City Council Candidates Avoid Rage in Chamber Forum

There was a noticeable absence of rage Friday morning when five of the seven candidates for three Novato City Council seats shared the dais at a forum hosted by the and the .

Several candidates took umbrage with an Aug. 27 story in the that characterized Novato as a city of rage, a description based on the animated and sometimes heated comments made at civic meetings over the past year. The story prompted a large repsonse — mostly angry and rage-filled — in l in the IJ and on Novato Patch.

“I encourage residents to stay engaged,” said incumbent Jeanne MacLeamy, who with Madeline Kellner is running to hold onto her council seat.

MacLeamy and Kellner — the current mayor — discussed the issues on the Smokehouse’s music stage along with challengers Eric Lucan, Leslie Peterson Schwarze and Eleanor Sluis. Manny Fernandez did not accept the chamber’s invitation and Jerome Ghigliotti did not show up after telling organizers he would be there.

The debate was filmed by Jazzed About Media and will be shown on several times in the months before the Nov. 8 election.

With moderator Dick Spotswood handling the questions, the topics included:

• the plan for a new city administrative office in the downtown area
• affordable housing, major developments on the North Redwood Boulevard
• corridor and Hanna Ranch, controlling pension costs and other liabilities
• government communication and transparency
• revitalizing Old Town business district
• enhancing city revenue
• attracting new businesses
• the spending of sales tax money from Measure F
• repairing the “city of rage” image.

The two incumbents, both known for being calculated, succinct, unemotional and results-oriented in their decision-making, agreed on many of the same issues and stood firm on the council’s May decision to construct a for about 60 city staff members on a parking lot at the corner of Machin Avenue and Cain Lane in Old Town. The council and city staff members have taken heat recently — including a to halt the project altogether — because of the expected cost of $12 million to $15 million in capital improvement funds.

Peterson Schwarze and Sluis said the topic should be brought back to the council again for more public input, a viewpoint agreed on by more than 1,000 people who have signed the petition.

“It’s not going to cost us $15 million. In the long run it is going to cost us more like $40 million,” said Peterson Schwarze, a former member of the board of trustees. “It will eat up some parking and it will be vacant three days a week. I think we have to look at it again.”

Sluis, a retired teacher, listed other ways to spend the money, ranging from replacing storm drains, updating our utilities and contributing to the Novato Theater renovation effort. She said there are plenty of available properties to serve as a home for city employees, including and the .

“We need to look at the (long-closed) Community House … maybe it’s more beneficial to tear it down and put the city offices there,” she said.

Lucan, a businessman who was born and raised in Novato, was milder in his objection to the new city office plan. He said it’s important for the city to get out of its $650,000-per-year lease at and that he’d be interested in keeping the options open longer on the downtown plan until the actual costs of the building construction are pinpointed.

The candidates were unanimous in their disagreement with the “city of rage” label. MacLeamy criticized the newspaper for shouldering Novato with that image and said people speaking out is a just demonstration of democracy.

“Who wouldn’t be upset if people were coming after your pocket book and your property?” she said, referring to taxation and state affordable housing quotas. “In those times when we’ve had development on our agenda, we’ve had people come out and protest. With this affordable housing issue, we had 15 properties being discussed all at one, so you had 15 neighborhoods all upset. This is the democratic process.”

Keller said, “I’ve been walking precincts lately and I can tell you this is not a city of rage. Behind all of those doors, there are so many people who love this town, who want to stay here and want to look out for their neighbors. … I think we’ve moved on and I think I’ve done a good job maintaining a level of civility at our meetings. We’re doing just fine here in Novato.”

Lucan acknowledged that there are some angry people who spoke up at recent meetings, but “if elected to the council, one of my top goals will be to build consensus through clear and transparent government.” Sluis said sometimes she feels like a “momma grizzly bear” as she tries to protect Novato from crowded conditions, and Peterson Schwarze jokingly admitted to being one of the angry people.

“We are not misbehaving when we’re acting within the rights of our country where you are allowed to say what you want,” she said.

In closing statements, MacLeamy and Kellner stood by their track records of the past four years and emphasized the need for fiscal sustainability, business development and efficient use of resources. Lucan mentioned his passion for his hometown, his business background and that it he believes it is “time to provide a new voice on the City Council.” Peterson Schwarze touted her school board experience, professed her loves for the small-town feel of Novato and that the community is involved enough to speak up. Sluis credited her Missouri roots for her “buck stops here” attitude and described Novato as a bouquet that needs to be preserved.

Here is the Marin IJ's coverage of this debate.