Riverside candidates square off in forum

Candidates for Riverside?s municipal offices assembled in St. Mary?s Hall Thursday night for a forum. Three council seats and the mayor?s position are up for election Nov. 8. The three council seats up for election, all at-large, are currently held by Christine Kirkwood, Rodney Waldschmidt and Todd Yahnke. Yahnke announced that he is not running for re-election and Waldschmidt was unable to attend because of a prior engagement.

Kirkwood was joined by five challengers ? Joette Armbruster, Nate Kasdorf, Tom Sexton, Bob Schneider and Larry Simon. Former mayor Bill Poch is challenging mayor Brian McDole?s seat. Poch attended the forum but McDole did not because of another engagement.

Nick Smith moderated the event and asked the candidates questions submitted by the audience. The candidates were asked to name the biggest challenge facing the city. Kasdorf said the issue he has heard more about than any other in recent years is revitalizing the downtown.

?I know it?s a dream we all have, but I don?t know how it?s going to happen,? he said. ?There are other communities around here that are no bigger than Riverside, and they have businesses come and go. They remodel their storefronts but the businesses don?t last. It?s hard to beautify your downtown when you don?t have the tax dollars to support that.?

Poch made numerous mentions of his desire to improve communication, which he hopes to accomplish by televising the council meetings on local cable and by uploading videos of them to the Internet.

Simon said that whomever is elected to the council should understand that they work for the residents.

?Some of the projects seem to slide through and nobody knows about them,? Simon said. ?We?ve got to be a lot more open about what the council is doing so that everybody knows. It might not be a popular statement, but some of the stuff seems to be backdoor politics, and we need to end that.?

The candidates also spoke about the future of new housing and overall economic growth in the city. Kirkwood said it would be nice if Riverside could someday support a grocery store as North Liberty does. Earlier at the forum, Kasdorf and Armbruster described North Liberty?s explosive growth as a ?nightmare.?

In answer to a question about the city buying from local vendors, Kasdorf said, ?Granted, you want to support local businesses, but it just doesn?t work that way. We?ve had businesses in this town that didn?t last because we, the community, didn?t support them. If we don?t shop that way, don?t expect your city to.?

Kirkwood said the city has a policy that gives preferential treatment to local businesses when purchasing decisions are being made.

?When you talk about the city, we?re responsible for spending your money collectively,? she said. ?For every person I hear tell me, ?We need to shop locally,? I have two or three others who say, ?Don?t waste my money.? You tell me, where is the middle ground there??

The candidates were asked what they thought of Riverside?s connection to Star Trek and whether they would like to see that continue through its annual Trekfest celebration. Simon said that while he doesn?t consider himself a trekkie, he thinks the city should help sponsor the celebration.

?It?s not just a local thing,? Simon said. ?It?s world-wide. People come from all over to attend Trekfest.?

Poch said that when he used to attend the League of Cities meetings, each representative told the group where they were from. When he told the group that he was from Riverside and asked them what Riverside was famous for, the other representatives shouted out, ?Captain Kirk.?

Armbruster said she would like to explore other ways of bringing people to town such as a car show.

?I?ve only been to two Star Trek parades, and I usually leave town when it?s here,? she said. ?It?s just not my thing.?

Kirkwood said she was the president of the Riverside Area Community Club and that she supports Trekfest, although she is conflicted about it.

?It is true that people come from far away to attend and businesses make a lot of money that day, but it does concern me when taxpayers here in town are asked to fork over a large amount of money for speakers, and that money leaves town,? she said.

Sexton said that a celebrity does not necessarily need to be involved with Trekfest. He suggested that Trekfest be combined with other events to give it a broader appeal, such as by combining it with a citywide garage sale.

The candidates also spoke about how to maintain civility at the council meetings. Schneider said it is important for the residents to respect the councilors, and that respect is a two-way street.

?The council should be respecting the citizens who show up to these meetings, too,? Schneider said. ?Some people say I?m an agitator. I want accountability. I want the community to know what?s going on. We see way too many topics that are pushed through without any discussion at all.?