City council campaigns keep Glover, Stober busy

Meet the candidates Vancouver City Council Position 5

Ty Stober

Age: 44.

Job: Advises businesses on the marketing and adoption of energy-saving technology. Formerly worked for Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance as a program manager, working with national retailers to stock the most energy efficient TVs available.

Political experience: Ran in 2013 for Vancouver City Council Position 2 but lost in the primary.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound, Master of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Website: www.votety.com

Linda Glover

Age: 66.

Job: Executive director for 18 years of Gifts for Our Community, a nonprofit that includes multiple small enterprises offering grants in human services, education and the arts. The enterprises include Divine Consign furniture resale shop, Divine Again upholstery business, Divine Bites gourmet cupcakes and b. divine clothing boutique. Glover formerly taught second grade and was the principal of Sorensen Elementary School in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Political experience: None.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana; master’s degree in education from the University of Idaho.

Website: www.LindaGloverforVancouver.com

Kathleen Metzger

Declined to provide campaign information to The Columbian.

Judging from their websites, campaign signs and fundraising efforts, two of the three candidates running for departing Councilor Larry Smith’s seat on the Vancouver City Council seem to be in it to win it.

Ty Stober has raised $19,700. Linda Glover has raised $9,000. They’ve been attending City Council meetings, doorbelling and holding fundraisers.

But the third candidate, Kathy Metzger, who filed two minutes before the deadline May 15, triggering an Aug. 4 primary race for council Position 5, doesn’t have any campaign donations listed with the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Metzger, a former Republican precinct committee officer for Precinct 150 and legislative district chair for the 49th District, doesn’t have a website. She declined to take part in The Columbian’s editorial board meeting June 1 with the candidates. She hasn’t accepted the League of Women Voters’ invitation to attend a July 16 candidate forum. On May 15, she told a reporter she hadn’t developed a campaign platform yet.

In response to The Columbian’s request for information for this story, Metzger stated by email Tuesday: “I appreciate the opportunity, but I am not going to participate. I do, indeed, have an active campaign, but I am choosing other avenues to get my message out.”

Stober first announced in March he was running against first-term Councilor Bill Turlay. Following Councilor Larry Smith announcement in April that he wouldn’t run for a fourth term, Stober, who had lost a council bid two years ago, decided to run for Smith’s seat instead.

In May, Glover filed for Smith’s seat, followed by Metzger.

Stober said he’s running out of a passion and a love for the city. He understands “the broad spectrum of the economy” and how the city’s decisions affect the city’s business environment, he said. He also touts the personal relationships he’s built over the last 10 years with elected leaders in both Washington and Oregon.

“I see that as a huge value to our community when it comes to fighting for our priorities here in Vancouver,” he said Wednesday. “If you see the diversity and number of people contributing to my campaign, that really speaks to the kind of support I’m receiving.”

Stober wants to include east Vancouver in talks about the city’s future. East Vancouver, he said, needs a public space that brings people together for concerts and farmers’ markets, similar to Esther Short Park in downtown.

“The waterfront is this great vision from 20 years ago that’s coming to fruition now, but we’ve got to be talking about some other visions here. We’ve got to keep pushing us forward, or we’ll just stagnate as a community,” he said.

Glover said her experience as a business person, teacher and school administrator makes her the most qualified candidate. Running a business on Main Street for 10 years staffed by volunteers demonstrates her skills at bringing people together, she said. The nonprofit organization she heads, Gifts for Our Community, has helped more than 200 other nonprofits “fulfill their dreams,” she said. As an elementary school principal, she worked with a board and a budget, she said.

“I’m not someone who’s trying to build a résumé,” Glover said Thursday. “I’ve had two very successful careers, and I’m doing this because public service is a big part of me. I feel compelled to continue on.”

When it comes to city issues, Stober and Glover don’t differ much. During their July 1 meeting with The Columbian’s editorial board, it became evident that they share the same views on road funding, the proposed Tesoro-Savage oil terminal, property taxes, public salaries, fireworks, relations with the county and C-Tran.

On his website, Stober wants to increase funding for police and fire, citing a city report stating that current resources don’t match a city of Vancouver’s size. He wants to support schools and apprenticeship programs that improve skills in the local workforce, streamline city permitting, invest in all forms of transportation and ensure the community has access to high-speed internet.

Like Stober, Glover feels police and fire departments are stretched too thin. The city can help create jobs by continuing to invest in infrastructure and good roads and polishing its image to ensure visitors see a vibrant city. Glover wants to protect and maintain parks, trails and recreation centers, which she feels play a key role in quality of life, according to her website.

Both candidates have picked up City Council endorsements. Mayor Tim Leavitt is supporting Stober, and Councilors Jack Burkman, Larry Smith, and Alishia Topper are backing Glover.

Glover and Stober said even though it’s more work, being in the primary election has benefited them because it gets their names out for a longer period of time.

Stober is disappointed Metzger doesn’t appear to actively campaigning for the primary.

“I would be happier if it felt like three people were actively participating and contributing to the discussion on what’s the best for the Vancouver community in the future,” he said.