The Jefferson City Council will decide next week who will take the vacant 2nd Ward seat - either Carolyn McDowell or Laura Ward.
McDowell is a seasoned veteran of city government, having served a total of 10 years on the council since 1973, while Ward is a newcomer who says she wants to bring her energy and passion to city issues.
McDowell served on the City Council for six years in the 1970s and four years in the 1990s, and ran for mayor in 1999. Ward worked with neighbors and city staff to pass an ordinance in 2001 establishing the Lower Jefferson Conservation District on West Main Street, which established design guidelines meant to conserve the neighborhood's architectural and historical integrity.
Ward is an administrative associate with the University of Missouri School of Medicine. She moved to Jefferson City in 1999 with her husband, Michael. The couple have two children - 18-year-old Patrick, who will begin his freshman year at the University of Missouri in the fall, and 15-year-old Ella, who is a sophomore at Helias Catholic High School. Ward has served on the board of the Historic City of Jefferson, where she currently serves as webmaster, and chairs the Golden Hammer Award Committee, which honors renovation and restoration efforts for homes in the community.
She said she collects antiques, loves to landscape and enjoys running. Ward also has restored two historic homes, including her current home on Atchison Street.
"I like to give back, in preserving history. It's for our future," Ward said. "And it's for Jefferson City."
McDowell owns and operates Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio on Jefferson Street and has spent much of her life working with government entities, boards and commissions. In addition to her years on the council, McDowell served as secretary on the city's charter commission and has served on many city commissions through the years, including the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Board of Adjustment and the transportation commission, among others.
(McDowell only served four years on the council after term limits were enacted, meaning she's eligible to serve 2 two-year terms on the City Council.)
She is a former public administrator for Cole County and a former director of the Jefferson City area Chamber of Commerce.
"I like politics," McDowell said. "That's what I'm about."
Because the two are seeking a seat recently vacated by Shawn Schulte (who left the council after announcing a move from the 2nd Ward to the 5th Ward), residents will not directly vote for either candidate. Instead, the nine remaining members of the City Council will cast votes on who they prefer at the July 7 council meeting.
The News Tribune sat down with both candidates and asked about some of the most pressing city issues, to give city residents an idea of who the candidates are and time to contact their council person and say who they believe is the best candidate.
Q. Why did you want to be nominated?
For McDowell, it all comes down to a desire to serve and her previous experience that she believes has prepared her well.
"I've been there, I understand the system," McDowell said. "I'm willing to help out because of the institutional knowledge I think I have."
McDowell said she has been through 10 budgets and her experience there will help improve the city's budgeting. Another reason, she said, is that she owns a business in the community, giving her the knowledge on what it takes to survive as a business owner and how the city's decisions affect other businesses.
"Being employed here and owning a business is important," McDowell said. "You understand taxes more so if you're really in business."
Ward said her desire to serve comes from her passion for the community.
"Jefferson City has been a great place for my family (and) to raise my children" Ward said.
Ward said she's worked to serve the neighborhoods she's lived in, restoring two older homes, including her current home on Atchison Street, to try and improve the area, as well as protect the historic integrity of the community.
Ward said she also loves the city's downtown and the events it hosts, such as Thursday Night Live, and she wants to ensure the area continues to build vibrant events.
"There's energy, and I would like to keep that momentum going," Ward said.
Q. Why have you not run for a seat in the past?
For Ward, raising her two children came first. Ward said she has never sought a seat on the City Council because her children were younger (they are now 18 and 15) and she wanted to be there to support them and their activities.
"I don't want to miss out on their childhood," Ward said.
Ward said she had been asked by others to run in the past, but she didn't want to make such a commitment unless she knew she had the time to do it right.
While McDowell has, in fact, run more than once in the past (she served on the City Council from 1973-79, and from 1995-99), she said she hasn't run more recently because she felt there was good representation on the council and there wasn't a need for her to run again.
"I felt like the people that were in office were doing a good job," McDowell said. "There wasn't a need."
Q. Would you plan to run to retain the seat in spring?
McDowell said she couldn't answer that until the time came to file for office, which isn't until December. She said at that time, it would depend on whether people think she's represented them well in the months on the council.
"I think you have to wait "til that time comes," McDowell said. "See if everyone thinks you've done a fair job and if there's encouragement."
Ward said as of now, she would plan to run in the spring for the 2nd Ward seat and the appointment would provide a good trial period for serving on the council.
"I feel that this is a good opportunity too, since it's a nine-month appointment, to be able to research the issues and the topics, and meet and learn the different personalities that are on the council currently," Ward said. "There's no sense in doing a job just for a few months."
Q. What makes you best qualified for the council seat?
Ward describes herself as dynamic, dedicated and loyal, and said her ability to look at all different views and sides of an issue would do well on the council. She said there are opportunities to get things accomplished for the city and even if she can't do everything she might want, there are opportunities to at least "win the battle," even if she loses the war.
McDowell said it's her institutional knowledge and her knowledge of the city's history that make her qualified.
"I believe they need that right now," McDowell said. "Look where we are, look where we've been."
McDowell said the city needs to look more long term and ensure it takes care of what it already has, and she believes she can help keep the council in that direction.
Q. What would your goals be on the council?
McDowell said the primary goal is always to work with the rest of the council.
"It takes a group of people that care about their community, and I think I probably care about mine as much as anybody," McDowell said.
But a more specific goal for McDowell would be to emphasize code enforcement to stop what happens with what she calls "the broken window theory." She characterized that theory as being when a building has a broken window that doesn't get repaired, people come in who don't care, leading to potential criminal activity. She said when one building has that problem it tends to spread throughout the community and, while code enforcement does the best it can, she said a stronger department with more tools would have been able to do more.
"The staff of code enforcement does the very best they can with the staff they have and with the budget they have," McDowell said. "We would not have, I believe, the abandoned buildings if we'd had good code enforcement all along."
McDowell advocates the use of abatement with abandoned buildings, where the city would fix up abandoned properties and charge the property owners for all costs.
For Ward, the most immediate goal would be dealing with transit issues and trying to prevent any cuts to the service.
Another goal would be to focus on the city's urban core, she said, making sure everything is done to keep businesses from leaving the area, and to attract new businesses and organizations to locate in or near the city's downtown.
Ward also said the city needs to focus on the abandoned buildings issue throughout the area.
"We need to get serious about doing something about that problem," Ward said. "When you're not taking care of your property, you're not being a good steward, you're not being a good neighbor ... I believe that's a really important issue."
She also said the city should work more closely with state and federal agencies to find grants and other resources to help the community, including the urban core and river access. As the state capital, Ward said, working with those groups could help core areas that serve city, state and federal agencies. She suggested having a council liaison in charge of that type of communication.
"So much of what we do affects each other," Ward said. "Communication is key to succeed."
Q. Transit has been an ongoing issue, with many residents (and the Citizens for JeffTran group) wanting expanded service hours and an advisory group. What are your thoughts on the issue?
Ward said she first learned of the transit issues when attending a City Council meeting where a public hearing was being held on transit funding. She said it was inspiring to see the different groups and agencies affected by the service, which she said spoke so highly of the city's transit system.
"It's something that's needed," Ward said.
Ward said the idea of an advisory group would only provide benefits to the city, ensuring those who really use the service are having their voices heard.
As for expanded service hours, (JeffTran runs from 6:40 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday) Ward said she would need to learn more about the city's budget and the system before making a decision on what is needed and whether it can be accomplished.
"I wouldn't know if that would be doable," Ward said.
McDowell said she needs to learn more on the issue of transit before making any decision on what needs to be done, if anything. The council has a work session devoted to transit Monday night, which McDowell said she plans to attend.
"I'd have to wait," McDowell said. "It's always good to listen."
But she said she encourages everyone to ride the city's transit system at least once, calling it "a real learning experience" and a way to see the city.
McDowell also said the city needs to look at transportation overall, including Amtrak and the Columbia Regional Airport, which she advocates changing to the Columbia/Jefferson City Regional Airport.
Q. The 2nd Ward represents the downtown area. What would your priorities or plans be for the downtown? What is your vision for the downtown?
McDowell said the city's downtown area is larger than the two blocks of High Street that are often focused on when talking about downtown.
"We have to look at the larger picture than two blocks," McDowell said.
She noted that her cosmetics store is located on Jefferson Street, between McCarty Street and High Street, and her store often is not considered as being part of downtown.
McDowell said one focus should be bringing more retail to the downtown area instead of door-to-door restaurants.
Ward said the downtown area is doing a great job right now with bringing more people to the area and the city has done a good job promoting the area.
"It looks like a more historic downtown area," Ward said. "It's a very beautiful downtown."
She said the events held in the downtown should be supported as they attract people to the area who may not have come downtown otherwise.
As for vision, Ward said having river access would be a great addition to the city's core, but that obviously will take a large amount of planning to accomplish. She said she simply wants to ensure the historic integrity of the downtown is protected and continue to encourage nightlife and residential opportunities in the area, which makes for a more vibrant downtown.
Q. The city's budget process for the 2015 fiscal year will begin this summer. What would your priorities be for the 2015 budget?
Ward said she'd also need to see the draft budget before making any decisions on what needs to be funded and what could be cut. But she did mention transit as a priority, as long as there are available funds. Other than that, she said, the city should focus on essential services, such as police, fire and infrastructure.
McDowell said she'd first need to see the draft budget before deciding what the priorities would be for the 2015 fiscal year. Any priorities of any individual council member can be taken to and discussed with the mayor for inclusion in the draft budget, she said.
Q. Downtown parking has often been brought up as an issue. Do you think there is an issue with downtown parking? Why or why not? Do you believe a new or second garage is needed? Why or why not? What do you believe is the solution to any parking problem downtown?
McDowell said there may be an issue with parking that needs to be resolved through the city and through listening to the people in the downtown area. McDowell supports a switch back to angled parking in the downtown, which would allow for more spaces in smaller areas.
"They keep on telling me, "We cannot have diagonal parking,'" McDowell said. "We used to have diagonal parking."
As for a second parking garage, McDowell said she does not believe one is needed right now. There are plenty of spaces available on McCarty Street, she said, and walking up the hill won't hurt most people.
Another aspect, she said, is simply educating some of the people who work downtown who may not be policing themselves and taking spots on High Street that should be used by customers.
Ward said, as a resident, she has not had any problems parking downtown when she shops, noting that when she goes downtown at night, the Madison Street parking garage tends be more open. She said she would need to meet with those who live and work downtown, as well as the Downtown Association, to determine if there is an issue and what would need to be done, if anything.
"As a personal resident, I haven't had an issue with parking," Ward said.
Ward said a second garage, based on her experience, is not needed, but she again would rely on the input of those who are downtown everyday before making a decision.
Q. What do you most want people to know about you?
Ward said she is a dedicated person who takes responsibilities seriously, always adhering to her father's advice: "Be a job, big or small, do it well or not at all."
"I'm caring and I want to be helpful," Ward said. "I think I'm pretty reasonable."
Ward said she's just passionate about trying to give back to her community as much as she can.
McDowell said she's an open book and most people already know her.
"I've tried my very best, and I've cared for my community," McDowell said.
She emphasized caring about the community's history, which often can translate into money for the community through tourism.