PORT ANGELES — Mayor Kate Dexter and Marolee “Mimi” Smith Dvorak have different ideas of how the city of Port Angeles should be run.
Incumbent Dexter and challenger Smith Dvorak are running for Port Angeles City Council, Position 4. The two spoke during a candidate forum before the Port Angeles Business Association on Tuesday morning at Jazzy Joshua’s restaurant.
When the candidates were asked if the city should be run as a business, Smith Dvorak said “of course.”
“We need better financial information,” she said.
The city should not be run as a for-profit business, Dexter said.
When the candidates were asked what policies they would champion to stimulate small businesses, Dexter said she would work with the city council to create conditions to allow more businesses to prosper.
“We need to invest proactively in infrastructure and market the city as a tourism destination,” she said. “I think we should continue to support expanding business districts. I think we need to continue the policy of hiring contracts locally when we can.”
Smith Dvorak questioned what the city’s $95 business fee gets businesses. She said there should be a website that provides links to available real estate and other resources for businesses.
“Nobody at the city council goes out and talks to people in business,” she said. “We need to talk about how we can really support our businesses. I think we should have an ombudsman. I’ve said that for years.”
When asked if they support the current housing strategy in Port Angeles, Smith Dvorak said people who move to Port Angeles want single-family homes.
“The city would rather have multi units because it’s better for the tax base,” she said. “If we’re doing well, people can afford houses, and we’re not doing well. We need some way to get people into entry-level housing.”
Dexter said she voted in favor of the current housing policies.
“One thing we’ve talked about is to try to be more nimble,” she said. “Nothing is set in stone. We saw a need, we changed some rules to meet that need. There’s a value in rentals.”
When asked how the city might partner with organizations and businesses to develop tools that assist with permitting, Dexter said the city council’s job is not to do the administration of the city, it’s to pass legislation.
“All the systems are being redone now,” she said. “I think it would be council directing staff. I think it’s a good idea to consider partnering.”
Smith Dvorak said what some cities do is set up a separate website to help people do business in town. The city should be making it easy for people by making how-to videos and providing checklists, she said.
When asked what metrics they would use to determine how well the city is performing, Smith Dvorak said money and trends.
“Nobody looks at trends at the city, and that’s a problem,” she said. “One thing we never do is put performance clauses in anything. We don’t have any performance measurement.”
Dexter said she would use the data around Operation Shielding Hope, which shows Clallam County has gone from being in the top three counties for drug overdoses to somewhere between 12th and 15th out of 39 counties statewide. Another metric she would use is how many units have been built, how many businesses have started and how many businesses have gone under.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
