The Next Mayor
Whether we like it or not, Corvallis will be getting a new mayor in November. Mayor Helen Berg has decided to retire after three successful terms. Honestly, if I could personally convince her to stick around, I would. Ms. Berg has been a fantastic mayor. She is straightforward, intelligent, and an excellent mediator and facilitator during the sometimes contentious city council meetings. But hey, she's 74. If she wants a break, she's earned it.
So, who will be our next mayor? A damned liberal, no matter what happens. (Hear that sound? That's most of Corvallis, sighing with relief.) Our two choices -- Rob Gandara (left) and Charlie Tomlinson (right) -- are current city council representatives, both church-going, business-owning Democrats, both with similar visions of where Corvallis should be headed in the future.
It's a bit of a coin flip, really. My personal impression was that Tomlinson is more of a button-down business guy, while Gandara is a mildly flaky musician. However, looking over their credentials, Gandara did graduate as an engineer from MIT before starting his own company making bagpipes. (Yup, bagpipes.) Tomlinson's website has an honest-to-goodness action plan for Corvallis, which explains why he is now working in consulting. I can't be 100% sure, but glancing at the voting record, it seems Gandara has skipped more city council meetings than Tomlinson has, but Tomlinson has voted conservatively on a few issues, notably the infamous Earth Charter. Gandara skipped that meeting entirely. But both voted in favor of the resolution to bring the troops back from Iraq. Tomlinson's website is more professional, but Gandara's is more personal, complete with a little smiley face in the title. (Note to Rob: Please, take the music off your website. It's a rare website that can have music and not be annoying, but no website could handle that particular music.)
The Gazette-Times has a brief compare-and-contrast article about the two candidates, but it is definitely lacking in substance. It does show which organizations each has been involved with in the past, and touches on their plans for Corvallis, but eh... I'm giving this race a big shrug. Corvallis is headed in the same general direction with either Rob Gandara or Charlie Tomlinson, so flip a coin or just write "Helen Berg" on the ballot to see if we can convince her to give us another four years.
So, who will be our next mayor? A damned liberal, no matter what happens. (Hear that sound? That's most of Corvallis, sighing with relief.) Our two choices -- Rob Gandara (left) and Charlie Tomlinson (right) -- are current city council representatives, both church-going, business-owning Democrats, both with similar visions of where Corvallis should be headed in the future.It's a bit of a coin flip, really. My personal impression was that Tomlinson is more of a button-down business guy, while Gandara is a mildly flaky musician. However, looking over their credentials, Gandara did graduate as an engineer from MIT before starting his own company making bagpipes. (Yup, bagpipes.) Tomlinson's website has an honest-to-goodness action plan for Corvallis, which explains why he is now working in consulting. I can't be 100% sure, but glancing at the voting record, it seems Gandara has skipped more city council meetings than Tomlinson has, but Tomlinson has voted conservatively on a few issues, notably the infamous Earth Charter. Gandara skipped that meeting entirely. But both voted in favor of the resolution to bring the troops back from Iraq. Tomlinson's website is more professional, but Gandara's is more personal, complete with a little smiley face in the title. (Note to Rob: Please, take the music off your website. It's a rare website that can have music and not be annoying, but no website could handle that particular music.)
The Gazette-Times has a brief compare-and-contrast article about the two candidates, but it is definitely lacking in substance. It does show which organizations each has been involved with in the past, and touches on their plans for Corvallis, but eh... I'm giving this race a big shrug. Corvallis is headed in the same general direction with either Rob Gandara or Charlie Tomlinson, so flip a coin or just write "Helen Berg" on the ballot to see if we can convince her to give us another four years.
posted by Corvallist at
9:05 PM
9 Comments:
As a new resident to Oregon, I've been looking forward to your election blog entries. Thanks!
By
Anonymous, at 6:10 PM
Well who are you going to vote for???
By
Anonymous, at 11:12 PM
I have met Rob a time or two. Seems like a nice guy. I had to laugh at your critique of the music-- what's up with that? I went just to listen.
I would like to learn more about Rob, as he seems to embody certain beliefs of mine. Plus, I noticed he is reusing his campaign signs from City council. Reusing and reducing rocks!
By
crallspace, at 7:57 AM
My inclination is to write-in Helen Berg. I've found Rob Gandara to be flippant, irresponsible, and yes, 'flaky'. Never been that impressed by Charlie Tomlinson either. . .
I do have to commend their willingness to take on the high stress, low-pay work though, quite a committment to public service.
By
Anonymous, at 8:35 AM
I'm not sure who I'll vote for yet, anon.
Crall, the music made my brain hurt. Maybe it changes periodically, I don't know.
By
Corvallist, at 11:18 AM
Although I wouldnt agree with your editorializing;
("So, who will be our next mayor? A damned liberal, no matter what happens. (Hear that sound? That's most of Corvallis, sighing with relief.))",
I do agree with you in wishing either Helen Berg could stay on, or we'd have better choices in this race. Tomlinson does seem more adult. You failed to mention his site was more substantive than Rob's.
Did you catch the image of a winged Rob rising over Corvallis?
Inspiring.
By
Anonymous, at 9:47 PM
Here's an idea for you ... give Helen a call and ask her who she's going to vote for. You wouldn't (or at least shouldn't) believe me if I told you :-)
By
Anonymous, at 7:38 PM
His new website is great www.rob4mayor.com
By
Anonymous, at 3:41 PM
I disagree wholeheartedly that Helen Berg was a good mayor. I saw her treat Corvallis citizens rudely in City Council meetings on several occasions, unbelievably arrogant treatment of people. I am so glad that she is going. She was very uninterested in saving funds, and there were several dubious taxes proposed that were unnecessary. I remember in a meeting when someone reported that a city department had purchased some non-decorative concrete waste receptacles for downtown, Berg told them to "give them to Salem." She also was not particularly interested in making Corvallis an more interesting place to live. However, under her rule, we obtained phallic sculptures on almost every corner downtown, thus giving us the name "Corphallus."
Tomlinson doesn't seem to have anything to say. I'm very unimpressed.
Gandara would have made a difference in the vitality and livability of this town. He is a very smart, creative, and well-rounded person-- an engineer and musician. Not flaky. I really like his music. I hope Rob runs again next time.
By
Anonymous, at 8:47 PM
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