The Seventh Ward – Election Discussion

The Seventh Ward is currently represented by Barney Barnhill. 

Barney Barnhill

As stated above, Barney is the incumbent.  He has been a fixture on the council for many years.  His issues are Economic Development – bringing in new jobs and businesses, Public Safety – new officers and expand Nets, Save Taxpayer Dollars, Attract Businesses to gateway corridors through tax incentives.

Strengths - Barney has been around for years and has a large following from the older voters, the type who like to pick a candidate once and leave them.  His issues are some of the main ones for Davenport and he lists some of the same ideas as many other candidates to address them.

Weaknesses- He’s been in office for a long time and has survived in spite a
call to “Clean the Slate” many times.  He is a very likeable guy but doesn’t seem to have any new or original ideas.  He isn’t putting forth new and thoughtful programs.  He also only garnered 50% of the vote in the primary, not a huge amount for an incumbent. 

Marcia Patch

Unfortunately, Marcia has chosen not to have a website so the informatin I have about her is limited.  Maybe her supporters can fill some of this in . I haven’t seen an e-mail address for her either.  My analysis is based on her QCT Q&A. 

Strengths - Marcia has some interesting ideas.  I like that she talks about making people keep up their properties to minimum standards and no other candidate I’ve come across is talking about that.  She also talks about standing up for our existing businesses to retain them.  Again, a good idea.

Weaknesses- I hate to continue beating the drum for websites and e-mails but so many people look to the web these days for their information.  In talking with people of the 7th ward I still find many haven’t heard of Marcia.  She is hopefully out knocking on doors daily to get her word out.  She only received just over 20% of the vote in the primary.

Summary

I was slightly wrong in my primary prediction in that I thought Jim Davis would edge out Marcia (he received the lowest amount of votes in the ward).  But I still think that if anything, I underestimated the 7th ward’s resistance to change.  I think Barney will once again make it through. 

The Sixth Ward – Election Discussion

Thankfully for me, the rest of these wards will go much quicker since I’ve already posted much of the information on the candidates from the primary.  I want to have all the wards done by Friday.

The sixth ward was represented by Charlie Brooke who sadly passed away.  The winner of this ward may take office immediately as a result.

Dale Gilmour

Dale is also born in Davenport, he went to college here.  He is self employed as a distributor of electrical wiring maintenance products.  His issues are, Communication with Residents, Skate Park (charge admission, build fence, no managed graffiti, Isle of Capri (holding them responsible), Make Downtown Safe & Attract Businesses Downtown, Attract Jobs to Industrial Park, Sewers for Industrial Park.

Strengths – Dale does want to attract jobs and make public safety a priority.  Improving the sewer to the industrial park makes sense, as does attracting businesses there.

Weaknesses – Dale seems to be against some of our most unique aspects.  While there is a definite crowd which is anti-skate park/ anti-sky bridge, anti-amenities, I don’t think the sixth ward has an over abundance of people with those views.

Jeff Justin

Jeff has been with MidAmerican Energy for 27 years and is currently in management. He grew up in Davenport, went to college in Iowa and has been very active in the community.  His issues are Collaborative Leadership, Economic Development to Expand Tax Base, Support for Public Safety Personnel, Infrastructure Improvements, Focused Improvements to Central City, Support for the East Village.  He has more issues, go to his website for more information.

Strengths - Jeff talks about all of the right issues.  He seems to have an understanding of what people want to hear.  He is also already a professional leader and lord knows we need professionalism on our council.  I really like his emphasis on attracting new businesses.

Weaknesses – I don’t see a lot of room for negativity on this candidate but I’m sure posters will fill that part in.

Summary

In the primary Jeff Justin had double the support of Dale.  Of course, 40% of the vote went to other candidates so where they vote will decide the ward.  With the history of the type of candidates the 6th ward supports I believe Jeff Justin fits better into the mold and will win the race.  (Note to all Dale Gilmour fans, this does not mean I am in any way endorsing Jeff Justin or rooting for him, I am making a prediction based on the information I have).

The Fifth Ward

The fifth ward has been represented by Bill Lynn for the past few years. 

Bill Lynn

Bill Lynn has been representing the fifth ward for a few years now.  He is known for bringing in the guardian angels as well as leading the charge in taking out the NEO.   Bill has a website at www.profbilllynn.com.   Bill’s issues are Crime, Growth & Jobs, and Improving City Services.

Strengths- Bill has a very loyal following.  He has been in contact with his constituents throughout his term and is one of the best aldermen in that respect.  Between his website, his newsletters and his regular ward meetings, he makes his ward’s residents feel as if they have a voice through him on the council.  He also brought the Guardian Angels to town, which was an innovative way to look at reducing crime.

Weaknesses - His actions the past few years have angered those who feel he is only representing the landlords interests. The dismantling of the NEO as well as the RTO ordinance have left a lot of unhappy voters.

Doug Cunningham

Doug Cunningham has run for council in the past.  He works with NHS which to my knowledge has done some great rehabs in our central city.  His issues are Increase in Public Safety Resources, Restore Trust and Accountability to City Government, Increase Citizen and Business Opportunities.  You can find more information at his website http://www.dougcunningham.org/

Strengths – Doug has been active in his community for years so he has name recognition for voters.  With the recent screw up on the RTO ordinance and the circus like atmosphere downtown voters have expressed they are looking for change.  Doug has solid ideas and is a viable candidate.  He has been out pounding the pavement to get his ideas out to the voters which will be very important.

Weaknesses- We all know the landlords are and will continue to be active in trying to get Lynn back on the council.  Mudslinging and autodialers are expected.

Summary

Your guess is as good as mine on how the dust will settle.  Voters say they want a clean slate all the time and it rarely happens.  Bill Lynn garnered 60% of the vote in the primary.  How many votes have the landlords turned off since then?

Candidate Information

With the accusations of Lisa’s negative mailer I’ve decided to post it so the readers can decide.  Lisa Lewis Final Post Card

Also, don’t forget Doug Cunningham’s fundraiser tonight,  October 25th at the Yacht Club (at the end of Mound).

And you’re invited to join Jenn Olsen, Doug Cunningham and Lisa Lewis for a mass literature drop in the 4th and 5th wards.  They are planning three decked out vehicles with hopefully lots of volunteers ( the candidates for certain) to drop literature.  If you are interested meet at Pohl’s Park at Grand and Kirkwood at 10 AM.  We are planning to drop in Precinct 54  and parts in the 4th ward.

In case any candidates have missed my invitation, I will post information for any candidate who sends it to me.

I’ll have a post on the fifth ward up today or tomorrow.

The Fourth Ward

The fourth ward is currently represented by Ray Ambrose.

Ray Ambrose

Ray has served on Davenport’s council for a number of years. He does not have any presence on the web, does not even have an e-mail address. I’ve heard mixed reviews on his responsiveness as a council member. He calls back who he wants if he wants. He did fill out the QCTimes Q&A.

Strengths – Ray has always taken a strong stand on public safety which is a major issue in his ward.

Weaknesses – While he claims to be for public safety his votes and ideas seem to say otherwise. He helped disband the NEO. He hasn’t put forth any new or innovative ideas to help the city. People are pretty fed up with the current council and he is one who I see supporters backing away from.

Lisa Lewis

Lisa is a newcomer to the local political scene.  The starch opposite of Ambrose as far as availability, her e-mail is risaroo@earthlink.net and she has been extremely responsive.  Her issues are Quality of Life, Community/Communication, Progress.

Strengths – Lisa is coming in with a fresh new perspective/attitude and ideas at a time when voters are looking for change.   She is responsive and communicates well with others.  She has already hosted more events in her ward than I think Ambrose ever did.

Weaknesses – Ambrose does have a loyal group of followers who will attack on inconsequential issues as they have in the past.  So far issues such as her length of time living in the ward have been brought up on other blogs.  Hey, if you can’t attack on issues I guess you have to grasp at something.

Summary

This will be yet another very close race.  I think because of the upset people feel over votes in rental inspections over the past two years, Ambrose has a large hurdle to overcome.  And it appears he is not campaigning.    I predict the final vote will be within 10%.  Lisa’s relentless door knocking may just be what puts her over the top and gives the 4th ward a new voice.

Fundraisers

There will be a fundraiser for Tom Carnahan tonight at Hickory Gardens from 6pm to 8pm. Everyone is encouraged to come out and meet Tom. Thanks!

Nathan Brown is having a fundraiser tomorrow evening at Gunchies 2905 Telegraph Road from 5:30pm to 8pm. 

Also, Doug Cunningham’s fundraiser is coming up on Thursday, October 25th at the Yacht Club (at the end of Mound).

GoodBye Charlie

I knew it was getting close to the end for Charlie but it still was a surprise to see the headline today.  Positive thoughts to his family during this time.

http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/10/21/news/local/doc471b9d811ed53644231243.txt

The Third Ward

Ahhh, the third ward. One of the most controversial figures on the current council is the current third ward alderman, Keith Meyer. This race will be an interesting one, as a rematch of two years ago when Bill Boom was defeated by only 9 votes. With 16 undervotes in the ward, that had to be painful.

Keith Meyer

Keith has been a lightning rod on the city council since his very first day. He has stood up for neighborhoods and stood against the establishment. His distaste for certain staff members is as obvious as their frustration with him. Keith has no website and didn’t respond to my e-mail request for his top issues. EDIT – Keith has put up a blog you can find here.

Strengths - Keith’s supporters are avid. His stepping up against a city administration which has ignored and been a roadblock for struggling neighborhoods has gained him loyalty. He also has gained support by constantly questioning city spending and finding serveral irregularities.

Weaknesses - Keith’s more recent actions have made even his most loyal fans question him, and he seems to not heed their advice to choose his battles. While choosing the most important topics and spending the rest of his energy building alliances seems to be a no-brainer, Keith continues to jump in full force against anything he feels is wrong. Keith does have a very good working relationship with some city workers, although that is not common knowledge and he is largely seen as an antagonist to the city worker. Keith has also been labeled as having a negative view of Davenport, including his statement that E-Serve workers wouldn’t choose to live in Davenport (which I very much disagree with).

Bill Boom

Bill was Keith’s competitor in the election last year. He has a website at http://billboom.com/. His list of community service shows a long history of leadership including work in the Coast Guard as well as successfully running a business in downtown Davenport. His top issues are Leadership (bringing an end to conflict), Professionalism, Activism and Team Building.

Strengths – Bill has strong leadership skills and has ideas for his ward. He talks about transparency in the city government as well as creating a 3rd ward stakeholders team to involve citizen’s in the government process. His ideas of working together with both citizen’s and city staff sound promising.

Weaknesses – Keith has extreme loyalty from many of his supporters and Bill is going to face some resistance because he isn’t Keith. He will need to prove he has the ability to listen to and stand up for his constituents in order to win them over. His constituents seem to want a representative who doesn’t just go with the flow.

Summary

This will be a very interesting race. I tend to suspect that the controversy surrounding Keith will have a negative impact on his campaign. This is really too close to call but I have a feeling Bill will edge out Keith this time around. But I have been known to be wrong – sometimes. EDIT – It appears Keith has decided to campaign after all, including starting a blog. This will be a tough race to predict.

The Second Ward

The second ward is currently represented by Shawn Hamerlinck who has succeeded through the primary process. Neither candidate is a landlord (that seems to be on people’s mind this election).

Shawn Hamerlinck

Shawn overwhelmingly won the vote in the October primary with 71% out of 3 candidates. He has had a relatively successful first term and apparently his ward is happy with his votes and performance. Shawn keeps a blog at http://davenport2ndward.blogspot.com/ . He also holds monthly ward meetings to keep a pulse on his ward. His wife recently gave birth to a baby boy. His website doesn’t have a clear listing of his top issues.

Strengths – He seems to know what his ward wants to see and hear. He won last election against the sitting ward alderman Bushek with 71% of the vote (I see a theme with him and 71…) . His ward has problems with rime and bad landlords, two issues he has taken strong stands on. The primary results show he is in line with his constituents.

Weaknesses – His weakness is that while he has claimed to take a hard line on slum lords and stand up for neighborhoods, he has served on a council whose decisions have had a negative impact on our neighborhoods. It took a year for the fire department to get up to speed during which time many neighborhoods deteriorated. I also have a pet peeve with his monologues at the meetings. He has a wonderful blog and I wish he would explain his votes or his thoughts there rather than waste so much time at council meetings. To me, it seems disrespectful to those who want to take part in the political process but don’t have time and don’t desire to sit around listening.

Tom Carnahan

When I heard he was running I had to google his name to remind me why it sounded familiar. My very first post on my blog was based on this article about him trying to clean up his neighborhood. Tom is a fraud investigator for the State of Iowa. I bet he’s busy. His issues are Upgrading Our Infrastructure with Strategic Investments, Revitalizing Central City Neighborhoods, Developing a Business Climate that is Extraordinarily Receptive to Business Growth, Staying Focused on Growth.

Strengths - Tom has been working hard to clean up parts of this city for quite some time. He seems to have a good understanding of the balance between revitalization and business growth.

Weaknesses – He is going up against a very popular incumbent. He only garnished 17% of the vote in the primary, however he has been working hard to get his message out since then.

Summary

I have one prediction for this ward. The winner will be a very competent candidate. They are lucky to have the two candidates they have and the ward is a winner no matter who wins.

Lisa Lewis Fundraiser and Misc

Lisa Lewis is having a fundraiser/meet & greet tonight

Wednesday, October 17, 2007The Hat – 1618 West Locust Street, Davenport5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Here is a word document with the invitation – Lisa Lewis Invite 10-17

Here is a link to her latest mailer (pdf file) – Lisa Lewis Mailer 10-17

A reminder that any candidate can e-mail me or post their events and/or information. My goal is to inform, not to push for any specific candidate.

The election is drawing nearer and I will be putting up new threads for each ward. I’ll start with the ones which were left out of the primaries, wards 2 and 3, which I didn’t have time for, and 4 which didn’t have a primary. Then I’ll repost candidate information for the other wards, possibly with additional information. Look for new posts in the next few days.