Two Granite Falls City Council appointees face muted challenges

Published 8:05 pm Tuesday, October 19, 2010

GRANITE FALLS — Two City Council incumbents who were appointed to their positions are encountering opposition for the first time.

Elizabeth Adams ran unopposed in 2007 to keep her position after being appointed the year before. Joshua Golston was appointed in August of this year to the position vacated by former Councilwoman Kathy Ganung, who moved out of state.

Ganung’s position was up for re-election this year. Golston and John Smith filed for the position in June. Wes Grigg filed to run against Adams.

Councilman Tom FitzGerald is running unopposed.

For Golston, the opposition has been mostly on paper. Smith has not attended candidates’ forums, Golston said, and has done little to promote his candidacy.

“I have not met him,” Golston said.

Smith did not respond to repeated phone calls and e-mails from The Herald requesting an interview.

Grigg has appeared at candidates’ forums and has put up signs but, like Smith, he did not respond to several attempts to contact him to discuss the race for this story.

Adams said she was motivated to apply for the opening three years ago after she opposed a proposed raise for Mayor Lyle Romack. She thought it reflected skewed priorities on the part of the city.

“I was upset because I knew there were issues with plowing the streets and sidewalks with the snow,” she said.

In the end, Romack received a modest raise and “I did get the sidewalks salted,” according to Adams.

Once she was on the council, one of her major contributions was helping rewrite the city sign code to make it more business-friendly, she said.

“It was really restrictive before,” Adams said.

She also started an effort to clean up the Paradise Lane area, a neighborhood that had come to be used as a dumping ground, she said.

Now, she’s trying to get the city’s parks commission re-started — the city has been without a volunteer parks panel for a few years, she said.

The city’s three parks have outdated equipment and have been plagued by vandalism, she said.

“Our parks need help,” she said.

Adams is married with three children, 18, 13 and 9.

Golston said he’s especially interested in land-use planning, fighting crime, and keeping the city business-friendly.

He credited the city for efforts to reduce crime and vandalism, and wants to make sure it continues, he said. He’d also like to get input from people on the possibility of creating a new community center or Boys &Girls Club. Golston is married with two small children.

Regarding land-use, Golston said the city should have a structured plan for the future, with an eye toward how it affects the town’s economy.

He’s concerned about how the truck bypass road, now under construction, will affect downtown merchants.

“I think the alternate route is going to be good for removing trucks,” he said. “I’m still on the fence as to whether it’s going to be good for business.”

Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.