EDMONDS – Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson, running for a second term against challenger Steven Randall, said he has a new idea for promoting economic development in the city – hiring an economic development coordinator who would report directly to the mayor.
“It will give the City Council the confidence their policies for economic development will be adhered to, something that’s been lacking in the past,” he said at a candidates’ forum Oct. 20.
The forum, held before a packed house in the City Council chambers in the Public Safety Building, was sponsored by the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. The forum was also attended by candidates for Edmonds City Council, the Port of Edmonds, Snohomish County executive, County Council and Edmonds School Board.
Haakenson said later the money for the position would come from “salary savings.” He is slated to give his budget message to the City Council Oct. 28.
Randall, an administrator at Virginia Mason hospital making his first try at public office, said his economic development policies would focus on improving parking and “reduction of burdensome bureaucracy” on businesses.
“You don’t see Wal-Mart going in with a parking lot the size of 7-Eleven,” he said. “We need to be more business friendly.” Randall added that he would like to see the “blank spots” along Highway 99 developed.
Haakenson said new measures need to be taken to advance the cause of economic development. The “lack of success” of the Edmonds Alliance for Economic Development, the mayor said, “is proof that someone else needs to do it.”
Other cities such as Everett and Renton employ economic development directors, he said.
“We can’t accept the status quo,” Haakenson said.
Randall said he is primarily running to make government more efficient. “There’s a lot of wasteful spending that needs to be cut,” he said. Randall said he would keep wage increases below the rate of inflation, cut unnecessary services – “watering the flowers is not as essential as police and fire, obviously” – and “reorganize departments to be more efficient.”
Randall also said he would improve communication with citizens by having regular “town hall” meetings in the evenings.
“Communication needs to go both ways to be effective,” he said.
Haakenson said that since he’s been in office “we’ve cut just about everything there is to cut in the budget, including people. You can’t cut the budget we have anymore without impacting something.”
Haakenson said the city’s department directors said the budget is the lowest they’ve seen.
“The (City) Council members who sat on the budget committee couldn’t find anything to cut,” he said.
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