Template:Springfield News 10 60 Candidates Statements

Four years ago I ran for mayor of Springfield, and now I'm again running for the same office, but this time there is a significantdifference. The results of the election four years ago did not change my desire to serve the city as mayor, but it did cause one to take a seond look at my qualifications. After taking this second look, I decided to lay out a program to educate myself in municipal affairs so well that at this year's general election I would be the best qualified candidate this city has ever had.

I started to run for mayor of Springfield the day after the general election four years ago! On that day I started putting into effect the plan that would train me for the responsibility. The morning after the election I phoned Mayor Harms to congratulate him on the fine compliment the popel of Springfield hd given him and to offer my services by what ever cpacity my special talents could be used.

Mayor Harms was most gracious and appreciative of my offer and since that time has called on me many times to serve the city. The first of these responsibilities was as a member of the Mayor's Committee on Urban Renewal and later as chairman of that committee.

This was followed by service as chairman of the Citizens Committee on Community Development, chairman of Springfield's participation in Oregon's Centennial celebration, and my present responsibililty as a member of the Springfield Planning Commission. There were others, but these were the ones that acquainted me with the vairous city departments, the heads of each department and the special problems that each department has.

During the past four years I have attended many council meetings, have received the minutes of each council meeting during this period, and as a result of this continued interest I have accumulated a gread deal of knowledge of the affairs of this city.

In an attempt to answer the question "why the people of Springfield should vote for me November 8," I must ask the voters to answer the question "How much government do you want?"

The program I advocate is one of restricting the functions of government to those problems that people, living close together, have created. These are in order of importance, seewage, drainage, streets and street lighting, fire protection and police protection.

I would resist all efforts in the direction of trying to legislate goodness in people such as prescribing the ambient of floor space or head room you should have in your house or the kind of tree you might plant on your property. I think it is a fundamental duty of the elected official to see that the people get all the facts and to run the city government as economicly as possible.

The problems we have are mutual ones and can be solved only by all pulling together to make the whole city one that will attract all forms of human endeavor. This, however, cannot happen if we restrict individual initiative by weird ordinances or adopt such grndiose spending program that our combined tax rate far exceeds that of the surrounding cities. To make any seven million dollar positive program work, one must rrealize the taxpayers will have to pay the bill.