Mayoral candidates Byron Champlin and Kate West share a deep, personal love of music and of live performances downtown — but their tastes and habits hint at what divides and differentiates them in the race.
At a Monitor candidate forum, Champlin pointed to British alternative artist Blood Orange’s latest album, a mix of jazz, R&B, indie rock and electronic music, as his favorite from this year. He mostly listens to music on CDs, he said, and he’d turn to Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” as a pump-up song.
Kendrick Lamar claimed West’s top song and artist spots on streaming services last year, with his hit “tv off” taking the top spot on her personal charts. Missy Elliot’s “Work It” is West’s go-to track for getting amped. Her band, “Girl Spit,” is among the recent performances the mayor has attended downtown.
The re-election bid by Champlin — a retired communications professional who served on the council for a decade before becoming mayor — highlights his experience and detailed historical knowledge of city systems. West is a single parent in her thirties who works for a local solar company, and her challenge is founded on giving people the opportunity to speak publicly before the council and bringing a fresh perspective to longstanding city issues.
Those threads weave through their positions on a range of city issues, from major city projects to transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness to attracting young people and new businesses to Concord.
Here are some key moments from the forum:
Does the council lack a diversity of experience and background?
- Champlin: “I think that we have a fairly heterogeneous council, one of the most heterogeneous in the 12 years that I’ve served on city council. I understand that sometimes people reach a certain point in life where they have time to put into volunteer efforts — and serving on city council really is a volunteer effort — but I think that people come from a lot of different perspectives on city council.”
Do you have enough experience to lead the city in a challenging time?
- West: “Having somebody that’s not had decades of experience means that they’re willing to try new ideas and look at things differently… One of the benefits of having a person that’s not been consistently in the government as it’s been running is an opportunity for change, an opportunity to accept that maybe the path that we’ve been on for years isn’t where we’re going to end up.”
Is the new police station a good deal for taxpayers?
- Champlin: “What’s happened now is we brought in experts and architects, and they’ve sat down with the police department and they’ve heard what the police department says they need in that addition. Now, the city council may very well request that that be scaled down, but part of the plan is to end up at the end of this with enough space… that we can expand into.”
- West: “I would like to look deeper into this project because I don’t understand its current state, how it’s an efficient use of taxpayer dollars. I also think that, culturally, when we think about… the root cause of a lack of safety or the root cause of crime in the community, then we want to think about whether or not we’re planning on expanding our police force to the degree that would need that much space.”
Should there be open public comment at city council meetings?
- Champlin: “Anyone who wants to express their opinion to city council can reach out to their councilor or to their at-large councilor or to the mayor — and I can say many people do. And so I think those are sufficient for public comment in a very positive way. I don’t think it’s the job of city council to give somebody a platform.”
- West: “As it currently stands, if you wanted to go to your monthly city council meeting and have it be on public record — what’s important to you, how you feel about what’s going on — unless it’s previously approved on the agenda, you don’t have the opportunity to do that.” West added that she’d support time limits on speakers.
Should Concord spend some of its rainy day fund? Where should that money go?
- Champlin: “The unassigned fund balance is there for a specific purpose: when we have a AA+ bond rating from S&P and that bond rating allows us to borrow money at a much lower interest rate. Part of the reason we have that rating is because we have a significant undesignated fund balance.” He noted that the city did use rainy day fund money to neutralize rising city spending during the pandemic.
- West: “I almost feel like this is a trick question because… back to the taxpayers? … We want our neighbors to be able to stay in their homes and afford to be able to live here.” She added, “There’s likely reasons that they have for continuing to hold on to that surplus, and I think I would want a detailed understanding that could then be clearly communicated to constituents before I would move to spend it on anything else.”
You can catch the full conversation below.
