Sharla Gardner interview ( 3rd disctrict council seat.)

Hrere is Sharla Gardners interview. Don Ness's interview will not be moved to the interview page you can view it there. We still have a number of interviews out there being filled out by candidates.



Personal information (name, interest, ECT…..)?
My name is Sharla Gardner, I am a widow with 2 grown children and I live on the East Hillside . My interests are wide and varied - history, travel, gardening, music (I am an amateur musician), creative and technical writing, community theatre and, last, but not least, working with our community to create better lives for everyone.


2. Why did you decide to run for office?
Aside from the urging of the incumbent, Russ Stewart and others, I decided to run because it is my duty as a citizen to step forward and serve the community on behalf of the interests of all of the people of the District. Since our District is so diverse, culturally and economically, we need to be represented by a person who understands the dynamics of the District and will work with all the different groups.


Do you have any special interest supporting you? If so which groups?

Yes.
However, I’d like to talk about what is meant by “special interests”. For instance, the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce is not supporting me, although many of their members who own small businesses in the District ARE supporting me. The Chamber is a special interest, and that organization, for this election, has chosen not to endorse candidates; but their leadership is definitely contributing monies and providing support to certain candidates. This year, the term special interest is code for unions. Personally, I think the term “special interests”, especially the way it’s being used this year, is extremely divisive and hurts our community. How can we work together to solve serious problems when some community organizations are singled out and labeled as “special interests”? We all have to work somewhere and if you look at the current make up of the council, there are many different “special interests”. For instance, there are 2 attorneys on the council, 2 landlords, a person with disabilities, a union employee, an electrician, a businessman working for Gold Cross and a person who worked for our congressman and is currently working for a private foundation. With that said, I am proud of the support of my colleagues and the labor unions that represent workers in construction, hospitality, government and other industries. I think all working people, whether they belong to a union or not, deserve more representation on the Council and I will provide that representation.



Do you believe this support will be benefits you? If so how?
Yes. A vibrant labor movement benefits the community by lifting the standards for all workers. Whether labor support benefits me politically is of less concern to me.




5. What is the number one issue facing the city today?
The retiree health care issue is very important, but can be solved by fully implementing the 14 recommendations of the Retiree Health Care Task Force. One of the major factors in the Task Force recommendations is timing. Each day implementation is delayed, it’s costing us money. Once this is done, we must prioritize basic city services, particularly public safety, including neighborhood community policing.


6. Do you believe crime is a major issue facing Duluth ?
Yes. That is why we must fully restore the neighborhood community policing program. This program is tried and true. It works because the police officers are known within the community and people feel free to approach them with problems AND their presence is a great deterrent to criminals.


7. What can we do reduce crime in the City?
In the short-term, as I said earlier, we must fully staff neighborhood community policing. In the long-term, the best way to reduce crime is by providing better job opportunities, especially those with wages in the mid-range. A wise person once said that the best anti-poverty and anti-crime program is a good job. Another, often overlooked crime prevention/reduction solution, is to get to know your neighbors. Becoming involved with our neighborhoods and our community and looking out for each other, is a major component in building community and reducing crime. We’re in great danger of becoming an isolated society, using our computers and televisions as our ways of communicating and interaction with the outside world. This isolation promotes unwarranted fear. There is no substitute for human contact, neighborliness and community.


8. What would you do to improve the city park system?
Duluth has one of the best park systems found anywhere. Unfortunately, we don’t always maintain it as well as we should. We need to take better care of what we have, which will save us money in the long run. I also want to take this opportunity to recognize the many good people in our District who volunteer to take care of our parks and cleaning them up. It’s not fair to expect them to do that, but they deserve our respect and appreciation.

9. Would you support a code of conduct for the Duluth City Council and Mayor that included sexual harassment policies? Why or why not?
Yes. Elected officials should be held to the same standards as city employees. Period.



10. Do you think Duluth needs more affordable housing? If so how do you accomplish this?
In light of the current problems with the housing market nationally, we need to be careful to not overbuild and create a surplus in our local housing market. However, Duluth does have a shortage of decent affordable rental housing, in particular. We must continue to work with private developers and community housing organizations to promote affordable and decent rental housing and make sure that existing rentals are kept up to code.


11. How do you solve the Duluth unfunded health care issue? (Bet you thought you would not have to answer this again).
Please refer to question #5. In addition, it’s important we understand that each day we delay implementing the recommendations is costing us money. The timelines that the task force recommended in 2005 have not been honored and that’s causing even greater financial liability. I’ve concluded a major reason the timelines have been ignored is because a couple of local politicians used this issue for political gain. This divisive rhetoric has deeply harmed and divided our community. It’s been needlessly hurtful and it needs to stop now. I note that the News Tribune published the Arbitrator’s decision in full regarding the Police Officers union’s contract on Friday, October 12th. It is about 36 pages long-very interesting and illuminating reading. The more informed people are about this issue, the less likely they are to believe divisive, untrue, political rhetoric. As citizens, we should be emailing our city councilors and asking what they will do to avoid additional delays.




12. Any other information you would like to share?
Our neighborhoods need to become more sustainable and attractive. The reason I love living on the East Hillside is because of all the neighborhood businesses that are within walking distance or a short drive. When I need something, I don’t have to drive all the way to the mall – I can go to the Plaza, Daugherty’s, Canal Park or the Co-op. If I want to eat out, I can go to the Burrito Union or Chester Creek Café (just outside of the district, but close enough). I’d like to see more neighborhood business develop that are culturally specific. The VeBene’ restaurant and the Italian Import store next to it are good examples of that kind of specialization that will add charm and interest, as well as dollars to our local economy.


13. What would do to bring business to Duluth ?
As a city councilor, I will work with whoever is elected Mayor to develop creative ways to bring mid-range jobs to Duluth . We must be more forward thinking and creative with the kinds of businesses we want to attract. Our hospitality industry is booming, as are the Medical Centers. We need manufacturing jobs, that pay salaries between $14 and $20 per hour, because these are the jobs that bring people out of poverty and that help them get a decent start in life.


14. What kind of business should Duluth focus on bringing here?
Please see #13 and, I would add, I’d like to see green collar jobs, such as a wind turbine manufacturing plant and green professional jobs, that develop alternative forms of energy in Duluth . These are the career opportunities of the future, and they will not detract from our quality of life and cannot be outsourced to another country.

15. How do we keep our young people in Duluth ?
Make sure there are jobs that pay decent wages AND make sure they are hired for them. When I’ve been doorknocking, people have expressed frustration about the fact they graduated from UMD, but don’t get the jobs they are qualified for. People are being imported from other cities. We have a wealth of talented, well educated young people who have made career sacrifices to live here because it’s their hometown and because of our excellent quality of life. We need to make sure they’re employed. The workforce of Duluth is one of our greatest and most valuable resource.


16. What thoughts do you have on renters vs. the community?
Renters are not bad people. Many people prefer to rent and not own a home for a number of reasons – many relating to time and interest and career demands. Being a home owner takes time and energy and many career people prefer to rent. We shouldn’t forget them – they are desirable neighbors and good citizens. These folks are one of the reasons I addressed the issue of decent, affordable rentals in an earlier question. However, I think this question refers to student rentals and so I will address that component as well. Student rentals are a problem, often because of the parking issue. I think our rental ordinance addresses that problem, in part, but it remains, because the existing rentals were grandfathered in. We must engage the university administration to help with solving the problem their growth policies have created in our neighborhoods. We must also make sure that problem houses (party houses) are reported to the police consistently and we must request that the police ticket these houses, in a consistent fashion. By that, I mean informing the landlord, issuing a warning the first time, ticket with a fine the 2nd time, and, if there’s a 3rd time, the landlord will be penalized, as well.