do the candidates stand on that approach?
This kind of approach may be useful in reaching a decision. Looking at individual projects may not be. Looking at a candidates past experience is useful only to the extent that it illuminates a thought process.