'Respect' lauded in PF forum

Post Falls City Council candidates shared their thoughts on growth, public backlash, and government operations in a digital forum Wednesday night.

The seven participants were:

Post Falls Seat 2 — Alan Wolfe 

Post Falls Seat 4 — Bob Flowers, Nathan L. Ziegler, Steve Anthony 

Post Falls Seat 6 — Eric Klinkhammer, Linda Wilhelm and Tara Polley

Candidates agreed that taking “heat” from upset citizens is a challenging task. In those trying moments, the competitors said it's essential to respect their constituents.

Post Falls newcomer Eric Klinkhammer, running for Seat 6, said he would listen to the complaints but felt those statements are “more emotional” and are not something he would take personally.    

“I think a lot of the anger that I’ve seen in a lot of meetings I’ve attended comes from a lack of knowledge of the process,” he said. “I think guiding (citizens) to be more productive will probably defuse a lot of their anger.” 

As a human resources worker, Seat 6 challenger Tara Polley said she is “no stranger to hearing emotional responses.” Polley said she believes in letting people “voice their concerns” and treating residents with respect.

“I think it’s important not to take things personally. These people are coming from their perspective, their own walk of life and have their concerns,” she said. “I always take things with a little grain of salt.” 

Linda Wilhelm, the current holder of Seat 6, said that after 23 years in office, it is “extremely difficult to feel attacked.” Wilhelm said the public and council collaborated respectfully for many years, but recent events have changed that relationship.

“I think that the anger has just snowballed not only here but all over the country,” she said. “I feel that there is a time and a place for that as well, and I’m just hopeful that in the future, we can all find ways to bring the community back together.” 

To Seat 4 incumbent Steve Anthony, “good growth” is linked with the availability of housing, employment, and proper planning. Looking back on the area in the 1980s, he said it wasn’t long ago that residents relied on lumber and mining facilities for work. Today, the councilman pointed to Post Falls’ work in attracting new employers and businesses to the community to boost the economy. 

“I think bad growth is if we don’t plan for the future,” Anthony said. “We have to plan for the workforce that we’ve attracted to our community.” 

Seat 4 opponent Nathan Ziegler said “good growth” ties back to the “identity of what we want our town to be.” Ziegler said Post Falls leaders had done well in formulating a master plan for the future. However, he wishes officials were more flexible in changing the strategy to protect resident interests. 

“To me, it’s all about staying in touch with what the people want,” Ziegler said. “I believe that there is such a thing as good growth bringing in affordable housing but again just staying in touch with what the real identity of Post Falls is.”

Bob Flowers, the third contestant vying for Seat 4, said growth “has been at the top of (his) list for many years.” Watching the city change over decades of residency, Flowers believes the mass of zone changes, special use permits, and developments are changing the face of Post Falls. 

“I believe that we have to have a good plan,” Flowers said. “Changing zoning and redoing rezoning every couple of months doesn’t do it.”

Seat 2 incumbent Alan Wolfe believes the city government could do better by educating and communicating with the public. As a councilman, Wolfe said he strives to engage with citizens and local groups through town halls to “clarify some of the misinformation that’s out there.” 

“What I’m working on right now is scheduling similar town halls at different times, different days ... just so people can come and be comfortable asking us questions and getting clarification about how the process actually works,” he said. 

The entire forum can be seen on cdapress.com "Meet the candidates."