Statesman Journal mini-questionnaire for 2014 Primary Election

Thank you for responding to this questionnaire.

Why this matters: The Statesman Journal Editorial Board will use this questionnaire in deciding
which candidates to endorse at the May 20 Primary Election. The board is doing fewer in-person
interviews this spring. Your answers also will be shared with reporters and may be published in
the newspaper and/or on our website, StatesmanJournal.com, so the public will see what you
submit.
We also ask that you respond to every question, instead of simply attaching campaign materials,
resumes, etc.
Please return the completed questionnaire to the Editorial Board as an email or an attached Word
document to Salemed@StatesmanJournal.com. (Handwritten or fax responses dont work.)
Deadline for submitting your questionnaire: 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 16.
Questions? Contact Editorial Page Editor Dick Hughes, 503-399-6727, dhughes@StatesmanJournal.com, or
Editorial Assistant Nancy Harrington, 503-589-6944, nharring@StatesmanJournal.com.
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Your name: Steven McCoid
Age: 65
(If your age will change before the May 20 primary, please indicate your birthday. We want to
make sure we use accurate ages in editorials and news coverage.)
Political party (if this is a partisan office): N/A
Position you are seeking (name of position, district number, political party if applicable):
Salem City Council, Ward 4
Number of years living in the area you seek to represent: 13 years
Are you a full-time resident of that area? Yes
City/town of residence: Salem, Oregon
Family (name of spouse/partner, number and ages of children if at home, number of grown
children): Collier McCoid spouse, four grown daughters Kimberly, Kristen, Megan and
Hayley
Your education (high school, trade, college, post-baccalaureate; indicate degrees earned):
BA in Political Science, Seattle University 1970
If employed, current occupation, employer and job duties: President & CEO, Oregon Restaurant
& Lodging Association. Manage all activities for a non-profit, statewide trade association with a
staff of 20, report to a 23 person board of directors elected by the association membership.
Previous employers and when:
1983 1999 President & CEO of Oregon Grocery Industry Association. 1972 1983 employed
by West Coast Grocery Company in a variety of jobs including assistant sales manager, senior
buyer and grocery buyer.
Military service and when:
US Army 1970 1972 Honorably discharged
Volunteer/civic/religious service and when:
Travel Salem board of directors 2013 present, Marion/Polk Food Share Sustainer Drive,
hospitality segment chair 2010(?), member of planning committee for Salem Boys & Girls Club
Civil War Auction first three years of the event 2003 -2005 (?) Coached daughters softball
team two years 1994 & 1995. Current advisory board member of Travel Portland, current board
member of Oregon Council on Problem Gambling, past board member Oregon Food Bank
1987 to 1991, Chair of Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force 1989 1993, current vice-chair of
Oregon Hospitality Consortium
Please list all public offices to which youve been elected, and when:
None
Please list any unsuccessful candidacies for public office, and when:
None
Other prior political and government experience:
Registered lobbyist for past 25 years. Served as lead lobbyist for Oregon Grocery Industry
Association through 1990s. Served on a variety of advisory boards working with regulators e.g.
Department of Agriculture Food Advisory Committee, OLCC Package Store Advisory
Committee. Managed industry political action committees for grocery and hospitality industries
for past 30 years.
How the public can reach your campaign (remember that this information may be made public):
Mail address:
E-mail address: s.mccoid@comcast.net
Web site URL: SteveMcCoid.com
Phone: 503-363-8955
Please limit your response to each of the following questions to about 75 words.
1.To an outsider, how would you describe the region you wish to represent? What is it like
geographically, economically, politically and socially?
Ward 4 is far south Salem with boundaries being I-5 on the east, Liberty Road SE on the west,
Kuhbler Blvd on the North and the city limits on the south. It is predominately composed of
single family residential areas with most of the commercial businesses located on Commercial
Street SE south of Kuhbler. There are a lot of high new home developments in the area mixed
with older, more established neighborhoods. The average home prices are some of the highest in
the Salem area. There is new commercial development going on now on Kuhbler east of
Commercial. There are 8800 registered voters in the Ward with many of those voters active in
most elections. The registration is very even in terms of the political parties.
2. When did you decide to run for this office, and why?
Last quarter of 2013. I feel that the skill set I have acquired as a result of 31 years managing
statewide, non-profit trade associations makes me qualified to serve as a non-partisan city
councilor in Salem. The ability to bring disparate groups together to meet and find a solution or
compromise to an issue is one Ive learned dealing with the association members during my
career. Ive lived in Salem for 40 years and love the city. It is a wonderful place to live and Im
at a place in my life that I have the ability to devote the time to serve the city and Ward 4 if they
so choose. Maintaining the wonderful living environment while assisting the professional city
staff in overseeing the citys budget and providing the services Salems citizens expect would
allow me to give back to the place that has been my chosen home for the past 40 years.
3. How much will your primary campaign cost (please be specific)?
The budget to complete the campaign plan is $20,000.
4. Who are your key endorsements from within the Mid-Valley?
I am endorsed by the Salem Firefighters Association, Salem Area Chamber of Commerce,
Marion-Polk County Homebuilders Association, Salem Association of Realtors, Senator Jackie
Winters, Representative Kevin Cameron, Salem First Citizen Jim Bernau, Salem City Council
President Chuck Bennett, former Ward 4 City Councilor and South Gateway Neighborhood
Association chair TJ Sullivan.
5. Have you ever been convicted of a crime, been disciplined by a professional licensing
board/organization or had an ethics violation filed against you? If so, please give the details.
No
6. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, been delinquent on your taxes or other major accounts, or
been sued personally or professionally? If so, please give the details.
No
7. Why should people vote for you? What separates you from your opponent(s)? Be specific.
I am a proven leader at both the state and national level. I have led prominent statewide, non-
profit associations representing two of the largest business industries in the state for the past 31
years. In both cases I have positioned the associations as leaders in the general business
community and as major proponents for business in general throughout the state I have also
developed a real ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds, philosophies, and opinions
while working to develop positions and/or solutions to issues affecting the respective industry.
Ive served on numerous boards of directors at the state and national levels in both the grocery
and hospitality industries often being elected by my peers as an officer and leader. My
demonstrated ability to work with diverse personalities in a collegial manner to solve problems
make me very suited to a position on the Salem City Council that calls for those very abilities.
This separates me from my opponent as someone who will proactively work to improve the city,
solve issues and bring people together to work in a non-partisan fashion to improve the livability
of Salem.
8. Describe your philosophy of governance:
As it applies to the Salem City Council it is one that calls for the person representing Ward 4 to
first and foremost be a representative of all the residents of Ward 4. Any problems brought to me
regarding Ward 4 must be dealt with in the same manner respecting the position of those
bringing the problem to light, digging down to learn all the details and sides of the issue, and
consulting with the paid experts on the city staff to develop options to deal with the issue. In
terms of working with the other councilors, it needs to be collegial with the mind set of working
together to represent our specific wards but also to oversee and review the programs being driven
by the City Manager led city staff. In many way, the city council is really the volunteer board of
directors overseeing, guiding and setting the goals for the professional paid staff. I want this
process to be as transparent as possible for the citizens of Salem and for the Ward 4 residents to
be comfortable calling me at any time to express concerns, desires for action and opinions on
issues of importance. If elected it will be my goal to develop a scheduled method for Ward 4
constituents to have face to face access with me if they have the need to do so. That may be a
weekly breakfast time at a local restaurant for example.
9. Give an example of a political mistake you made and what you learned from it:
10. What specific steps would you advocate to make government more open and transparent?
Given the Oregon public records and public meetings laws, the requirement that all political
contributions and expenditures be publicly reported and accessible and the excellent job the City
of Salem does in making all of their work including detailed budgetary information available on
their website I really cant think of anything that could be added to make the process more
transparent for anyone who really has a need to learn about any issue. Im amazed at the amount
of information that is available now to any citizen that wants to learn the facts.
11. What specific steps would you advocate to make government more fiscally effective?
It has always bothered me that government in general develops budgets based on what it would
cost to provide all existing benefits in the next budget cycle. Once that is done they then look at
revenues available and declare a budget shortfall. This method often leads to government looking
for, and/or proposing new or increased fees and taxes to maintain current spending. Contrast that
the way most people and most businesses develop a budget and there is a difference. Both look at
the amount of revenues they expect to receive, most often erring on the conservative side, and
develop budgets based on the amount they have to spend not want to spend to avoid cuts. This
leads to prioritizing where spending needs to be done and often if there are revenue shortfalls,
cutting some programs as nice to have but not essential to have. I think government should use
that approach in budgeting.
12. What are the three most important issues you would address if elected, and how? (75 words
for each issue)
A. Working with the other councilors and city staff to gain a thorough understanding of the
budgeting process, how the departments work, where the needs are and how I can best
interact in the development of the budget. Salems citizens expect (assume) that the
fundamental reasons the city exists are to provide a well-managed city that provides services
needed to ensure a high quality of life. Service like properly funded emergency services,
well planned and maintained transportation systems including signs, lighting, stop lights and
streets, a planning system that ensures well thought out and designed developments, an
infrastructure that works as it is supposed delivering water, waste disposal.
B. Ensuring that the City continue to fund efforts to attract new businesses to Salem, which
increases jobs and has a positive ripple effect on the local economy. Supporting the efforts
of SEDCOR, developing and/or maintaining programs that offer short term tax breaks for
new businesses investing a prescribed amount and providing a required number of jobs, and
providing assistance to start-up small businesses in the community are all programs that
exist now and need to continue to be funded. A healthy business community means jobs
allowing people to provide for their families, buy homes, support local businesses and
increase the tax base and thus the revenue available to city government to provide the
essential services expected of it.
C. Being ever vigilant to proposed new regulations and how they are drafted and could impact
Ward 4 residents and the livability of its neighborhoods. Ive learned in my career working
with regulatory agencies that the devil is in the details and what seems to be a good idea
needs to be fully vetted, discussed by those that it affects and often altered to provide the
regulatory outcome desired while working to reduce negative aspects as much as possible.
There is a need to be sure the citizens are made aware of potential changes and have the
avenues to respond if they see problems. Certainly, the neighborhood associations are one
avenue to get the perspective. Ill work to be as in touch and available to Ward 4 residents as
possible if elected.
13. What do you see as other important issues?
Discussions on a third bridge need to continue to ensure the city is looking to the future and
prepared to build before a crisis exists. The retrofitting of City Hall to be able to meet earthquake
building requirements is an important one. As well, getting the police department into working
quarters that provide them adequate space to do their jobs is a must. The debates on both issues
are on-going, involving large sums of funding that will need to be developed before proceeding.
The need for all of this is here and not going away.
14. What magazines, newspapers and Web publications do you regularly read to keep up on the
news, especially on issues related to the office you are seeking?
Statesman-Journal, The Oregonian, Business Journal, City of Salem website,
15. Any skeletons in your closet or other potentially embarrassing information that you want to
disclose before it comes up in the campaign?
No
16. If you are running for a governing board in Oregon (such as city council, county board of
commissioners or the Legislature), how many meetings of that board have you attended in
person during 2013 and 2014? How many have you watched online or on TV, if applicable?
I have attended approximately 10 Salem City Council meetings since October of 2013.
Thank you. Please return this questionnaire to the Editorial Board as an attached Word document to
Salemed@StatesmanJournal.com by 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 16.