The 2003 Saginaw City Council race that will be decided by voters
on November 4th falls at a critical time not only for the future of the
city, but for Saginaw County and beyond.

The challenges facing Saginaw are symptomatic of cities throughout America
- dwindling federal & state financial resources, decreasing populations,
unemployment, and public safety are issues affecting many urban centers.

Yet, in the past four years, many positive things have happened within the
City - Riverfront Development, the expansion of business in the Medical
Arts, the revitalization of Old Town and the Downtown areas, coupled with
growth in entertainment and the arts have all contributed to carry Saginaw
forward in the 21st Century.

As in prior years, we submitted three questions to all candidates running
for Saginaw City Council.

What follows are the replies received from candidates, uncensored and
edited as little as possible. We hope you find this Candidate Forum
informative and helpful when you go to the voting booth on November 4th.

Review: Briefly state your 'mission' in running for City Council and
explain your qualifications and background in terms of how your experience
will positively impact the many issues facing the community of Saginaw?

Carol Cottrell: I am running for City Council because I believe I have the
experience, commitment and energy necessary to make a positive contribution
to the growth of our community.

Since being elected to Council in 1995, I have been actively involved. I am
currently serving as Chairperson of the Riverfront Development Commission.
I serve as council representative on the Planning Commission and the Boards
& Commissions Committee. I also serve on the Bliss Park Advisory Committee.
Working on each of these boards has provided me with valuable experience
and an understanding of the appropriate procedures needed to move a project
from beginning to end expeditiously.

There are numerous components of my 'mission'. I believe we must: continue
to promote economic development; continue to provide basic services such as
sewer, water, trash collection, street cleaning, and public safety while
looking for ways to increase efficiencies, strengthen public safety
services, which includes police, fire and building inspections; eliminate
blight, and actively seek funding to provide recreational opportunities for
our youth via our partnership with the YMCA.

Andy Coulouris: I am loyal to Saginaw. When I left Saginaw to attend
college & law school in Ann Arbor, I knew that many of my childhood friends
were leaving too - but I also knew that almost none of them would come
back. Most left because Saginaw could not afford job opportunities,
amenities, and quality of life available elsewhere. Saginaw has to provide
a quality of life that current and would-be citizens find appealing. We
have to be able to say more for ourselves, as a community, than simply that
our housing is affordable.

That means, for starters, public safety has to be the priority at City
hall. No more laying off police officers that we need to keep our
neighborhoods, schools and homes safe. Because of my commitment to keeping
police on our streets, I have won the endorsement of the Police Officers
Association of Michigan.

Offering a higher quality of life also means we must emphasize
redevelopment efforts in areas like Old Town Saginaw. All thriving cities
need a district where people gather to shop, eat, and be entertained; a
place that is exciting to be in and that draws in people from outside the
community. Old Town is, to some extent, that kind of place - but we can do
better. Given the excellent efforts of the Riverfront Commission in recent
years, we may be on the verge of something really great. But as a city we
have to commit ourselves to putting muscle behind the Old Town
redevelopment efforts already underway.

Brad Eichstaedt: I am a caring person who has a vision for this City. We
need new leadership if we plan on going anywhere. As a candidate for city
council I will bring to this office openness, honesty, integrity and trust.
I am a person who cares for others and a person who has a vision for the
city.

My goals include renovation of downtown, building up the riverwalk area,
working hard to get crime off the street, and seeing that our children have
recreation and places to be able to go and enjoy themselves.

I take pride in our community and I will be a listener to not only 'hear
concerns, but 'see' them addressed. I strongly support the police and fire
departments and feel we need public safety more now than ever.

Willie Haynes: My mission is to work with the entire population of Saginaw
to create a community where our children can grow up safely and well
educated with a desire to return to the community in their professional
careers.

With my educational background in business administration and my monetary
experience as Financial Secretary with UAW Local 362, I have insight into
being fiscally responsible with the tax dollars of the citizens of Saginaw.

Earl Jesse: My mission in running for City Council is simple. First, the
city must balance its budget, not run over by $11 million in the past three
years. Secondly, the City needs to stop giving away property assets such as
the Civic Center, The Wickes Building, and the ball field property off
Holland. They should be selling it, but they aren't.

It seems the City keeps going in a different direction every three to five
years until the funds are gone. Saginaw has lost population every year
since 1965 and 10,000 people in the last 12 years, so the size of
government must do the same.

Take this item of 'Unfunded Liabilities'. What they consist of is
liabilities against the city and no funds put away to pay them. Council
after council has done this over the past several years. If we don't assume
control of this it will catch up with the city.

Mark Kraych: I am running for council because I believe we need to make
significant changes in order to turn our community around. My goal is to
leave this community in better shape than I found it while representing the
needs of all city residents.

My union & community organizing background are ideal for being able to hit
the ground running if elected on Nov. 4th. In order to get anything done
you need five votes on the council. Building coalitions in city government
is the same as building coalitions in your own local union. The politics
are very similar. I have been involved in building community/union
coalitions for the past 25 years with five different labor unions and
various community groups. I have been a member of the IBEW, IAM, AIW,
Boilermakers and now with UAW Local 2275 for the past 8 and a half years.

I believe I have the energy, passion, leadership and coalition building
skills necessary to make a difference on the city council. I am a graduate
of Vision 2020-1000 leaders and have been taking leadership training for
years with the UAW.

Greg Schmid: I am 43 years old and born & raised in Saginaw, attended law
school, and passed the bar 18 years ago in 1985. I've never before run as a
candidate for political office, but I have been involved in elections and
petition initiatives for over 25 years, starting with the Headlee Tax
Limitation Amendment in 1978 (which eliminated unfunded state mandates).

I have also worked on projects such as Term Limits, Session Limits, and
Cannabis Law Reform, and am now working on a petition drive for a new City
Charter.

I am a strong advocate of limiting government taxation and spending,
enhancing public safety through civil engineering, advancing the cause of
personal freedom, and empowering families & neighborhoods. I abhor
violence, corruption, buck-passing, the arrogance of officialdom, urban
blight and racial profiling.

I recognize that government has an important place in society, but I
declare that government itself is not society; people make society. The
proper role of Government is to serve people by enforcing the 'rule of
law', which ensures social justice and helps entrepreneurs manage risk.
Government should not be everything to everybody.

John Zamora: My mission to run for city council is to change the way the
city spends its revenue in regards to public safety and services. I being a
citizen of the city feel my voice hasn't been heard like many others in the
way the Saginaw City funds social programs that benefit only a select few,
while taking resources away from the overall community.

For example, the city cuts back on the police while crime continues to
increase because of the lack of protection for the citizens. Yet the city
matches funds for programs like the Boys & Girls Club and YMCA, which are
good, however I believe the city should take an approach of helping them
become self sufficient instead of just giving money.

I have a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and I am currently working
on my MBA. My experience and background in the private business sector will
have a positive impact on the city. I work with money and investing in
addition to coaching and creating opportunities for the individual. Like
what I do in life, I believe we need to invest in our future and create new
sources of revenue to fund our public services and to protect all of our
people and properties. I am the right candidate that can work with the
existing resources and employees to get the job done.

Review: With the vote to remove the city tax cap and the recent defeat of
the school building millage, it appears that the message from the public is
that city government must make do with current levels of funding. Given
this scenario, what do you feel city government must do to protect the
infrastructure and guarantee the integrity of our neighborhoods?

Carol Cottrell: We must be pro-active in addressing the infrastructure
needs of our community, while working within our budget constraints. The
feasibility of efficiencies suggested by employees must be given priority.

In addition, we must ensure that staff has access to training which allows
them to maintain appropriate licenses, certifications, and permits. When
federal or state mandated changes are issued, as in the case of wastewater
treatment, we must actively lobby our legislators for accompanying funds to
make the changes.

Many of our neighborhoods have established neighborhood associations. I
support our City Manager's 'Neighborhood Governance' initiative, which is

focused on strengthening existing neighborhood efforts, while providing
assistance to those neighborhoods trying to establish an organization. This
initiative will also provide a forum for neighborhoods to share resources
and ideas. We must promote neighborhood participation in the Human Planning
Commission. The HPC reviews requests for block grant funds and makes
recommendations regarding the allocation of these funds. Greater
participation results in recommendations that are reflective of the needs

of more neighborhoods.

Neighborhood security and safety should also fall under the umbrella of
Homeland Security. We must continue to divert some funds from homeland
security to community policing.

Andy Coulouris: We must be wise with the way we invest our annual allotment
of federal block grant dollars in the city. For example, it appears that
Council is moving toward a strategy where large chunks of those federal
dollars will be spent targeting blight - tearing down abandoned houses and
cleaning up abandoned lots.

We can see blight spreading and taking hold in neighborhoods that, as
recently as ten years ago, showed no signs of blight. It doesn't take an
urban planner to explain how blight spreads; once the first abandoned house
shows up in a neighborhood, neighbors will start putting up 'For Sale'
signs, hoping to get out of the neighborhood before things get worse. But
the more neighbors put their houses up for sale, the more blight has the
chance to settle in.

To protect our neighborhoods, we need to take a stand against blight.
Dealing with blight is like dealing with cancer: better to catch it early
and stop it before it spreads. We should emphasize those neighborhoods on
the brink - taking a zero tolerance approach to blight in these
neighborhoods by cleaning up blight as soon as it appears, rather than
letting it fester, is the best thing we can do to ensure the integrity of
our neighborhoods.

Brad Eichstaedt: Public safety is one very important part of Saginaw.
Without police and fire we are going to continue to lose our people to
other communities such as Freeland, Bridgeport, Saginaw Township and
elsewhere. If you make people feel safe they will want to stay in this area.

Willie Haynes: The Saginaw city government must begin to involve its
citizens in growing their neighborhoods through grass roots efforts to take
pride in their areas.

Earl Jesse: Citizens have said no to tax increases at this time, so the
city must act. Saginaw is not a 'low fee' city, as some people believe.
Just look at the city income tax. In 22 Michigan cities that have an income
tax, Saginaw is the third highest from the top.

The same is true with the cost of water - this 'readiness to serve' charge.
Out of 142 cities, Saginaw is in the top ten or twelve in terms of cost.

Mark Kraych: We must work with other elected leaders in and around Saginaw
to push for initiation of a huge nationwide public works program. For every
$1 Billion dollars spent on transportation infrastructure we would create
40,000 jobs. We have the ability to put 4 million people to work, but we do
not see Washington making a move. We need to fight for good paying jobs in
this country and we must do it from the community level all the way to D.C.

Locally, we must deal with blight. If we can't afford to tear down the
homes we should give them away to low-income first time homebuyers to
restore. If that doesn't work let Habitat for Humanity salvage what they
can and then tear them down or maybe get help from firefighters to do a
control burn on them. Once the lots are cleared combine them as double or
triple city lots and market them. We need to get them back on the tax rolls
so we can generate income.

As for the tax cap and school millage are concerned, there is a tax revolt
going on out there. The voters cannot afford to pay for everything. My view
is that federal & state government has abandoned the cities in our country.
The Feds have given away over $1 trillion in tax breaks to corporations and
the super wealthy with the idea that they would spend that money to create
jobs. Engler gave away the budget the past 12 years to the wealthy and
corporations in order to attract and keep jobs in Michigan. The net result
is that we have lost 3.3 million jobs in the past three years and 2.7
million of them in manufacturing.

We need to wake up before nothing is left. In 1949 corporations paid back
45% of their profits in taxes. Today that number is at 25%. The tax burden
has been shifted onto the back of Middle America and we can't hold it up
anymore. But if you ask President Bush, he says the economy is turning
around - just look at the stock market. The stock market does not create
manufacturing jobs. It's only for those rich enough to invest in stocks.

Greg Schmid: The City Council as a whole has done some good and some bad in the past few years It remains hamstrung not by lack of money but by the vestiges of nepotism, an attitude of disrespect for ordinary citizens and their rights, and an obsolete City Charter that discourages dissent and
accountability.

The essence of tax limitation is informed consent. Properly handled, the
city council would propose a special purpose millage or bond issue for one
project at a time at general elections so that voters could determine what
is and is not a wise use of their money.

For one example, if one were to propose that our community undertake a
collective effort to remove every single blighted house in Saginaw, then
the council could propose a limited bond issue earmarked for that purpose
and let the people say yes or no to the project. When combined with
incentives for private sector action, like dollar for dollar transferable
tax credits and enforcing the legal responsibilities of owners of abandoned
homes, a comprehensive approach like this could eliminate hundreds of
blighted houses in just one year.

Proposing removal of the 1978 Tax Cap and continuing to spend scarce city
resources trying to con citizens into believing that the sky is falling
unless taxes are raised was the council's low point.

John Zamora: I feel the city council needs to prioritize what programs need to be funded and find new ways to create capital revenue.

For example, one-way to protect the infrastructure, the water board could
sell a limited amount of water to projects in outlying townships in return
for a percentage of the new property tax revenue in those townships.

This in return will be added to the general fund and may be able pay for
more police and fire that will protect the integrity of our neighborhoods.

Review: Given budgetary constraints resulting from State deficits and
shrinking resources from the federal government, from a practical
standpoint what are the three things that you think city council can do to
improve the quality of life in the city of Saginaw and improve the business
climate?

Carol Cottrell: We must continue to work with our economic development
partners, such as Saginaw Future, the Downtown Development Authority, and Chamber of Commerce. A number of development projects currently underway in our community are as a result of these partnerships. Additionally, we must continue examining internal operating efficiencies.

Public safety must remain a priority. Business will not relocate, nor will
non-residents visit our community if they believe it to be unsafe.
There are currently many initiatives underway which are focused upon
improving the quality of life within our community. We are not able to
support each of these initiatives financially. However, there are ways to
support them with services, such as engineering.

For quality of life projects initiated by the City, such as riverfront
accessibility, we must continue to explore and pursue funding sources such
as foundations.

Andy Coulouris: We need a 'first things first' attitude at City Hall:
keeping our streets safe needs to be the priority. If we keep laying off
police officers we are surrendering out streets; our citizens deserve
better. So, we've got to stand firm behind police and fire protection in
our city.

2) We need to be innovative with our approach to economic development. No one can deny the remarkable change this City has withstood over the past few decades: factories continue to shut down while new hospital and medical arts construction is occurring at a rapid clip. We have to seize on this change. But we must also foster the development of the 'Center City',
particularly Old Town and the riverfront. I think the City has some
excellent plans for the riverfront, we just need to parlay the
redevelopment of the riverfront into a renaissance for areas like Old Town
and Downtown. It can be done.

3. The City Manager has been advocating a 'neighborhood governance' system of interaction between neighborhoods and City Hall. No one knows more what a neighborhood needs to enhance its quality of life than the neighborhood itself. There are so many thoughtful, intelligent, and talented citizens whose voices are not often heard. Moreover, with the decline of the neighborhood school concept, neighborhoods are feeling more and more disconnected. Our neighborhoods need to be intact and vital, and they must be plugged in to the decisions we make at Council meetings.

I like the concept of 'neighborhood governance' as the City Manager
presents it. And I would like to work on making it come to life in
tangible, meaningful ways for our neighborhoods.

Brad Eichstaedt: First, public safety - more police and fire; second,
budget - prioritize what is most important; third, recreation - our
children are our future leaders so we need to give them a reason to stay in this area. There is nothing out here for our youth and children anymore.

Willie Haynes: I believe we can begin to improve the quality of life and
improve the business climate in the city of Saginaw by doing the following:
1) Explore all avenues of government spending to absolutely reduce all
waste; 2) By trying to retain the businesses that already exist in Saginaw
through tax breaks if necessary; 3) Quality of life in Saginaw can only
improve if we all take responsibility for our schools, neighborhoods,
churches and families.

Mark Kraych: What we need is a champion for 'small business' because it is
through incentives for local business that we will create substantial job
growth.

Saginaw will need to give away some land for $1.00 and not just to Shaheen. As I walk this town and talk to folks they all want a shot at the $1.00 office building. Give them the land and tell them they must invest in it
and market it within a year or it goes back to the city. Baltimore Harbor
was rebuilt using this method. They now have over $150,000 homes in the
harbor area mixed with restaurants and shops. We can do it here, also.

We need more activities for our children. We need our parks & schools open during the summer for recreation activities. I cannot believe we don't have a public pool available. I was so disappointed when they shut down Anderson Water Park. I think we can come up with the money for our children. They should be a top priority for us.

Lastly we need more effective police patrolling. The people I have talked
to door to door are not happy with the response time of Saginaw Police. We need to have dialogue between the community and police in the same room to hear what is going on in our streets. Once we do that we need to take the necessary steps to meet our residents needs.

Earl Jesse: The city needs to place this issue on a special ballot or
regular election. First, cut the size of council to seven from nine people.
Second, elect or appoint a Charter Commission to get the present charter in compliance with State & Federal laws, not to mention more workable and in line with present economic conditions.

Finally, we need to quit putting money into buildings such as the Jacobson
building. Let business do it, not government.

We also need to make it easy as possible to start lowering the costs of
business permits & fees. Council after council keeps raising the charge on
permits and fees.

Greg Schmid: The city council should never again ask for a general fund tax
hike, nor should it ever again hold public safety and security hostage in
an effort to terrorize citizens into coughing up more of their already
overtaxed resources.

My service priorities are public safety and empowerment of neighborhoods
through capital accumulation partnerships between government and the
private sector. I am not just talking about more money for police. As a
public defender I have seen many examples of police cutting constitutional
corners justified as a necessary means to an end. I don't blame the police
so much as I do the politicians and criminals.

Using inexpensive public safety engineering methods, the city could give
police a chance if it were serious about crime reduction. Other cities
assist neighborhoods in developing cul-du-sacs and gated road ends that
stop 'drive-by' crimes of opportunity without interrupting travel. These do
not need to be expensive or complicated and can also beautify neighborhoods and increase property values and the tax base.

At some point we must find a way to re-populate the city before it becomes a ghost town. This means tearing down the walls that keep potential residents out, like the city income tax. Instead of direct property tax breaks to businesses to encourage new industry, why not reduce the cost of doing business in the city to encourage new industry by giving tax breaks to the workers.  This will help people and attract business.

John Zamora: The city council can direct funds to public safety, municipal
services like rubbish collection, and give tax breaks to small businesses.

By funding public safety and municipal services we improve the quality of
life, which will keep citizens in the city and may bring outside investment
from potential employers. In addition, tax breaks for small business may
lead to job creation, which can bring in new revenue in the form of
employment. Every dollar that can stay within the city limits will be a
dollar that will not make other communities wealthy at Saginaw's expense.

My platform is to keep and increase public safety, seek ways to bring
development and prevent loss of businesses, and increase the population of Saginaw. Citizens and business need to feel safe here in our community and want to see a return in their investment. Without public safety, the cost of doing business in the city increases in the form of higher business
insurance costs, falling property values, and citizens moving to
communities for a better quality of life.