Matthew Leonard and James F. Pross are vying for Auburn City Council Ward 1 on Nov. 3, 2015. Learn about more candidates and issues in our Election 2015 guide at www.sunjournal.com/election/2015.
Name:
Matthew Leonard
Email address:
matt@mattjleonard.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/mattjleonard
Other social media?
website: www.mattjleonard.com; Twitter: @mattjleonard; LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattjleonard
Occupation or primary source of income:
president and CEO, Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce
Education:
Master of professional studies in political management, bachelor of science in business studies, associate of arts in political science, associate of arts psychology
Family information:
A 21-year Navy veteran with multiple combat tours; married to Rebekah Leonard
Public offices sought or held:
Running for Ward 1 City Council
Why are you running for office? Why should voters select you for this job?
We have an important opportunity right now, right here in Auburn. It’s not just about today, it’s about our future and we need to get it right. What we do in the near future will have long-lasting consequence. We need city councilors who not only know the issues and know how to chart a way ahead, but are also invested in the decisions that are made.
Who we elect to serve on our City Council determines so much of what affects our day-to-day lives. How much we pay in property taxes. How we invest those taxes. How much we invest in public education. How much we invest in our children’s future.
I believe I have the background, experience, education and, most of all, the passion to serve our community. I’m not just invested, I’m all in.
What do you like about the city budget passed this year, and what don’t you like? Was it too high, too low, just right?
It’s not about spending more. It’s not about spending less. It’s about spending correctly — investing correctly.
We need to look at where we are spending our money as well as why. Are we getting a return on our investment? Are we investing in the right initiatives? I believe that instead of being focused on how much the budget increase is going to be year-to-year, we should be focused on what value we are getting.
To that end, I think that we should adopt a zero-based budgeting process. Each year expenses should be justified and analyzed for their needs and costs.
Auburn has unique challenges. One of those challenges is the sheer size of Auburn’s land mass. For example, we have 537 miles of roads to maintain. We need to understand where we are so we can strategically plan for the future. With the newfound foreign investment in The Barn, how can we plan to use the increased property tax base to invest in our future?
I don’t have all of the answers, but I am excited to have the conversations about our future.
With a limited budget and knowing what you know now, what would be your top spending priority among these three services: road repair, education or public safety? Why?
It’s not about spending. It’s about investing. Where do we get the return on our investment?
We should view the school budget as an investment, not spending. Our goal should be to have a world-class education system. How can the City Council support the Auburn School System 2020 Vision? How can we invest in the PAL Center at Washburn School? The education details are a School Committee mission, e.g. whether Wednesdays are half-days or rather we elect to pay teachers for mandatory training after school hours.
The City Council needs to balance investment. We need good roads — and we have 537 miles of them. We have $200 million worth of roads, sidewalks and curbs as overhead. This infrastructure may not be exciting, but it is essential. We also need to maintain public safety as well as municipal services.
This is why we need strategic thinkers on the City Council. I believe I have proven experience as a strategic thinker and look forward to the challenge of finding ways to invest in our future. It’s not about spending. It’s about investing.
Court Street could be narrowed from four travel lanes to two in 2016. Is that a good idea or not, and why do you feel that way?
I believe we need to be more strategic in our thinking.
Currently, there tends to be a focus on one issue and looking at only that one issue in a vacuum. I think we need an overarching strategic plan that takes into account multiple issues. How would changes to Court Street impact Auburn overall? I would call for a Downtown Comprehensive Transit Study and a Comprehensive Parking Plan for Downtown. Not just studies but, rather, action plans to help us make our downtown a vibrant economic development center for our community. I think we should partner with the city of Lewiston and specifically look at all of the ways people get to our downtown — from near and far.
What is your opinion regarding tax incentives to developers, such as Tax Increment Finance deals and state and federal grants? Should the city offer them or not?
In a strategic fashion, we should look for anything that we could do to encourage economic development if it makes sense. I would argue that Tax Increment Finance deals and state and federal grants have worked here in Auburn, and that we should keep them in our economic development toolbox.
Name:
James F. Pross
Email address:
jpross@tarbellpa.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/VotePross
Occupation or primary source of income:
Attorney
Education:
B.A., political science: University of Charleston, 1999; Juris Doctor: University of New Hampshire School of Law, 2004
Family information:
I live in Auburn with my wife, Mia Poliquin Pross, a Lewiston native, and our daughter who attends East Auburn Community School. In 2004, we moved back to L/A after law school at the University of New Hampshire to be near Mia’s family in Lewiston. We bought our first house on Lake Street in Auburn in 2005, where we lived until moving to Hersey Hill Road in 2013.
Public offices sought or held:
Seeking Auburn City Council, Ward 1
Why are you running for office? Why should voters select you for this job?
I am truly invested in this community and I want to make a difference. My family and I have lived, worked, and volunteered in Auburn for the last 10 years.
Between my law practice on Main Street, my efforts as a founding partner in a local real estate development business and my volunteer work with the Androscoggin Land Trust, I have 10 years of my life invested in Auburn, its growth, tax base and future. I want to do everything I can to ensure that Auburn continues to grow into a community that my daughter can always be proud to call “home.”
My daughter is a student at East Auburn Community School, and I am invested in our schools and her education. Last year’s school budget debate made me want to run for office. EACS is the best school in the district, by all performance measures. Instead of serving as a model for other schools in the district, the superintendent seems to come back to the City Council every budget cycle threatening to shut it down or cut its staff.
I believe that our city can do better, but it takes leadership from each ward.
I am invested in Auburn through my career as a lawyer. I didn’t move to Auburn for a job. In 2012, I moved my job to Auburn. I convinced the New Hampshire-based law firm that I work for to move my office from Augusta to Auburn “because it’s my home,” I told them. I wanted to have the office on Main Street next to Gritty’s because it is a beautiful spot on the river in a terrific downtown, and in the only place in Maine I’ve ever called “home.”
I immediately enrolled the firm as a member of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce and I take pride in our firm being a part of Main Street’s vibrant downtown business community. I am also invested in the business community in Auburn as a small business owner.
Leadership is more than calling yourself a leader, or being a cheerleader for a cause. The only meaningful way to lead is by example; through action.
I am one of seven proud owners of Great Falls Development Group, which has been working since 2009 to set new standards of excellence in the downtown residential rental market in L/A. These investments contribute to our city’s tax base, and redevelopment efforts in key areas of our community, like in New Auburn. Our real estate company is enhancing the value of its assets by helping to raise the tide throughout the city. None of the owners of the company have taken a single dime in compensation since the company was founded, despite countless late nights and weekends of work over the last six years.
Instead we have reinvested our profits into the buildings and community, making them more efficient, more attractive, and better places for people to live, regardless of income. We are in it for the long term. Our development philosophy is driven by a belief that our success depends on the success of the community. Our redevelopment of a previously vacant building at 68 Wood St.(Lewiston) and our ongoing project at 15 Broad St. (New Auburn) are both examples of ways that private entrepreneurs can invest their time and energy profitably and responsibly in the community.
My partners and I have put our necks on the line, and are working to make the neighborhoods we work in better places. I am invested in Auburn through my many years of volunteerism in local nonprofits, including Literacy Volunteers, Pottle Hill and The Androscoggin Land Trust.
The connection between quality of place, and economic development is real and, if elected, I would seek to encourage development patterns and initiatives that emphasize this connection. I have always believed that green space enhances the value of surrounding properties, especially in urban areas.
My involvement as a volunteer board member of the Androscoggin Land Trust since 2009 has furthered my belief in this regard. Our city has many wonderful natural resources that we need to continue to leverage to draw attention, talented people and business investment into our community. Through my work with ALT, I’ve been helping to enhance the quality of place in Auburn by connecting people to our river, increasing opportunities for outdoor recreation, and protecting places valued by the public throughout our community.
I believe that the people of Ward 1 will elect a city councilor who is invested in Auburn; someone who has established roots and ties to the community. I am that candidate. I am an advocate and a listener. I am not just talking about leadership and local business investment; I am leading by example, investing my money, time, energy and passion into my Auburn-based law practice, Auburn-based real estate business, and a wonderful Auburn-based conservation organization.
What do you like about the city budget passed this year, and what don’t you like? Was it too high, too low, just right?
I believe that the budget was too low, especially the school budget.
I think that Auburn, like many other municipalities, has struggled because of the governor’s restrictions on revenue sharing. Those funds are taxpayer dollars that cities in Maine could once rely on and put to good use. If we had those funds, we would have more money to spend investing in our future.
I find it sad that the state will issue hundreds of millions of dollars in bond money to municipalities to build ever larger, shiny, new school buildings with state of the art athletics facilities, yet we can’t afford to pay enough teachers to keep class sizes smaller. We concern ourselves with efficiency, instead of quality and outcomes, as if the future of our children is a bargaining chip in the budget debate. Bonding huge capital expenditures carries a heavy burden in debt service costs for the state and municipalities alike. A brand new school is something a community can be proud of, and it is great for the banks, contractors, and architects, but shouldn’t we be more concerned about what’s good for the children, our students?
The city of Auburn, like most municipalities, spends a huge sum on debt service costs. Why aren’t we repurposing old schools and existing public assets that don’t cost taxpayers enormous interest payments to huge banks? Maybe the upfront costs are a deterrent, but not borrowing has its advantages, just look at the line item for debt servicing in the city’s budget.
The Lake Street School was once a proud monument of education for that community. Now the yard is overgrown and the city has to rely on leaseholders to keep it from being a blight. What is the impact to the Lake Street neighborhood? How do we account for the social costs of shutting down a neighborhood school in a community?
I also find it troubling that we don’t spend a greater percentage of the budget on social and human services. Community services totaled $2.4 million in the budget, but only $183,000 went to health and social services. Of that $183,000, only $108,000 went to actual assistance for families in need, with the balance going to administrative costs. We should evaluate why we are spending $75,000 to administer $108,000 in assistance.
We should be spending more money to provide assistance to those of our citizens who are in their desperate hour. If we do not, greater social costs will follow as a result. People have to have basic needs met first – food, shelter, clothing and health care – in order to hold down a job, succeed in school and contribute to the community.
With a limited budget and knowing what you know now, what would be your top spending priority among these three services: road repair, education or public safety? Why?
There is no greater opportunity for us to invest in the future of our community, than to invest in the children who live here.
I believe that smaller class sizes, smaller schools, and more class time, longer recess and lunch, and better school nutrition are ultimately what our schools need to change the direction of our education system, both locally and statewide.
Working with resolve toward becoming the best school district in Maine would do more to enhance economic development than almost any other public investment. Families would want to move and work here because of the schools, and companies would be eager to invest here if our schools were top notch.
Specifically, it is time to re-evaluate Auburn’s “half day Wednesday” policy. Half day Wednesdays create child care issues for our families and this is an unaccounted for drain on our local economy. Not only are children losing class time, but parents must take time from work to be home for their children or pay for expensive daycare services in order to accommodate the school district’s absurd calendar.
Teachers need to be more supported financially and professionally. There always seems to be bond money for shiny new consolidated school buildings, but never enough money for smaller class sizes and teacher pay tied to increased class time. We should focus on the best way to educate our children, not the most efficient way. Efficiency is fine in a factory, but not in education. All of the research says that smaller class sizes and time spent in class are two of the biggest predictors of student success. Why would we continue to ignore that and do the opposite?
I acknowledge that some of these are state level policy decisions, but if elected to the council I hope to be a tireless advocate for the future of education, knowing that this enormous ship will only turn slowly.
Public safety is, of course, also important but I believe that the Auburn Police Department is the finest in the state and, although this will require continued public investment, we must be proactive in pursuing initiatives that decrease crime rates. I spent some time representing criminal defendants at the beginning of my legal career; 98 percent of the people I represented at arraignments as “Lawyer of the Day” were either mentally ill or addicts. These social and health issues contribute more to crime than anything else.
Greater economic opportunity, less blight, more green space, affordable housing, quality downtown residential development, better schools, livable wages, and accessible mental health and addiction services are all areas where the public should invest to avoid many of the social costs associated with crime.
Court Street could be narrowed from four travel lanes to two in 2016. Is that a good idea or not, and why do you feel that way?
I would rather see our scarce infrastructure resources going toward improving safety on Route 4, in Ward 1.
My cousin was nearly killed a few years ago when he unavoidably rear-ended a landscaping trailer that was making a left turn off of Route 4. The turning lane for Lake Shore Drive was a very good start, but we should continue to do what we can to make that corridor safer for commuters and visitors alike.
I would also like to see the city do more to control thru-truck traffic on local roadways. Heavy loads tear up our roadways, increasing taxpayers’ bill for local road repairs. West Auburn and North Auburn roads come to mind, but the issue pertains to all districts.
That said, I drive on Court Street to get to my office on Main Street every day and have been frustrated by traffic on more than one occasion.
I do recognize, however, that reducing traffic flow has been tied to increased private investment in other downtowns, and I think it is worth studying this idea more closely in Auburn. We do have higher volume, higher speed bridges connecting Lewiston and Auburn, and encouraging commuter and truck traffic across those other public ways seems like a good idea.
But, I would need to be convinced that making a public investment such as this would in fact increase the property tax base and draw investment into that part of our downtown, as opposed to keeping people away because of frustrating traffic delays. I don’t think that we have enough clarity on that yet. I am not afraid of big ideas or major changes, but I would be very cautious in my approach to moving forward by obtaining as much evidence-based research into the idea as possible. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
What is your opinion regarding tax incentives to developers, such as Tax Increment Finance deals and state and federal grants? Should the city offer them or not?
I have no problem with the responsible and judicious use of tax incentives to draw in private investment, but as with everything in life, moderation is key.
Tax Increment Financing and other tax incentives can allow us to be more competitive as a place for investment. But I think that we are better off making public investments that will make Auburn a better place to invest in, without tax incentives. Improving our education and transportation systems, and enhancing our existing competitive advantages will prove more profitable in the long run.
When tax incentives are used, the public needs to make sure that it is getting a return on its investment. The public’s tax dollar should never be used as a subsidy to private business. Tax incentives must be tied to commitments from companies to invest on their own, and there must be demonstrable public benefit beyond adding a few jobs. This requires partnership and cooperation between the public and private sectors, with mutual goals and objectives for using TIF money to enhance the public infrastructure surrounding the business. TIFs that ensure a benefit only to the business’ bottom line are a waste of taxpayer dollars and subsidize private wealth. We need to ensure that these tax dollars are going into investments that will benefit the city in the long term, not simply “keeping the business open for another year.” There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If you give, you get.
If I’m elected to the City Council, I’ll fight to ensure no one takes from the public coffers under the guise of “job creation.”
I’ll work to encourage tax incentives in a responsible manner, and provide a return on the public’s investment.
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