Friday & Saturday, March 26-27, 2010 n se rv in g t h e c o m m u ni t y si n ce 1 9 0 8 n Join the conversation at ColumbiaMissourian.

com n 50 cents

Designating School bond

dollars
Census 2010 is worth
more than a head count
concerns
summarized
Funding, staffing
and overcrowding
are topics of debate.
By Kourtney Geers
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
Leaders of Columbia Pub-
lic Schools say it’s the best
time to build schools, but bud-
get cuts in the past year have
some community members
concerned about how these
buildings will be funded later.
The Columbia School Board
voted unanimously to put the
$120 million school bond issue
on the April 6 ballot, which
proposes a $138 million plan
for new construction, renova-
tions and technology improve-
ments (including $18 million
from the 2007 bond issue).
Here are summaries of con-
cerns on both sides:
If it passes:
BRENDEN NEVILLE Missourian Future funding
The Mizzou LGBTQ Resource Center at Memorial Union is providing stickers for people to place on their Columbia Council PTA Pres-
census envelopes. The stickers are meant to emphasize the need for LGBTQ inclusion in the census. ident Kim Weber is concerned
opponents of the bond issue
are uninformed about where
understand the basic facts
about bond issues,” Weber
said. “It won’t raise your
taxes.”
Linda Dellsperger, who
described herself as a con-
cerned citizen, is aware that
approval of the bond issue
wouldn’t immediately increase
taxes. But she is worried about
future funding to run the pro-
posed new high school and
elementary school.
“Everybody thinks this
bond is going to pass and that
there won’t be any raise in
taxes. But I think we are kid-
ding ourselves if we think
that’s true,” Dellsperger said.
“If they are making all these
cuts right now and then they
are going to open up two new
schools, there certainly won’t
be enough operational money
when those buildings open.”
The district says a five-year
budget model was developed
to prepare for the opening of
the high school in 2013.
“We have budgeted for a
very flat economy,” School
Board member Christine
King said.

Missouri residents worth ‘Queer the the funding is coming from.

millions in federal funding
By Simin Wang
and Sally Wyatt
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
For every person missed in the
2010 Census, Missouri stands to
lose at least $130,000 over the
next 10 years, and Columbia loses
about $1,400 per year for every
resident who is not counted.
So far, the response rate in
both Boone County and Missouri
is better than the national aver-
age.
Since forms were mailed in
early March, Boone County
has seen a 29 percent return.
Missouri reported a 31 percent
response., The national return
rate is 20 percent, according to
the Missouri Census Office.
“We need everyone to partici-
pate in the census, so there is
solid data to distribute money
where it is needed,” said Dennis
Johnson, U.S. Census regional
director for Kansas City.
In 2008, census-based funding
Learn about the challenges the homeless and illegal immigrants face
with being counted on Page 3A.
added $8 billion to state revenue,
according to a Brookings Institu-
tion study.
Johnson said census numbers
are critical to several services
with government funding: edu-
cation, transportation, senior
services, job training, hospitals,
bridge and road repair, emergen-
cy response and child care.
The numbers also help deter-
mine where new schools need to
be built and where more school
lunches and English as a Second
Language programs are needed.
It funds Title 1 programs that
focus on improving academic
achievement for the disadvan-
taged and Title 2 funding for
teacher and principal training.
There are 10 Title 1 schools in
Columbia dependent on this
funding.
“Once the numbers come out,
there will have to be some big
bold discussions as far as schools
Please see CENSUS, page 3a
“I just don’t think people
Superintendent Chris
Please see bond, page 6a
Census’ asks for
LGBTQ numbers
By Jordin Ruthstein
District safety
brainstormed
new@ColumbiaMissourian.com
Type of residence? Check.
Gender? Check
Race? Check
Sexual orientation?
The 2010 census form has no
place to mark an individual’s sexu-
al orientation, so the National Gay Business owners consider
and Lesbian Task Force has taken
the matter in to its own hands. policing, cameras, lights
The organization created “Queer By VICTORIA GUIDA n Improve public transpor-
the Census,” an independent cam- news@ColumbiaMissourian.com tation at night.
paign that pushes representation Downtown has room for n Install emergency call
in the census count. improvement, according to boxes in strategic areas.
The campaign uses hot pink participants in a public forum Molly Wagner, who owns
stickers that people use to check Thursday. Billiards on Broadway, said
their sexual orientation and mail The Downtown Safety the recommendations were
back with the form. Summit was created last July “awesome suggestions” and
The choices are lesbian, gay, to make recommendations to wanted to know how quickly
bisexual and transgender, and for improve safety in The Dis- they could be implemented.
those who just want to support the trict. As part of the the sum- “Let’s take this work and
cause, there’s a box for “straight mit, a public forum was held go do something with it,”
ally.” at the First Baptist Church Wagner said. “Let’s make it
“This is a visibility campaign,” to discuss downtown with happen now.”
stakeholders. Eight recom- First Baptist Church Pastor
Please see LGBTQ, page 3a
mendations were presented John Baker, who is also the
for improving downtown chairman for the Downtown
safety: Safety Summit, said if people
n Maintain geographic like the ideas, they could be
policing of the district. turned into a City Council
n Install public or private presentation.
security cameras in areas of Fourth Ward Councilman

MU alumni Amendment expands ‘Castle high crime, as designated by

the police chief.
n Improve lighting in alleys
Jerry Wade, who is current-
ly running for mayor, said
many of the ideas don’t need

buy Harpo’s Doctrine’ for stopping intruder

Former owner said
he “had a good run.”
By Dalene Rovenstine
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
After 39 years, an original
owner of Harpo’s, Dennis
Harper, has sold his popular
downtown restaurant.
Chuck Naylor and Kevin
Fitzpatrick, both MU alumni,
bought the Columbia eatery
from Harper on March 2.
Harper said he believes they
will continue running the res-
taurant in true Harpo’s style.
“It has steamrolled on,” he
said. “Why slow it down?”
Bar manager Stephen Sav-
age credits Harper with Har-
po’s success. “He has owned,
operated and created one of
the greatest bars of all time.”
But he also said he thinks new
ownership will bring a revival
to Harpo’s, like ringing in a
new era.
Harper started Harpo’s in
1971 after graduating from
MU. He now owns restau-
rants in Kansas City and St.
Louis, so he decided to sell the
Columbia restaurant, saying
he “had a good run.”
He has been a fixture of
the Columbia hospitality and
bar scene, and has “made an
impact on this town,” said
Richard Walls, president of
the Columbia/Mid-Missouri
Restaurant Association.
By Kiki Schmitz
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
JEFFERSON CITY — Mis-
souri’s House approved by an
overwhelming margin a mea-
sure that includes expansion of
the “Castle Doctrine,” which
provides a legal defense for
killing an unwanted intruder
on one’s property.
Currently, the “Castle Doc-
trine” applies to dwellings,
residences and vehicles. The
House measure would add pri-
OURDECISION2010
Meet the
candidates:
Sean O’Day, 23, works as the
point of sale coordinator at
Patricia’s Foods. He uses music
to stir-up his political rallies. He
is in three bands, Explodacon,
B-Sides and The Greatest Hits,
which uses such instruments as
trash-can drums and pots. He
doesn’t consider his rallies to be
fundraisers but opportunities to
meet people.
vate and leased property to business owners, who, accord-
the grounds upon which one ing to Stevenson, would fall
can use deadly force against under the category of “private
an intruder. property.”
What supporters call the Stevenson cited an armed
“Castle Doctrine” allows a robbery that occurred at a
person to use physical force to pharmacy near his law prac-
defend against an intruder if tice, and said under the cur-
the person believes the intrud- rent law, the owner had an
er is going to cause harm with “obligation to retreat” and
“unlawful force.” could not legally defend him-
Rep. Bryan Stevenson, R- self physically.
Webb City, said he proposed
this amendment to protect Please see crime, page 3a
Softball
The Missouri softball team
opens Big 12 play Saturday at
Oklahoma, while the Missouri
gymnasts compete in the Big
12 meet Saturday at Nebraska.
Page 1B
Today’s
weather
Today: Sunny
Temp: 56°
Tonight:
Mostly cloudy
Temp: 38°
Page 2A
by increasing the bright-
ness of the existing lights or
installing new ones.
n Rewrite the panhandling
ordinance to give businesses
a clearer entrance and exit
for customers.
n Require bar employees
to pass a server training pro-
gram.
n Ask the city manager’s
office to designate certain
weekends, especially sport-
ing weekends, as “event
nights.” On such weekends,
the district would be man-
aged as a hospitality zone by
adding trash cans, portable
toilets and more.
IGNORANCE
Amid a vehement
right-wing attack on
the constitutional-
ity of the new U.S.
health care law,
ignorance seems
abundant in Missouri. Read George
Kennedy’s column on Page 5A.
Come see what’s new
by going to
ColumbiaMissourian.com
to be brought before council
and could be worked out by
businesses themselves. Other
ideas, he said, could be in the
council work session after
the April 6 election.
“I think there’s a number
of things that can happen
quickly,” Wade said. “What
has to be sorted out is which
of these things require coun-
cil action.”
Other suggestions were
made:
n Chuck Naylor of Har-
po’s Bar and Grill said the
city should have taxi stands
where people who have been
Please see summit, page 3a
Index
Abby 7A
Calendar 2A
Classified 5B
Life Stories
Opinion
4A
5A
Sports 1B
Sudoku 6B
World 8A
Our 102nd year/#139
2 sections
16 pages
6 54051 90850 3
Page 6A — FRIDAY & SATURDAY, March 26-27, 2010 Columbia Missourian

OURDECISION2010
O’Day: Age won’t affect platform
Despite being the youngest candidate, O’Day aims to bring perspective to the council
By Kathleen Pointer
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
Some people were a little surprised
Sean O’Day was collecting signatures
for mayor.
“It would just be kind of funny. I’d
say, ‘I’m wanting to run for mayor,’
and they’d look at me and go ‘You?’”
That’s because at 23, Sean O’Day is
the youngest mayoral candidate by 16
years, and he’s 54 years younger than
incumbent Mayor Darwin Hindman.
Some of the markers of his age are
present: He lives in a rented apartment
with three roommates, he’s enrolled
in college and his campaign rallies
continue well into the night.
O’Day is quick to point out that he’s
not focused on just the youth vote.
“Youth (issues) are not my main
Sean O’Day objective. I do think it’s important to
get youth involved, but I first wanted
709 Bluffdale Drive to make sure I focused on the estab-
lished people here and long-term resi-
PERSONAL: dents and talk to them,” he said.
O’Day doesn’t think his age should
23. He is single.
be an issue, but he said it could help
OCCUPATION: him offer some fresh perspective.
Still, he knows it might bother some.
Point of sale coordinator at “As it stands, City Council is mostly
Patricia’s Foods. retirees,” O’Day said. “I’d like to see a
broader spectrum get involved.”
EDUCATION:
Motivator
Attended MU for one year, now
O’Day grew up in Hallsville — about
pursuing a bachelor’s degree in 16 miles north of Columbia — with his
physics at Moberly Area Com- parents and five siblings. He said his
parents were surprised when he told
munity College.
them he was running for mayor, but
they have been supportive.
BACKGROUND:
“(My parents) definitely did the
‘wait, what?’” O’Day said. “They sat
Member of the Dog Pound Art
me down, talked to me just about how
Collective.
I needed to hold myself. They’re very
excited.”
ON THE WEB:
O’Day said his family has been
O’Day has a campaign page on responsive to his campaign. His
Facebook. father, Philip O’Day, attended his most
recent rally at the Blue Fugue, and his
See O’Day answer
brother Kyle has helped him gather up
11 questions at campaign materials.
ColumbiaMissourian.com Philip O’Day said his son was “just
an average little guy” and that he was
always reading. He also was interested
in science and participated on his high
school’s math and quiz bowl teams.
His older sister Caitlin O’Day said
she remembers her brother teaching
himself to read before he was 4. Not
much has changed since then. O’Day
said he reads five books at any given
time. Two of his favorites are Carl
Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot” and Ken Kes-
ey’s “Sometimes A Great Notion.”
O’Day graduated from Hallsville
High School in 2005 and started col-
lege at MU. He left in 2007 because he
couldn’t afford the tuition.
“I’ve always been self-educated,”
O’Day said. “Being out of school was
not a bad thing for me.”
O’Day is passionate not just about
reading but also about education over-
all.
“I think it’s important, having an
educated society,” O’Day said. “I make
a big fuss about civil liberties, and
having freedoms is an important part
of being educated. “
O’Day is currently studying physics
at Moberly Area Community College.
“What little kid doesn’t want to be an
astronaut?” O’Day said.
O’Day said he’d eventually like to go
to a school where he could work in a
jet propulsion lab. As for now, April 6
takes priority.
“This is the new dream,” he said.
Filing trouble
As he was growing up in Hallsville,
O’Day didn’t really consider politics.
“I’ve always been interested in the
things that are going on. I think it
was, in retrospect, fairly obvious that
I would get involved, but I never really
had any ambition to,” O’Day said.
But his sister Caitlin said she is not
surprised her brother entered politics.
She said he isn’t the type to just sit by
and watch things happen, and their
dad agreed.
O’Day’s friend and campaign man-
ager, Phillip Berrong, said O’Day talks
to people about upsetting situations
and then works to change them.
Over the summer, Berrong, O’Day
and a group of their friends spent
time at a creek in Rock Bridge State
Park. Berrong said that as the creek
got crowded over the summer, a lot of
trash built up.
“We just went down there to hang
out, and (the trash) bothered Sean.
He convinced everyone to spend our
afternoon picking everything up,”
Berrong said. “We carried a few bags
of trash out of that place.”
O’Day said when he first started
talking about running for mayor, he
wasn’t sure he’d ever take the plunge.
“I mentioned it kind of off-hand to
some people, but then it kind of took
root and went from there.”
Philip O’Day said the campaign real-
ly took off when his son started going
out and talking to people. “When he
started gathering signatures I knew
he was really serious about this.”
O’Day hit a bump at the beginning
of his campaign. Just when he thought
“he was getting a chance to catch a
breath,” his petition was rejected after
it was submitted to the city clerk’s
office because it lacked enough valid
signatures.
“I was a little discouraged at first,”
he said. “I sat down with some people,
and we talked about it. I decided that
we had already put a lot of time into it,
and so we might as well (try again).”
His second submitted petition was
valid, and O’Day found a place on the
ballot.
“My schedule has become a thou-
sand times more hectic,” he said. “The
busier I can keep myself, the better I
feel.”
A musical candidate
At campaign events, O’Day does
more than prepare a speech and talk
to voters. Both his rallies at the Blue
Fugue featured live musicians, includ-
ing O’Day’s bands. He’s in three:
Explodacon, B-Sides and The Greatest
Hits. He sings and plays guitar and
bells.
“Explodacon is a pretty big group of
friends, about 12,” O’Day said. “There
is a lot of different instrumentation.
There are pots and pans being beat on,
and we have a trash-can drum.”
At his most recent rally, O’Day
played with The Greatest Hits. Ber-
rong is also a member and played
the glass bottle during the perfor-
mance. On stage, O’Day showed a
more relaxed, goofy side than the
more serious and sometimes nervous
presentation he has at forums.
“This is not the same Sean O’Day
who is running for mayor,” he said
to the audience. “That Sean O’Day
speaks well. This Sean O’Day speaks
good. That’s right, I’m trying to con-
fuse you.”
Their music is both folksy and lively,
with an obvious hint of improvisation.
O’Day said his friends have been
“instrumental with helping on the
campaign.”
“They’ve reminded me that some-
times I’m nervous when I really
shouldn’t be,” O’Day said.
O’Day’s father sees a connection
between his son’s musical experience
and campaign.
“Being a musician and running for
mayor — they both take a lot of cour-
age,” he said.
Caitlin O’Day her brother is comfort-
able talking with people and doesn’t
shy from starting conversations.
“He knows how to work a room,” she
said. “He came to visit me and just
started talking to people. By the end
of the weekend, he had a bunch of new
friends.”
O’Day and Berrong emphasized the
events are rallies and not fundraisers.
“The only money we’re spending is a
few bucks here and there. We’d much
rather have donations of time,” Ber-
rong said. “This campaign isn’t about
spending money. It’s about talking to
people, and Sean is good at that.”

Bond: Program concerns rule discussion

CONTINUED from page 1A
Belcher said the district is
building budget reserves in
order to have enough money
to fund operation of the high
school, for which property has
been purchased in northeast
Columbia. Belcher said build-
ing the reserves has, among
other efficiencies, included
using one-time stimulus funds
on current operating costs
while placing local tax money
that would’ve been used for
these purposes into reserves
for future use.
MU chemistry professor
John McCormick, a former
member of the High School
Site Evaluation Committee,
said that although he appre-
ciates board members’ work,
he is deeply disappointed the
board put the bond issue on
the ballot.
“If we’ve already approved
our tax dollars to build build-
ings and fund busing, I’m
afraid our tax district vot-
ers will turn down additional
funding that we are going to
need to support teachers and
teaching,” McCormick said.
Staffing
Part of the proposed bond
issue is aimed at decreasing
the number of transitions for
students — that is, how many
times they change schools.
Junior highs will be phased
out, then kindergarten through
fifth grade will be elementary
school, sixth through eighth
grades will be middle school
and ninth through 12th grades
will be high school.
Shelley Morris, a Grant Ele-
mentary School parent, said
she is concerned about how
the new high school would be
staffed.
The district plans to trans-
fer teachers from existing
schools. Said Belcher: “We
know we are going to re-shift
our secondary staff and put
some of the freshman teach-
ers in the high schools and our
middle schools would become
smaller, but we will have to
add principals, counselors and
custodians.”
He said a predicted growth
in enrollment will increase
the amount of money avail-
able to hire teachers. “With
every new student we get, a
certain amount of money fol-
lows that student,” he said.
“The state gives us money for
attendance. So if you grow
30 students, that’s probably
enough to grow a teacher
without having much cost.”
Program losses
McCormick said he worried
money could be taken away
from some of the district’s
strongest programs to help
fund the basic operation of
new facilities.
“There’s maybe some con-
cern about the current facili-
ties in the high schools, but
they are turning out outstand-
ing students with the current
buildings and facilities, and
it’s because they have won-
derful programs that we can
afford to fund,” McCormick
said.
Belcher said there are no
current plans to cut programs.
“However, that is based on
the assumption that the state
money will at least stabilize,”
he said. “If they give us anoth-
er year of radical cuts, we’re
just going to have to look at
that when we come to it.”
If it doesn’t
pass:
Overcrowding:
The current enrollment in
Columbia Public Schools is
17,419 students, and the dis-
trict says another 1,000 are
projected to enroll over the
next five years.
A new high school and new
elementary school will not be
built if the bond issue doesn’t
pass.
“If we don’t get this passed,
we will simply have more
trailers — we have 164 now,—
and we will shove more kids
in the existing classrooms we
have,” Belcher said. “The kids
will come, regardless of the
economy.”
Amy LaHue, who has two
children at Paxton Keeley
Elementary School, said, “We
need to get this high school
built. I think we will be expe-
riencing overcrowding. We
are fortunate that at Paxton
Keeley it isn’t effecting us yet,
but it’s not going to take long
until it does effect us.”
Grant Principal Beverly Bor-
duin was concerned about the
limitations of student involve-
ment in sports and other activ-
ities in large schools.
“If you have smaller schools,
you have more opportunities
for students to participate,”
Borduin said. She said the sit-
uation is also better for involv-
ing parents.
Building maintenance
Jack Jensen, assistant super-
intendent for elementary edu-
cation, said funds would have
to be taken from the operat-
ing budget to fund necessary
maintenance and improve-
ments throughout the district
if the bond doesn’t pass.
“Bond issues and operating
levies are separate,” Belcher
said, explaining that bonds
can only pay for construction
and upkeep costs, not salaries,
benefits or supplies.
McCormick doesn’t see a
problem with the current state
of the facilities.
“We have a lot to be proud
of, our programs are working
very well. The facilities we
have are perfectly adequate,”
McCormick said. “We don’t
need a new building to turn
out stellar students. We really
are right now. But we need to
continue to fund our teachers
and our teaching programs.”
Economy
Both Jensen and Belcher
have reiterated that the eco-
nomic climate is positive for
building and bonds.
“This project could do some
incredible things for the com-
munity,” Jensen said.
Mike Brooks, president of
Regional Economic Develop-
ment Inc., said that, based on
a program from the Bureau
of Economic Analysis, the
amount of money from the
bond infused into the econo-
my could produce an estimat-
ed 1,644 jobs over the three
or four years of construction.
Although the program isn’t
an exact science, it estimates
that about 50 percent of those
jobs would be in construction,
about 10 percent in retail and
the rest in a variety of fields
such as food service, health
care, hotels and more.
Brooks said that Belcher
asked REDI to examine how
$120 million in construc-
tion spending would affect
the community. The results
weren’t as accurate as they
could have been because $97.5
million, not the full amount of
the bond issue, would be spent
on construction.
McCormick said the new
construction is unreasonable
because of the district’s and
state’s current financial prob-
lems that could carry into the
future.
“We can’t expect to have
enough dollars to compen-
sate teachers adequately, fund
teaching adequately and pay
for a brand-new building,”
McCormick said. “It’s going
to saddle our school district
forever with expenses that we
really can’t afford.”
At forum, all board candidates
say city needs school bond
By Doug Davis
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
The Columbia Public School
District’s $120 million bond
issue and its potential eco-
nomic impact on Columbia
were the main discussion top-
ics at a Thursday afternoon
public school candidate forum
hosted by the Columbia Cham-
ber of Commerce.
The Chamber of Commerce
has endorsed the school bond
issue, which will be decided by
Columbia voters in the April
6 election. Candidates were
asked to describe what pas-
sage of the bond might mean
to the community.
Jan Mees: “The economic
impact to our community will
be instantaneous.” It will get
many people to work, and the
long-term effects range into
millions of dollars to Colum-
bia, she said.
James Whitt: Whitt said his
hope is that bids for construc-
tion work come in lower than
first planned. The construc-
tion manager hired to oversee
the work will divide the work
up in such a way that smaller,
local contractors will be able
to compete more successfully
in the bidding process.
Philip Peters: Peters said
the bond issue is good for four
reasons: It solves the district’s
need for extra capacity, it is
an economic stimulus to the
city, current low interest rates
make it favorable and it does
not add a new tax burden to
citizens.
Jonathon Sessions: Sessions
said the main impact of the
bond issue is that students’
educations will be improved
by reducing overcrowding.
Dan Holt: Holt said there
are many positive impacts, but
one that many overlook is the
image projected outside the
community. A reputation for
supporting schools is a critical
part of that image, Holt said.
The candidates were also
asked how they would address
negative perceptions about
the district.
Sessions: Sessions empha-
sized the need for better com-
munication tools. He said
when people read news stories
about the public schools, they
might skip important details
and ask things such as, “Why
did you cut science out of the
schools?”
Holt: “Negative perceptions
do exist.” He said he has heard
people say the district labels
some groups of students and
sets them aside from the rest.
In reality, the district doesn’t
do that at all, he said.
Mees: Mees said a problem
is that a majority of Colum-
bians do not have family in
Columbia Public Schools and
may receive wrong or mis-
leading information. The dis-
trict has to be its own posi-
tive mouthpiece and correct
misperceptions, she said.
Whitt: Whitt said he thinks
negative perceptions have
decreased, and Columbia
Schools Superintendent Chris
Belcher has had a lot to do
with that. He said Belcher is
called “The Great Communi-
cator” and that maintaining a
positive image in the public’s
eyes is a continual process.
Peters: Peters said there are
a lot of happy parents, but
people in Columbia have high
expectations with regard to
education. He said the board
needs to know which percep-
tions represent valid concerns,
for instance, financial respon-
sibility and competency.

Mayoral, ward candidates discuss race relations, budget issues

By Anne Christnovich
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
The candidate forum held by
the League of Women Voters
at Stephens College on Thurs-
day night gave ward and may-
oral candidates yet another
chance to solidify their cam-
paign platforms and address
questions from an audience of
about 50, with election week
only two weeks away.
The forum was moderated
by local radio personality Tom
Bradley from KSSZ/93.9 FM,
The Eagle. Bradley asked a
combination of questions, both
prepared and submitted from
the audience.
Cathy Rosenholtz, a politi-
cal communications graduate
student at MU, asked mayoral
candidates about promoting
positive race relations.
“I knew who I wasn’t going to
vote for before, but this helped
me make some decisions
tonight,” Rosenholtz said.
Sean O’Day said the dispar-
ity between races and econom-
ic circumstances needs to be
addressed as a whole through
equal enforcement of laws.
Jerry Wade also outlined
adequate enforcement of ordi-
nance violations.
Candidates Bob McDavid,
Sid Sullivan and Paul Love
said promotion of diversity
starts on a youth-based level.
Mayoral candidates got a
chance to address a topic of
their choosing when asked
what their third most impor-
tant priority is, after the top-
ics of public safety and job
growth.
Sullivan used his 90-second
response time to address gov-
ernance and setting solid poli-
cies within the council.
Wade said he would try to
move economic development,
crime, building neighborhoods
and policy procedures at an
equal rate.
McDavid and Love chose to
focus on budget issues con-
cerning social services spend-
ing and using budgetary dol-
lars wiser, respectively.
O’Day said he would pro-
mote Columbia’s potential to
be more sustainable through
bio-fuels and efficient trans-
portation.