[Vision2020] answers to joan's questions

[aaron ament]

Five Questions from Joan Opyr answered by City Council candidate Aaron Ament

	1.) Would you support a two-year moratorium on any elected official doing business and/or bidding on a contract with the city after he or she has left office?
	1.] Yes.  I am not sure it would be legal.  I am not sure it would be enforceable.  I do believe the message sent would be unmistakable and clear.  Don't serve the city to serve yourself.
	
	2.) Would you enforce existing city code even if such enforcement were painful, uncomfortable, or not politically expedient?  
        2.] Yes.  When the code places an unreasonable or unintended burden on a citizen, that citizen can appeal to the Board of Adjustment.  If a part of the code is not intended to be enforced it should be changed.
	
	3.) What is your position on the Third Street Bridge?
        3.] The only bridge I could support connecting Third Street with Mountain View would carry only bicycles and pedestrians.  The gentle grade of Third Street makes it ideal for bicycle traffic.  Putting in such a bridge would signal the commitment of Moscow to alternative forms of transportation.
	If the motor vehicle bridge performed as promised it would:
	1} Increase traffic on Third between Washington and Jackson; intersections at best barely able handle present traffic.
	2} Increase traffic past Moscow Senior High School, East City Park and Lena Whitmore Elementary [less than a block off Third].  This increased use would increase the danger to students and those enjoying Moscow's premier park.
	3} Destroy the "Quality of Life" for those directly affected and signal to other neighborhoods that there is no protection for them, either.

	4.) What do you believe are the most difficult issues facing ethnic and racial minorities in our community?  Also, what are the most challenging issues faced by women, gays and lesbians, and the economically disenfranchised? 
	4.] Ethnic and racial minorities as well as women, gays, lesbians, trans-gender, the economically disenfranchised and others not part of any of those groups face problems common to us all.  Finding a job that pays a living wage; health care; adequate housing; education for ourselves and our children: these are among the problems that face us all.
	The small size of our town must make it difficult for some groups that are deemed different to find the support of others likewise deemed different.  I think we have a large gay and lesbian population, large enough to provide acceptance and support even if it is denied by the population as a whole.  That is not necessarily the case for members of ethnic and racial minorities or for those among us that are trans-gender.
	The small population of Moscow must also magnify the prejudice of those that will not hire or house or even interact with any who are deemed different.  The fact that some among us can openly despise others of us different only in sexual preference, race or place of birth and still be considered upstanding members of the community is unconscionable.  It is also a danger to all.
	That women are regarded and treated as less than men is a mystery I cannot fathom.  Equal pay, equal rights and equal treatment for women are an issue world wide, so it is certainly an issue here in Moscow.
	This has been the most difficult question for me and much of the reason for my slow response.  I cannot know the answer to this question; I can only try to imagine the difficulties of those singled out as different.  The thought that I could be considered somehow less worthy by virtue of birth is to me the greatest burden those deemed different are asked to bear.  I have friends and acquaintances among those groups and I can only hope they will continue to befriend me and help me grow as a human being.
	
5.) What are Moscow's three greatest opportunities in the next five years?
	5.] 1} Building a sustainable local economy.  Not by merely shopping and buying local but whenever possible by producing local.  When we do invite business into our town it must be business that brings with it living wage jobs, not jobs that drain our resources.  More of each dollar spent in a locally owned business circulates around Moscow, creating yet more value in our community.  We should concentrate on building a local economy dependent on our own hard work and enterprise, not one dependent on the whim of foreign interests.
	2} Whether it is a new comprehensive plan or minor adjustments to the present plan, five years spent working toward and adhering to a shared vision of Moscow would go a long way toward ensuring a chance of living in that vision.  Together we must identify the future Moscow we want and together we must make the sometimes difficult decisions that will make it real.
	3} We should build a community that celebrates as well as acknowledges the diversity that is our strength.  A community that accepts all members is a community that can make use of the contributions and talents of all its members.  We cannot know what challenges the future holds for us, but we can be sure we will be best prepared to face those challenges if we do it together.

Aaron Ament
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20050930/f400e1c2/attachment-0001.htm