SIOUX CITY -- Four candidates vying for three seats on the Sioux City Council squared off Thursday night on topics ranging from homelessness to fireworks to the availability of affordable housing at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.
First-time candidates Ike Rayford and Matthew O'Kane are facing off against incumbents Dan Moore and Alex Watters in the Nov. 2 general election. The top-three vote getters will win four-year terms that start in January.
A couple dozen people attended the two-hour forum, which was held at City Hall and moderated by league member David Halaas. During the first portion of the forum, panelists asked each candidate a different question, which they had one minute to respond to. The second portion consisted of questions from members of the audience, which were read by the moderator.
Moore was asked how he would address recent concerns about homelessness. The 68-year-old Sioux City attorney who currently serves as the council's Mayor Pro Tem, noted that the city is working to find homes for the homeless and that there are "all kinds of programs," but he said those programs need to be coordinated to avoid duplication.
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Watters, a 35-year-old who works as director of talent and community engagement at Morningside University, said his position on fireworks is, "I wish people would be able to follow the ordinance." He said he thinks that the current ordinance, which allows fireworks to be discharged only from 1 to 11 p.m. on July 3 and 4, and from 1 p.m. on Dec. 31 until 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, "strikes a balance," but that residents have shown an inability to follow it and that a ban is "something that we need to look into."
O'Kane, a 34-year-old K-12 art teacher, was asked about his financial experience and how he would manage the city's budget.
"I don't have the financial background. I'm a teacher," he said. "I'm willing to learn. I'm willing to rollup my sleeves, read through it and figure out how a city operates."
Rayford, a 49-year-old corporate audio visual technician who owns a corporate training and facilitation business and serves as Sioux City NAACP chapter president, was asked what in the city's budget he would consider cutting and what would be off limits.
"We never want to lose city staff," said Rayford, who said he wants to get all of the information that he needs, sit down with that information, think about it and, then, make decisions regarding the budget.
Moore was asked about a recent shooting at a downtown after-hours club. He said that the city needs to look at and enforce ordinances, including zoning ordinances.
"We have to confront it. We have to deal with it. We have to come up with some solutions," he said.
O'Kane told the panel that the city's priorities are his priorities when asked what changes he would make to city operations.
"My job is to stay out of the way of progress," he said, before adding that if city staff and the council "stay on the same page" and be open with the public, "the better off we will be."
On the issue of affordable housing, Watters said, "It feels like we can't do enough." He said the city needs to "lean in" to supply and demand.
"Flooding the market or increasing supply, certainly that demand is going to go down," he said.
Rayford said he's "very happy" with and "proud of" Sioux City's downtown. When asked what he would do to capitalize on the growth of downtown, Rayford said he will do what he can to encourage entrepreneurship.
"There are small businesses and entrepreneurs that want a chance. Let's give them a chance," he said.