Endorsements

Position 6: Richard Marin

The City Council race between incumbent Richard Marin and challenger Don Kreiman features two good candidates.

Marin has demonstrated a reasoned approach in his nearly three years on the Council, taking time to consider both sides of issues and learn first hand how city government functions.

Kreiman is an energetic newcomer with good instincts about public input and economic development. He has a lot of healthy questions about how the city operates.

Unfortunately, Kreiman has little direct experience with city government and, having not entered the race until July, needs to do more homework. It would be good to see him stay involved and do as Marin did after losing his first election: get appointed to a city volunteer board and gain experience.

While Marin’s recent vote to take the City Council out of the PRD approval process was ill advised and he needs to do a better job of filing his public disclosure reports, his overall effect on the city has been positive and he should be re-elected.

Position 7: Dave Orvis

One-term City Council incumbent Dave Orvis is being challenged for his position by frequent city critic Rich Demeroutis.

Orvis has been perhaps the least classifiable member of the Council in his four years. He often votes with the majority but also has stuck to his guns on his initial campaign promises to be fiscally conservative, make public safety a priority and protect neighborhoods (despite his recent vote for removing the City Council from the PRD approval process).

Demeroutis has a lot of interesting ideas about how the city can raise revenue and cut costs, but most – such as turning parks-and-recreation programs entirely over to volunteers – are unlikely to fly.

Orvis’s successful crusade to ban casinos in the city, while not universally supported, is an example of his ability to think independently. He deserves to be re-elected.