Statesman Journal mini-questionnaire for 2014 Primary Election

Thank you for responding to this questionnaire.

Why this matters: The Statesman Journal Editorial Board will use this questionnaire in deciding
which candidates to endorse at the May 20 Primary Election. The board is doing fewer in-person
interviews this spring. Your answers also will be shared with reporters and may be published in
the newspaper and/or on our website, StatesmanJournal.com, so the public will see what you
submit.
We also ask that you respond to every question, instead of simply attaching campaign materials,
resumes, etc.
Please return the completed questionnaire to the Editorial Board as an email or an attached Word
document to Salemed@StatesmanJournal.com. (Handwritten or fax responses dont work.)
Deadline for submitting your questionnaire: 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 16.
Questions? Contact Editorial Page Editor Dick Hughes, 503-399-6727, dhughes@StatesmanJournal.com, or
Editorial Assistant Nancy Harrington, 503-589-6944, nharring@StatesmanJournal.com.
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Your name: Tom Andersen (Full name Henry Thomas Andersen. I have always gone by
Tom)
Age: 63
Position you are seeking (name of position, district number, political party if applicable):
Ward 2, Salem City Council
Number of years living in the area you seek to represent:
Nearly eight. We moved to the Ward in the summer of 2006.
Are you a full-time resident of that area? Yes.
City/town of residence: Salem, Oregon
Family (name of spouse/partner, number and ages of children if at home, number of grown
children): Jessica Maxwell, journalist and author; two grown sons - Benjamin, attorney, Eli,
medical student
Your education (high school, trade, college, post-baccalaureate; indicate degrees earned):
Lyons Township High School, LaGrange, Illinois 1969
University of Illinois, BA with High Honors, Political Science 1972
University of Oregon, JD 1976
If employed, current occupation, employer and job duties:
Lawyer, H. Thomas Andersen, Attorney at Law, trial lawyer in workers compensation
cases
Previous employers and when:
Hoff, Wilson and Jenkins, law firm in Burlington Vermont, associate,1977-1979; Speer,
Jones and Andersen, Eugene, Oregon, associate and partner, 1979-1986; SAIF Corporation,
Salem, Oregon, trial counsel and managing attorney, 1986-2005; Garrett, Hemann, Robertson,
Of Counsel, Salem, Oregon, 2005-2007; H. Thomas Andersen, Attorney at Law, 2007-present.
Military service and when: None
Volunteer/civic/religious service and when:
South Central Association of Neighbors (SCAN), President 2!"2!2# $and %se and
&rans'ortation Committee Chair 2("2!2, current member# )ice"President, 2("2!# Board
of *irectors 2+" 2!2, 2!,"'resent#
-ember and President, $ane &ransit *istrict Board, !.(("!..!
Cascade -anor Board of *irectors (Continuing Care /etirement Center) !..2"20
(a''ro12)# Elder, Central Presbyterian Church, Eugene, fi3e terms in the !.(4s, !..4s and
24s# -ember, Permanent 5udicial Commission, Synod of the Pacific (Court of A''eals of the
Presbyterian Church) 2,"2+ (a''ro12), &rustee, 6estminster Presbyterian Church, Portland
2!!"'resent
Please list all public offices to which youve been elected, and when: None
Please list any unsuccessful candidacies for public office, and when: None
Other prior political and government experience:
SCAN see above
Westside Neighbors (Eugene) Member, 1979-1989 and Chair, 1982-1984 (approx.),
Neighborhood Leaders Association (Eugene) 1982-1984 (approx), Joint Housing
Commission (Eugene) 1980-1986 (approx.)
How the public can reach your campaign (remember that this information may be made public):
Mail address: PO Box 1064, Salem OR 97308
E-mail address: http://electtomandersen.org/ Contact Us
Web site URL: http://electtomandersen.org/
Phone: 503-689-7877
Please limit your response to each of the following questions to about 75 words.
1. To an outsider, how would you describe the region you wish to represent? What is it like
geographically, economically, politically and socially?
Ward 2 is south, southeast and east of downtown Salem. It has all levels of income; from
higher in the northwest and southwest areas to middle and lower in the east part, although all
income levels are found throughout the ward. It is the most progressive ward in Salem. Salem is
approximately 20% Latino and the ward reflects this. (My campaign handbills are printed in
Spanish as well as English.) Neighborhood associations in Ward 2 are very active.
2. When did you decide to run for this office, and why?
I was asked to run by a number of progressive Democrats who were familiar with my
service as SCAN President and Land Use and Transportation Chair, including the inclusive way
I ran the neighborhood meetings, how I built a consensus, and how I represented SCAN before
the Council and City Commissions. I was first approached in December and, after two additional
meetings, I decided to run in January because I believe Salem needs an effective neighborhood
leader on the City Council.
3. How much will your primary campaign cost (please be specific)?
We have raised right around $5000 (I do not have the precise amount as I am out of the
country on a long-planned business trip and do not have access to the reports). The
overwhelming majority (93%) of these are small contributions from individuals. Most of these
funds have and will be spent on handbills, lawn signs (well over 200 placed), and an anticipated
direct mailing. Nothing has been spent on political consultants.
4. Who are your key endorsements from within the Mid-Valley?
Oregon League of Conservation Voters; SEIU; over 150, and counting, citizens of Salem
80% residents of the ward.
5. Have you ever been convicted of a crime, been disciplined by a professional licensing
board/organization or had an ethics violation filed against you? If so, please give the details.
No.
6. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, been delinquent on your taxes or other major accounts, or
been sued personally or professionally? If so, please give the details.
I had a disagreement with the IRS over my 2007 tax return (affecting Oregon return as
well). The IRS eventually prevailed and I am paying off this amount over time. Nothing else.
7. Why should people vote for you? What separates you from your opponent(s)? Be specific.
7 ha3e eight years of leadershi' in SCAN2 7 am the only candidate for the City Council in
6ard 2 8ith any e1'erience as a 6ard 2 neighborhood leader2 9or e1am'le, I was President
when the School for the Blind was sold. Under my leadership and after many spirited meetings
SCAN developed six criteria for any development of the property. We worked with Salem
Hospital, as good neighbors, to help plan the areas development. Five of our six criteria have
been fully adopted by the Hospital in its final plan. No other candidate has any such ward
leadership experience.
8. Describe your philosophy of governance:
Local governance should be from the bottom up, not the top down. Elected leaders must
solicit citizen input early and often. All levels of decision making should be open and transparent
and all opinions should be treated with respect. The spirit of the Oregon Open Meetings Law
should be followed; not just the letter. Decisions should benefit the broadest range of citizens,
not just special interests. Consensus is desirable, but well informed, open decision making is
much more important.
9. Give an example of a political mistake you made and what you learned from it:
In the late 1980s in Eugene, I was on a committee supporting a city income tax
specifically to support the Eugene Airport. It was resoundingly defeated. Two things I learned
were: 1) it is crucially important for a city government to solicit public input before any revenue
measure, to listen to that input, and to respond appropriately; and 2) not only must revenue
measures be broadly based, they also must either have a broad application or must be for a
specific purpose with broadly based appeal.
10. What specific steps would you advocate to make government more open and transparent?
As above (#8), I would insist that all government processes be open to the public. The
agenda should be much more user friendly and understandable. All aspects of modern media
should be utilized to disseminate as much information as possible. I agree with the recent S-J
column about how too little council explanation and citizen involvement at the front end of
decisions leads to lack of public support at the end of the process.
11. What specific steps would you advocate to make government more fiscally effective?
All aspects of the budget should be subjected to critical analysis to see where there might
be potential savings, including the important police and fire budgets. For example, the city could
consider a merger of the Salem and Keizer fire and emergency services departments. This would
result in savings by eliminating redundant resources. Service levels would be maintained or
improved as a result of joint efficiencies. This is just one of many areas in the city budget which
could be creatively analyzed.
12. What are the three most important issues you would address if elected, and how? (75 words
for each issue)
A. Transparency in the decision making process. I have discussed many aspects of this issue in
answers to 8 and 10. More transparency and more citizen involvement will lead to better policies
and decisions that will increase the publics confidence in the decision making process and
support for the decision itself.
B. Addressing revenue/spending issues. Some projects are too costly for their benefit (3
rd
bridge,
present Civic Center plans), while other sources of revenue should be considered (a more
equitable streetlight and maintenance user fee; System Development Charges that are adequate to
cover the actual costs of new residential, commercial and industrial development). Also see #11
above. Salem is facing budget shortfalls and we must plan to resolve this dilemma, not wait for it
to hit us.
C. Sustainable growth. The City should aim to be hospitable to local businesses, where money
earned and spent will be in and for our community; and not pursue corporations from outside
Salem where money will leave the community with no real return. We need to focus on the
people involved, not growth interest. The council should establish a Sustainability Commission
and solicit its policy recommendations to create or enhance sustainable practices within the
community. We should build better, not bigger.
13. What do you see as other important issues?
Food carts. &he current ordinance is e1tremely restricti3e " no cart can be 8ithin : feet
of another and each cart must mo3e e3ery si1 months " not too good for any ;ind of culinary
synergy2 9ood carts are 'art of a 3ital do8nto8n and actually hel' restaurants2 Can you imagine
8hat the -irror Pond 8ould loo; li;e 8ith 2 food carts< Another reason not to drain the -irror
Pond and build a multi"story 'olice station on the site (8e need a ne8 'olice station, but not
there)2
*e3elo'ment of the North Cam'us of the State =os'ital2 Although the project is on hold
right now, the situation is strikingly similar to that of the Oregon School for the Blind campus.
Both areas are in Ward 2. Any project will require a cooperative effort between the City of
Salem and the State of Oregon to ready the property. Following this effort, the goal should be a
public-private partnership among the State, City, and private developers to create a variety of
uses to establish a true mixed-use community on the North Campus that preserves the Dome
Building and the open space that is an asset to the neighbors and the city.
Continued efforts to support downtown business and residents. A vital downtown is
extremely important. I support the new Boise Cascade development, including the tax
abatements, but did not support the ill-conceived initial development plans. Free parking
downtown should be given every opportunity to succeed. This may include some adjustments to
the ordinance, like a four hour limit.
14. What magazines, newspapers and Web publications do you regularly read to keep up on the
news, especially on issues related to the office you are seeking?
Local - Statesman-Journal, Salem Weekly, Oregonian, Portland Tribune, Willamette
Week, Eugene Weekly
National New York Times, Salon.com, Christian Century, The Nation, The New
Yorker, HuffPo
15. Any skeletons in your closet or other potentially embarrassing information that you want to
disclose before it comes up in the campaign?
No.
16. If you are running for a governing board in Oregon (such as city council, county board of
commissioners or the Legislature), how many meetings of that board have you attended in
person during 2013 and 2014? How many have you watched online or on TV, if applicable?
Eight to ten in person. Equal number on TV.
Thank you. Please return this questionnaire to the Editorial Board as an attached Word document to
Salemed@StatesmanJournal.com by 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 16.