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QC Times: Endorsements - Davenport, Editorial, 11/2/07

• We wish everyone had a chance to meet with every candidate running for council. Members of the Times Editorial Board listed at the bottom of this page sat down with 25 of the 27 candidates on Tuesday’s Bettendorf and Davenport ballots. One was unable to schedule a meeting. One was unwilling. The rest left us very optimistic and quite proud of Quad-City civic involvement. We offer these endorsements not to tell others how to vote, but to let readers know our preferences. Letters to the editor have shared dozens of other preferences. The most important preference, of course, is yours. Please express it Tuesday.
  
  1st Ward: Nathan Brown
  
  Thirty-year-old Nathan Brown brings the fresh look, enthusiasm and business background the 1st Ward needs. He also can provide the council with the much-needed perspective of young families, an essential part of Davenport’s growth.
  
  Pat Gibbs is flush with all kinds of experience and a fresher, less strident demeanor than in the past.
  
  We support Brown as a clear step forward for Davenport.
  
  2nd Ward: Shawn Hamerlinck
  
  Shawn Hamerlinck wins our support for a second term. The philosophy professor at Black Hawk  and Augustana colleges has proved an apt student in the council chambers, tempering his rhetoric and reaching out to ward residents.
  
  He might learn a thing or two from challenger Tom Carnahan, a model of public activism and champion of the powerful Davenport Action Initiative.
  
  Our tough choice among two good candidates goes to a promising incumbent.
  
  3rd Ward: Bill Boom
  
  Bill Boom is a serious, thoughtful, effective business and neighborhood leader who offers a remedy for what ails the Davenport City Council.
  
  He communicates clearly and concisely, encouraging dialogue. His leadership helped improve the neighborhood around his West 2nd Street tavern.
  
  We don’t doubt incumbent Keith Meyer’s seriousness or thoughtfulness. But we’ve not seen much effectiveness. Meyer’s regular attacks on city decisions and processes occasionally hit the mark, but more often derail productive discussions. And he’s yet to master the next step: leadership toward
  
  solutions.
  
  4th Ward: Lisa Lewis
  
  Lisa Lewis’ vitality, ideas and communication skills made this an easy choice. As a former actors’ union rep in Chicago, Lewis brings leadership experiences  far beyond the city, along with a homegrown sense of history. She wants to model her public service after the late Florian Keen, the flamboyant former alderman remembered for his candor and outreach.
  
  Incumbent Ray Ambrose has chosen a much more stoic, far less communicative approach that has hampered the ward and council. No 2007 council member can expect to succeed in effectively communicating with constituents without grasping the fundamentals of the Web and e-mail.
  
  5th Ward: Doug Cunningham
  
  Doug Cunningham brings the ward’s-eye view essential to help ward residents more effectively tackle neighborhood problems. 
  
  Incumbent Bill Lynn’s professorial approach, so effective in his St. Ambrose economics classroom, seems to mute his impact on the council. His leadership derailed neighborhood housing inspections by shoving it onto the fire department, creating turmoil without saving much money.
  
  6th Ward: Jeff Justin
  
  Jeff Justin provided a clear understanding of the council’s policy role. He also has an admirable business background and MBA that can increase his effectiveness on the council.
  
  Challenger Dale Gilmour demonstrates passion for the post. But we don’t share his assessment that downtown is “broken,” or his rush to raid capital improvement funds for general fund needs.
  
  7th Ward: Barney Barnhill
  
  Barney Barnhill enjoys long-time support in a ward where challengers have been few. Newcomer Marcia Patch’s comparatively narrow experience managing rental properties on Heatherton Drive simply doesn’t match Barnhill’s 15 years of elected service and lifelong education career.
  
  8th Ward: Mike Matson
  
  Mike Matson’s military career gives him a world view and management experience we prefer over Becky Schabilion.
  
  As ROTC director at Central High, Matson also is in touch with younger Davenporters, a nice perspective that can keep the council forward-looking.
  
  Schabilion raises valid concerns about tax assessments and other ward concerns.
  
  Matson seemed a more deliberative, clear and concise communicator, all attributes essential for the council.
  
  At-large: Ian Frink and Gene Meeker
  
  We’re sticking with our pre-primary endorsements of Ian Frink and Gene Meeker.
  
  Frink’s first term is the model of effective council service. Meeker’s deep development experience here and elsewhere can keep downtown on a promising course.
  
  We’d have liked to consider Jen Olsen as a ward candidate. But in this field, our nod goes to Frink and Meeker.
  
  
  
  
  
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