Washington city council candidates give their views

WASHINGTON — A total of three candidates are running for as many seats on the Washington City Council this year, none of them facing a challenger in the race.

At-large City Council Member Millie Youngquist currently serves as Washington’s Mayor Pro Tem. She’s also involved in a number of community groups, including the Washington Community Foundation, Performing Arts Series, Great Places Committee and Farm to Film Festival Board.

  Buy Photo

Illa Earnest is the city’s current representative for Ward Three, a position she won during a special election in March of 2021. She spent decades as a city employee before that race, until her retirement from the role of city clerk in late 2020.

  Buy Photo

Hoping to represent the first ward, Patrick Morgan is a newcomer to the council. He was previously involved in municipal politics, however, as a member of the parking advisory board, which drafted many changes to city ordinances on the matter enacted last fall. By day, he’s a business process analyst for Syngenta Seeds.

  Buy Photo

Top priorities, and what to do about them

All three candidates identified the city budget as a top area of concern in the coming term. Youngquist said money was tight, in light of new tax rollbacks mandated by the state legislature.

“We have a lot of ideas about what we want to do, but our funds are limited,” she said. “Coming next year (are) some changes in the way taxes are done, and exactly what the city can assess, and what funds we have available. That is a little worrisome, because we are responsible for police and fire, that’s a big portion of our budget, and salary is a big portion.”

Youngquist said the full extent of those budget effects was not yet clear, but that “wise use of resources” and plenty of grant applications should be on the city’s to-do list in the next few years.

Earnest said she agreed with that approach. She worries about finding the momentum for big-ticket projects like the long-discussed Streetscape.

“A huge thing will be the downtown enhancement,” she said. “Picking where to start, locating funds to do that, there should be some grant money, perhaps, available … some of the infrastructure stuff is already in place, it’s already in the budget, but the downtown enhancement is not.”

Morgan mentioned budget management and infrastructure investments as major issues as well, but said he wanted to see the council focus on “approachability” in its next term.

He worries that citizens are hesitant to approach the council in the formal environment of meetings, and that council decisions after first-look presentations are too rushed.

“I would like to work in the stance of, ‘Does it necessarily have to happen at a council meeting?’ Or is it something we can go and visibly see, or visit separately?” Morgan said. “We need to do more of that. We need to maybe, get a little bit more unorthodox … I’m a very process oriented person, so why can’t we take steps outside of that, get all the facts, put everything together and actually have a constructive conversation, and then bring that back to a council meeting so it can be presented to everyone.”

How they plan to stay in touch with constituents

Election season is, in theory, the time to assure elected officials haven’t lost touch with the public. In this case, with no challengers on the ballot, candidates said they had their own methods of staying in the loop.

Youngquist said her conversations happened naturally through her other community involvement.

“I try to do a lot of things like volunteering for the Chamber, attending Alive After Fives, being visible in the community,” she said. “I’m happy to visit with anybody about anything.”

Earnest said she tried to make herself easy to find, and diligently answer her phone and email listed on the city website. Her goal in doing so is to keep voters on the same page.

“I would like to hear from people, I don’t want them to just assume things,” she said. “I like if they would call and check and make sure that what they heard was right, or not right … and recently I’ve had some people calling about questions that are out and about, and I appreciate that because we want to get it right.”

Morgan said he, too, would aim for what he called an “open-door policy” when it came to constituents. He takes the same approach in his professional life.

“However individuals want to speak, if they want to set up time with me at night, I can be flexible,” he said. “I want to make sure that I’m as open to individuals as I can be.”

What else they want people to know

While city officials will have plenty on their plate in the coming term, Youngquist said she wanted to highlight positive things in the works as well.

“We have been designated a great place, but I always felt that Washington was a great place,” she said. “Citizens, and the partnerships the city has developed, will allow us to go forward and make progress. There may be some times when we have to make some hard decisions, but I plan on doing the best I can for the citizens of Washington.”

Earnest, again, expressed a similar sentiment.

She said she was proud of the city and her place in it.

“I really am happy to live in Washington,” she said. “I am very happy to be serving on council with dedicated and concerned people who take their positions very seriously, as I do, and are able to work together to do what we think is best.”

Aside from his intentions of serving as the first ward’s council representative for a full, uninterrupted term — something that hasn’t happened in about a decade — Morgan said he hoped his values brought people to the ballot box on Nov. 7.

“I’m about being flexible, I’m about being open, I’m about being honest,” he said. “This is by no means about me, this is about the city, and I want to do what I can that is going to help and be for the betterment of Washington.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com