Published: Thursday, August 6, 2009
PRIMARY ENDORSEMENTS/MONROE MAYOR
Walser, Ruth should face off
The recession has put most local government budgets in tough shape, but the city of Monroe faces more challenges than many.
The sales-tax revenue squeeze, combined with the city’s purchase of land for a shopping development that a developer walked away from, has stretched city staffing. The firing of the city administrator late last year, a move proposed by Mayor Donnetta Walser and approved by the City Council, has the police chief filling multiple roles to save money. And traffic jams on U.S. 2 continue to be a way of life.
Against that backdrop, two candidates are challenging Walser’s bid for a third term in the Aug. 18 primary — City Councilman Mitch Ruth and former City Councilman Robert Zimmerman. The top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
After interviewing the three, we think Walser and Ruth, with their years of experience in Monroe, represent the best pairing for the fall campaign. Both, however, have room for improvement.
Walser is criticized by both challengers for weak leadership. Ruth faults her for too much analysis and dependence on outside attorneys and consultants. Zimmerman says she lacks the skills needed to bring new investment into town, and has created a culture that keeps developers away.
She dismisses those claims, and argues that her visibility in the community and the relationships she has built with state and federal officials has brought needed attention to city needs. It is notable that she lobbied state senators successfully for a $700,000 grant to complete the city’s Miracle League field after the funding had been cut, and that she has been endorsed by Republican State Rep. Kirk Pearson of Monroe.
Ruth has interesting ideas, especially on transportation. He argues that rather than pursuing a U.S. 2 bypass to ease congestion, the city should lobby for a less-expensive and more-feasible redesign of the intersection of U.S. 2 and Highway 522, adding a clover-leaf configuration that would move traffic more efficiently. We’d like to hear more about traffic solutions, and how to achieve them, in the fall campaign.
Zimmerman says too much effort has been spent lobbying for U.S. 2 fixes, and that as mayor he’d concentrate on investments in city streets. That’s fine, but city streets and the state and federal routes that define Monroe’s traffic must both be high on the mayor’s agenda, and Zimmerman seems too quick to dismiss the latter. A strong, steady push for state and federal transportation funding will always be critical for Monroe. That means building political relationships outside of town, as Walser has done.
If they advance to the fall campaign, Walser and Ruth would both do well to explain how they’ll work to improve as leaders. Walser can come across as too passive, but Ruth has an admitted tendency to “shoot from the hip.” An effective mayor acts somewhere in between, taking the time and diligence to think through a decision, but not so much that inaction results.
To offer Monroe the best leadership possible, Walser and Ruth both should work to move toward that happy medium.
The sales-tax revenue squeeze, combined with the city’s purchase of land for a shopping development that a developer walked away from, has stretched city staffing. The firing of the city administrator late last year, a move proposed by Mayor Donnetta Walser and approved by the City Council, has the police chief filling multiple roles to save money. And traffic jams on U.S. 2 continue to be a way of life.
Against that backdrop, two candidates are challenging Walser’s bid for a third term in the Aug. 18 primary — City Councilman Mitch Ruth and former City Councilman Robert Zimmerman. The top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
After interviewing the three, we think Walser and Ruth, with their years of experience in Monroe, represent the best pairing for the fall campaign. Both, however, have room for improvement.
Walser is criticized by both challengers for weak leadership. Ruth faults her for too much analysis and dependence on outside attorneys and consultants. Zimmerman says she lacks the skills needed to bring new investment into town, and has created a culture that keeps developers away.
She dismisses those claims, and argues that her visibility in the community and the relationships she has built with state and federal officials has brought needed attention to city needs. It is notable that she lobbied state senators successfully for a $700,000 grant to complete the city’s Miracle League field after the funding had been cut, and that she has been endorsed by Republican State Rep. Kirk Pearson of Monroe.
Ruth has interesting ideas, especially on transportation. He argues that rather than pursuing a U.S. 2 bypass to ease congestion, the city should lobby for a less-expensive and more-feasible redesign of the intersection of U.S. 2 and Highway 522, adding a clover-leaf configuration that would move traffic more efficiently. We’d like to hear more about traffic solutions, and how to achieve them, in the fall campaign.
Zimmerman says too much effort has been spent lobbying for U.S. 2 fixes, and that as mayor he’d concentrate on investments in city streets. That’s fine, but city streets and the state and federal routes that define Monroe’s traffic must both be high on the mayor’s agenda, and Zimmerman seems too quick to dismiss the latter. A strong, steady push for state and federal transportation funding will always be critical for Monroe. That means building political relationships outside of town, as Walser has done.
If they advance to the fall campaign, Walser and Ruth would both do well to explain how they’ll work to improve as leaders. Walser can come across as too passive, but Ruth has an admitted tendency to “shoot from the hip.” An effective mayor acts somewhere in between, taking the time and diligence to think through a decision, but not so much that inaction results.
To offer Monroe the best leadership possible, Walser and Ruth both should work to move toward that happy medium.
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