Noteworthy: Endorsements in City Council election | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article was initially published by our friends at the Beaufort Observer.

    Editor's note: Early voting for the 2011 municipal elections begins Thrusday, October 20 and ends November 5, the Saturday before Election Day on November 8. In this Noteworthy column author John LaCava offers his endorsements for the Washington City Council.

    It is the policy of the Beaufort Observer to not formally endorse candidates. However, columnists are free to include anything they wish in their columns. That is why they are attributed by name. Here's John's column:

   When you look at the current political scene in The City of Washington, you have to ask who is asking the tough questions and offering solutions on behalf of the taxpayers. I would argue that Doug Mercer falls into that category and you can add two additional candidates to that group by including Lloyd May and Rick Gagliano. Rick, Lloyd and Doug are currently running for city council on a unified platform of:

    No Tax Increases

    Lowering Utility Rates

    Reducing Crime

    Limiting government and

    Protecting Individual rights

    Now, almost everyone knows what the problems are but these candidates have some solutions you may want to consider. Regarding taxes, the city is already spending 2.4 million dollars a year in debt service and has overspent the 2010 budget by a million dollars. Electricities alone accounts for $900,000.00 a year and that debt runs until 2027. This is debt and high utility payments that your children and grandchildren will be saddled with in a declining economy. Here are just two of their proposals that will cut costs.

    1. Outsource some city jobs thus saving future retirement and benefit costs. This can be accomplished through attrition and buyouts.

    2. Bid out city contracts in excess of $5,000.00. This would put the city on a solid business base and eliminate crony capitalism.

    We would all like a lot less government but this is especially true of the small businessperson. All idications point to a decidedly unfriendly business climate in the City of Washington. High utility costs, high property taxes (city and county), excessive Red Tape and Regulation, and government interference with the free enterprise system deter from starting or maintaining businesses in the community. Remember 70% of the jobs created in this country are created by small businesses. These candidates will correct this by cutting property taxes and getting rid of fees and Red Tape that are counterproductive. This would encourage new hiring and business expansion.

    Do you realize that every homemaker in the city is paying 2.5 times as much on utilities in comparably sized cities nationwide? These candidates think it's time to do something about that. They advocate a focus on load management at the consumer level and a "beat the peak" approach at the commercial level. Additionally, they would advocate for cost cutting within WEU and Electricities. They also understand that they need to stop the transfer of funds from Electric Fund to the general fund. These are short term goals which could produce a 7% savings for consumers.

    In the immediate future, the candidates will explore selling or leasing the WEU to other ownership. In the long term, the city will have to work with other Electricities municipalities, to address the Electricities debt issue, at the federal and state levels to get out of debt or significantly restructure it. Ultimately, what is needed is to put competition into the wholesale power system.

    Drug trafficking must end. The attendant costs for this crime are bankrupting the city financially and morally. Adam Smith said in "The Commonwealth of Nations" that the only true source of wealth is labor. We are losing labor to drug addiction, rehab, incarceration, and social services. In fact, we might say that Social Services is one of our few growth industries. With 60+ law enforcement personnel in the city, the candidates believe that if we target the problem with increased patrols and enforcement the problem would be on the road to a solution.

    When you vote, vote for the 3 with Common Sense: Rick Gagliano, Lloyd May and Doug Mercer.