Mayoral candidates talk climate, roles of office

One candidate for Moscow mayor said she believes the “science is still out there” on climate change in response to a question during a Tuesday forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Moscow.

Held virtually on Zoom, the forum featured all four candidates for Moscow mayor: Art Bettge, Jim Gray, Olivia Moses and Barb Rathbun. The moderator was University of Idaho College of Law professor Richard Seamon.

At one point Seamon asked the candidates how they would work to reduce the community’s carbon emissions.

Rathbun prefaced her reply by saying she was “going to get the hate from everybody.”

“I think the science is still out there on climate change, and before I go forcing anybody to do anything we need to get some settled science,” she said. “There is just too much out there on this side and that side.”

She also expressed concern for green energy.

“If everybody’s going to drive a Tesla, that’s going to overload our power grid,” she said.

Bettge said the city can take the lead on addressing carbon emissions by managing its own resources. For example, he said it can replace city vehicles at the end of their life with hybrid or electric vehicles.

Moscow can also work with the state to get resources to support alternative energy and energy saving devices, he said. Planting trees and offering information about energy saving tips are also methods of addressing the issue.

Bettge said all the city can do is lead by example.

“The city can lead in those aspects, but we can’t make the residents give up their F-150s for the sake of an electric Prius or something like that,” he said.

Moses said this is a politicized issue, but everyone knows when their energy using appliances need to be replaced.

“Regardless of if they have a Trump flag or a ‘Respect Everybody’ sign in their yard, my experience is people know when their appliances are taking too much electricity, because they can feel it and they’re aware. It costs money,” she said.

She said the city can try to depoliticize the issue and inform people about rebate programs to replace appliances.

Gray said he would want to evaluate the energy use of the city’s older buildings to “see if it was feasible to bring down the idea of global warming in the city.”

However, later he said that the mayor, for the most part, cannot get too involved in climate change issues.

“I don’t think that’s part of the duties of the mayor,” he said.

Another issue they addressed is whether the mayor has a role in ensuring a welcoming environment for underrepresented groups in the city, and if this plays a role in the health and prosperity of Moscow.

Moses said the mayor serves as the face of the city and must interact with the public to find those underrepresented people.

“I think that everyone who’s an elected leader has a responsibility to get to know what people are not currently part of the conversation who needs to be added,” she said.

Moses also advocated for the city to partner with nonprofits who work with the underserved groups in Moscow.

Gray said the community, in addition to the mayor, needs to interact with each other to address problems that people may face.

“Smaller towns have less of a problem, in my experience, with minority issues,” he said. “There are a few, but a lot of them are because the person or persons have a chip on their shoulder and the mayor can’t do anything about that.”

Bettge said the mayor should project optimism, confidence and let the community know that disctrimination is not tolerated. He said the mayor should work with city staff, like the police, to make sure this is carried out.

He said the mayor needs to foster communication with the public so community members can feel comfortable enough to express their concerns to the mayor and City Council.

With a reputation of tolerance, Bettge said, Moscow can see the added benefit of attracting capable employees to town.

“If we want to grow economically, we need to bring in the best employees possible,” he said. “That includes a wide diversity of people who need to be free of discrimination in order to best thrive and complement the nature of the city.”

Rathbun said she would be talking to community members and find out what problems are out there.

“If there was an actionable issue going on, then we should definitely be getting involved in that in a more aggressive way,” she said.

The League of Women Voters will host a forum for the Moscow City Council 7 p.m. tonight on Zoom. The link can be found at my.lwv.org/idaho/moscow.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.