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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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October 2012 |
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by Sue Orsen/The Victoria Gazette The season of candidates and elections is always interesting, sometimes exciting, even scary as the character of the USA changes with election results. The national picture is painted with big brush strokes and bureaucracies and also the ballot box. On the local level we paint by number. Our roster of candidates for Victoria City Council this year numbers six, from which three will emerge successful. I drove to the various neighborhoods to meet the candidates at their front door, shake their hand, and look into their eyes. I liked what I saw. As customary, the Gazette also presented each candidate with questions both personal to themselves and pertinent to current issues in Victoria. We elect people, not robots, so personal and public attributes are both considerations for the common good. Two residents are running for Mayor -- Tom O'Connor and also Tim Gregory, who did not reply; vote for one. Four residents -- Lani Basa, Joe Pavelko, Gordy Simanton, Noel Stiller -- stepped forward to run for two other City Council seats; vote for two. Length of all terms is four years. Jim Crowley and Tom Strigel remain on the Council for two more years. Mayor Mary Thun and Councilmember Kim Roden are not seeking re-election. |
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CLICKSTART 952-902-2014 |
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Tom O'Connor, 69 952-261-9177 oconnor1@earthlink.net 1635 Hidden Pond Lane Education: BA Canisius College, Buffalo, NY; MA in Economics, Indiana University; MBA in Finance, U of MN. Current Job: Retired from business career 10 years ago. Victoria City Councilmember. Your Family: Cathi, wife of 45 years; four children (Sean, Mark, Brian, Meghan); seven grandchildren. Year you moved to Victoria: 1998 Moved from where: Bethel, Connecticut, after 22 years. Where born and raised: Born in Santa Barbara, California. Raised in Buffalo, New York. Occupation of parents: Father, Tom, now deceased, was an attorney. Mother, Regina, 94, lives alone in Buffalo, NY. 1) Are you happy with the chosen location for the new Victoria City Hall? I am satisfied with the chosen location for the new City Hall. There is no question that Victoria needs a new facility. The list of deficiencies in the 62-year old structure is long and includes environmental issues, cost inefficiencies, and severe space constraints. My preference for the new City Hall location would have been, where its ultimate location could be, the 13.5 acres the city owns just west of downtown. This option, however, would add more than a million dollars in currently missing infrastructure costs to the total project. This cost could be shared with a commercial developer at a future date as part of the overall development of this site. The site chosen, next to the Post Office, is owned by the City and can be effectively developed into an office building appropriate to the character of our downtown that will satisfy both current and midterm needs. The proposed facility could also possibly be expanded in the future or sold to an investor or developer and remain a positive component of our downtown. If the future decision is to relocate City Hall again, the proceeds from the sale of the proposed facility could be used to offset the cost of a new facility. I invite anyone undecided as to the need for the new structure to come and see the condition of the current building in person.
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