Four candidates will be on the August 8 Primary ballot for one “At Large” seat in the race for Bloomington City Council, and an additional four candidates are seeking the District 2 seat. The top 2 vote-getters in each race will move on to the November election.

To learn more about them and how they stand on some of the current issues facing the city, we asked the candidates to answer a few questions and to add any other comments they felt would help us to better understand how they would serve on the City Council. To read the full text of our questions, CLICK HERE.

By our deadline, two of the four At Large candidates provided responses. They are presented in alphabetical order of their last name:

Michael Arulfo CLICK HERE  to read his responses.

Nathan Coulter - we were unable to contact / no email listed on campaign site.

Kim Vlaisavljevich did not respond by time of publication (appointed in 2016, seeking election to a full term).

Susan “Hofmeister” Woodruff CLICK HERE to read her responses.

Candidates in the Primary for the District 2 seat are Eldon Spencer, Lenny Klevan Schmitz, Shawn Nelson and Cheryl Lewis. Spencer was appointed by the council to fill the vacant seat earlier this year.  The SD49 GOP candidate search committee voted to recommend Eldon Spencer for our support.

Eldon Spencer  CLICK HERE to read his responses.

The League of Women Voters hosted a Primary Candidate Forum July 18.  The video of that Forum is viewable online.  CLICK HERE.

Click on the image below to view Eldon Spencer’s insights on City Council service, as featured in our July 17 newsletter.

 

 

 

Eldon Spencer, Candidate for Bloomington City Council, District 2, responded to our questions.

Bloomington is being advised that it needs more affordable housing and more housing for senior citizens.  If you agree, what actions would you support to meet those needs?

RESPONSE:  With as many as 50,000 more jobs than its current population of almost 90,000, Bloomington obviously cannot provide housing of any sort – affordable or otherwise - for all of its workers, and all its retired senior citizens. 

Presumably that is one of the reasons that Bloomington, through its disproportionately large contributions to the fiscal disparities metropolitan area "pool," has provided significant dollars for transportation infrastructure and public transit options for allowing better access to its job sites. 

Also, while "affordability" of housing – always a relative concept – often means higher density, at least one of the types of housing that Bloomington's seniors with mobility challenges find to be in desperate shortage within the City are single story townhouses.  Therefore, it may be critical to be sure that these special needs are considered as options for any areas subject to redevelopment, while assuring that housing options offering a greater range of affordability because of permissibility for greater density be located in ways that do not unduly clog already overburdened streets or detract from the valuation of existing housing in contiguous areas. 

I would also explore availability of funds through state or federal programs for assisting qualified first-time home buyers with advances/deferrals of down payments where they could demonstrate adequate ability to pay ongoing periodic obligations on their new homes.  Such programs should be coupled with educational programs both as to availability and qualifications for obtaining such municipal assistance, and as to proper maintenance and budgeting responsibilities of homeowners of all vintages.

Bloomington is a mature community that is essentially fully developed.  What do you feel should be sustained, and what should be added/changed/redeveloped?

RESPONSE:  City green space should be sustained, with particular sensitivity to providing adequate facilities for newer outdoor sports and recreational activities with needs unaccommodated by existing park designs.  Redevelopment of large lots with "twin homes" or other styles that reflect only modest deviation from existing housing stock should be preferred over high density uses in areas where neighboring properties appear inconsistent with such added density.

Susan “Hofmeister” Woodruff, Candidate for Bloomington City Council, At Large,  responded to our questions.

Bloomington is being advised that it needs more affordable housing and more housing for senior citizens.  If you agree, what actions would you support to meet those needs?

The U.S. government regards housing costs at or below 30% of one's income to be affordable.    Even in its most economically-challenged corridor of NE Bloomington, the Median Gross Rent is 20.2% of income.  With access to jobs and availability to mass transit, perhaps our Planning Dept. should encourage the private sector to develop quality family-friendly affordable housing and related services closer to those jobs and transportation, much like it has done to help fill the need and desire for quality Senior Living.

Bloomington is a mature community that is essentially fully developed. What do you feel should be sustained, and what should be added/changed/redeveloped?

Bloomington has matured nicely. Our median age in the mid 40’s is a very enviable position for any community.  We tend to be very stable, own and care for our homes, and put little strain on city services.  We are also the ones that do the most volunteering in our community. There is a law that states “85% capacity is maximum efficiency of any organization, and when you try and grasp that additional 15%, you risk losing everything that got you there”  There is wisdom in watching trends, and responding appropriately, however not to over react.

Here is the full text of questions we sent to the Bloomington City Council Candidates.

1)     Bloomington is being advised that it needs more affordable housing and more housing for senior citizens.  If you agree, what actions would you support to meet those needs?

2)     Bloomington is a mature community that is essentially fully developed.  What do you feel should be sustained, and what should be added/changed/redeveloped?

3)     Should Bloomington gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 or ban cigarette sales to anyone under 21?

4)     Pick one of the following topics and provide your opinion

       •      Housing development on Hyland Greens

       •      New community center

       •      Traffic soothing by removal of lanes, addition of bike lanes

       •      Franchise Fees (ruled unconstitutional in St Paul)

5)     What will you bring to the City Council if elected?

Bloomington will be holding school board elections on November 7. If you are interested in your local schools and the quality of the education they are providing, you should seriously consider running for the school board in your district. The window of time to explore what it will take is getting short.

Bloomington School Board will have four seats up for election this year. The candidate filing period is August 1 to August 15, 2017. If you have any questions pertaining to filing procedures or reporting, please contact Jennifer Hazel at 952-681-6402.

The Senate District 49 Candidate Search committee will be open to talk with candidates that seek our support. If you are considering running, or if you are willing to volunteer and to help with these campaigns, please contact Randy Sutter (952-835-8917) or Mike Lehmann (612-839-0761).