HREN
Let's just start with John, he writes in each of the candidates has unique experiences they claim makes them the most qualified to lead our city. He notes your experience as the CEO of Habitat. He asks, what was your number one accomplishment? And how did you make it happen?
THOMSON
Oh, wow. As CEO of Habitat for Humanity, I would say my number one accomplishment was really being able to get the trail view neighborhood built, that was a long process, a contentious project process. From the time that we acquired that land until we moved, the first family in was probably five and a half years. I worked really hard with the neighbors in that area, we started neighborhood meetings before we ever even bought that land. And, and then it turned out that before we, before we were ever moving any dirt there. There was a an encampment of unhoused people who had moved in. And, that was also an instructive process, that there is a way to communicate with people who are upset that you're going to be their neighbors, or there's change coming, and in fact, to communicate so far in advance and listen so well, that you can actually address many of their problems. And I was really proud about two things in that in that neighborhood process. The first was that the leader of the opposition group of neighbors that did not want Habitat to build that neighborhood, ended up coming to the last city council meeting and speaking in favor of our neighborhood, then proceeded to bring coffee to our volunteers at every build. And the second thing was that I worked in partnership with with the homeless service providers here and walked the property for months in advance to let the people who were living there know that we were going to be building a neighborhood and the timeline and we kept in touch. We posted things on trees. And then we also partnered them with services so that they had a place to go instead of being on that property. I'm proud of that. Because I think that there's really a way to deal with people with dignity and partnership that can lead to win win situations in the end.
HREN
Dave writes, the deputy mayor role has been different for different mayors. A consultant's study recently suggested that Bloomington could benefit from two deputy mayors so the question is, what role would the deputy mayor play in your administration? Beyond loyalty? What specific skill set or knowledge are you looking for in deputy mayor? And Cleo wants to know, who will you name as deputy mayor?
THOMSON
Wow. The distributed leadership model has always been really important to me, I had a clear leadership team at Habitat for Humanity. The same is true at the Center for Rural Engagement. What that does is it establishes a system where not every decision day to day needs to be made by the CEO or the mayor, whatever the chief executive is. I don't know how many deputy mayors I'll have. What I do know is that I always balance my leadership team with my own gifts. I don't want people with that excel in the same things that I excel in, it is actually necessary to balance our team. And this loyalty point is really interesting, because what I look for most in a leadership team member is somebody who will be really bluntly honest with me. I don't want a yes person. I want somebody who is going to discern what's really happening and really have the courage to say, you know, Carrie, I think we might be headed in the wrong direction here, or what people are saying about this is that it's not working in these ways. Can we change it? That's the most critical thing that a team member can bring to me.
HREN
Do you have someone in mind that you would name?
THOMSON
I don't. I've been really focused on winning the election. That's my job right now. And so naming staff is not part of what I've been focused on.
HREN
Elizabeth wants to know about campaign financing. She notes that you have a larger advertising campaign than the other candidates. Were has your campaign money come from and how large is your war chest?
THOMSON
I don't refer to it as a war chest instead, I really look at it as one tool in my toolbox that allows me to communicate and reach voters. And it has been, you know, when I started this, I was the only political outsider. And when I decided to run for mayor, I decided I would do it the same way that I do everything, which is all in. I don't do anything half heartedly. And I knew that with very little name recognition, I absolutely had to tap whatever resources I could to try to communicate and to build a great team to work with me. So campaign finance reports came out on Friday, we have raised about $200,000. And that is what is allowing us to really communicate with the public. I'm running a very professional campaign, and I think Bloomington really probably wants a mayor that can tap resources, use them really wisely to get a job done exceedingly well. And that's what I'll do is your mayor.
HREN
David writes in Kerry references her five point housing plan on her website, what specifically does she want to do to address housing? And then how would you expand housing opportunities to residents, so that they don't have to move out of Bloomington?
THOMSON
Yes, I specifically want to house the people who work here. That is specifically what I think needs to happen. More and more, what I'm hearing at the doors, it's the first thing I hear at the doors. Housing is an issue I'm hearing. Yesterday, I heard from an elderly woman on a fixed income, that her taxes have gone up so much, because of the rising housing costs here in Bloomington, that she doesn't know if she can afford to stay in her home. That is absolutely unacceptable to me. We need housing that is attainable, attainable for people who are on fixed incomes, that woman should not have to move out of her house. So specifically, I do think that we need to create more housing units, we had a 2020 housing study that said we were 2700 units behind what we needed. My hunch is that we probably still have about that many to go. We have built a large number of housing units, but you also have to take into account that the the University continues to increase enrollment. And so we have to house those students as well. They're by and large not being housed on campus. So I have proposed a five point plan for housing, that includes tapping the assets that we already have, the retaining the housing that we have now. But also looking at things like first floor commercial that sitting empty, we can easily turn those back into housing units. That's that doesn't require moving any earth or, or paving any green space. And that's important to our community partnerships with the county with the university, and importantly, with the state CDA should be at the table with us, and they can be an incredible partner they have been before in Bloomington. And then I think that we should be really looking at the resources that are available to assist families and individuals, like the woman I just talked to who's already in her house. You know, one of the best things we can do for housing is retain the housing that we have and ensure that the people who are in it can stay there. So from there, we will have to develop some plans that involve some community input.
HREN
We received a handful of questions about your leadership style, they shared that you recently settled a lawsuit in which you were sued for workplace bullying and there have been high level of staff turnover at the Center for Rural Engagement under your direction. So can you speak to your ability to create a healthy working environment for city employees?
THOMSON
Yeah, first I just want to say that that is not factual. And so you know, while I cannot speak about specific HR issues, I have never been sued for workplace bullying or anything of the sort and you know, in a time when lots of lots of organizations are experiencing turnover, the CRE actually has not experienced any higher turnover than, than is typical. And the folks that did leave actually, I'm trying to think of an exception to this. They left for promotions, they, they got better jobs. I'm really proud of the teams that I have led, I have lots of very long tenured colleagues, I've only been at the CRE for five years, but much of that staff has been there the whole time. And, in fact, my longest tenured employee at Habitat came to work at CRE with me, I have worked with people for 10s of years straight and, and have built really strong leadership environments. And it is true that that I am a high impact leader that develops leadership teams and that I hold people accountable for the work that they do. I'm looking forward to working with the city staff. And I'm also a leader that has my staffs back all the time.
HREN
All right from Michelle, as a queer person of color, there was a lot of performative allyship that graces the lips of people in power, and the pages of social media. But when we try to hold white leaders accountable for their unintentional to avert racism, we're met with defensiveness, tone policing to damaging gatekeeping, can you address that?
THOMSON
Yeah, I always want to be a leader that is open to to clear feedback and is vulnerable enough to say, I made a mistake, or I didn't do enough. I think that's how we all get better. I tried to be really aware of how my actions and even my inactions can affect people who are in minority who are minoritized in some way. And I also tried to speak up actively for minoritized populations and ensure that that my leadership and my values align with with enabling people to really be safe and and be heard.
HREN
Kathy writes in what is your vision for the future of the Bloomington Farmers Market, having multiple markets doesn't have the same community feel? She never felt the city handled all the disruption in a very positive manner? Do you see a path to combine the markets in a good way for Bloomington?
THOMSON
I missed the vibrancy of the Bloomington city farmers market. And I would love to have an open discussion about how we might get that vibrancy back. I do see some benefits and having multiple markets. And so I would want to hear from those other markets, how successful they are and how much they you know how much focus on the Bloomington city market might impact them. I do however, think that it was a real missed opportunity. Freedom of speech is one thing. But we also need to acknowledge and defend the the what was happening at the market. And, you know, the the public meeting that that was had. I people just didn't feel heard. And that is it's a shame. So I know it's a legally entrenched issue, but it's a community treasure, it should be a place that everybody feel safe. And if if freedom of speech has to happen in that way. I think the city can take equal actions to ensure that people of color are feeling safe, LGBTQIA plus people are feeling safe at the market.
HREN
Rob wants to know How would you support the fire department our firefighters need raises the police continue to get all the support but the fire department is forgotten about what are you willing to do?
THOMSON
Yeah, so the I am not sure financially exactly what can be done because the city has not published an audit in a long time. What I want the fire department and the police department and all of our city employees to know is that I am going to look really carefully at the budget and ensure that we are compensating fairly and appropriately and that our city staff is our government. They are the people who do the work. And as their leader, I will take a hard look at that budget. Once I get some transparency there and and really figure out what can be done. We need to retain our fire in our police.
HREN
The city has formed a 501-C3 nonprofit organizations to manage the Trades District, Waldron, Buskirk, others to move initiatives forward - lay the burden off of city offices. City administration also wanted to use that same mechanism to expand manage the convention center. Do you agree with this method?
THOMSON
I don't agree with that method. But importantly, I don't agree with the process that that happened with that method. First of all, there was a Capital Improvement Board that was proposed that would manage the convention center, three city, three county and those six people appointed a seventh. And the the city decided not to play in that in that sandbox. Then what happened was this 501-C3 really got announced in a press release and my understanding from the arts organizations is that they did not have prior knowledge that this was happening. And they found out at the same time the rest of the community did. If we're trying to solve a problem that involves very clear stakeholders, we should have them at the table before we announce the plan. Does Hopewell and the Trades District deserve an oversight board? Possibly. But I have not seen the notes on that community discussion if it was held. And my understanding now is that some of those arts arts buildings have been removed from that 501-C3 oversight. I'm not sure if it's true. But that is my understanding.
HREN
Anne wants to know, what do you think about the traffic closure of the 500 block of East Kirkwood Avenue ruling and the restaurants using the public streets for six months of the year to the possible detriment of other types of businesses?
THOMSON
Yes, so I know for instances the bicycle garage has not been in support of the road closure. There are also other factors involved in the road closure that I think need to be addressed. I have heard from people with with accessibility issues, physical impairments that that it makes them it more difficult for them to park near to where they're going. I actually also talked to someone who uses a wheelchair who loves it because the street is much smoother than the sidewalks and so it's easier to roll along. However, I think that if we're going to continue to close Kirkwood, and I'll just tell you from a personal perspective, I love the closure of Kirkwood. I love being able to sit out in the middle of Kirkwood and it feels a little bit like Paris to me. I love the community feel of people walking by have, you know a near straightline pedestrian mall. We need emergency vehicle access that has been allotted on on the sort of north side of Kirkwood. And I also think and I have discussed and proposed the possibility of some kind of trolley system that might go from the Fourth Street garage up to perhaps 10th street and then circle back on Washington Street so we can have a high frequency loop that happens and people can park in those garages and know that they will have access straight to Kirkwood and to the other amenities that our downtown provides.
HREN
Donald wants to know about some low hanging quality of life issues he'd like to see the next mayor tackle. So banning app based scooters and E bikes, backing off highway gas engines like leaf blowers lawnmowers, and requiring porous parking lot services some issues he'd like you to comment on.
THOMSON
Yeah, so the scooters have really become quite an issue. Not only because they are a nuisance, but also frequently I am moving them off of sidewalks because there's it prevents accessibility for people who are using wheelchairs or other accessibility devices. So I know some communities have solved this by having a mandatory parking spot for them. I know Paris just banned them and so I I'd like to look at the balance between the zero emissions, small commute that they do provide, and the nuisance and accessibility issues that they are preventing and see if we can find a solution where they do have to be mandatorily parked somewhere, or even that if they're not parked in a place that you continue to get billed, I actually have never used a scooter. But I understand that they are quite expensive by the hour. So that simple determine could could be effective. The city does have a fine system. I am not clear why those fines are not being imposed. I know that it was discussed recently, the city was not provided our residents were not provided a good answer to that.
HREN
Did you want to talk about the banning off highway gas engines or requiring porous parking lots?
THOMSON
Yes. So there are already incentives for porous parking lots and other pervious pavement kinds of solutions. And I would like to look at increasing those. And, you know, I am I'm not sure what a great solution to the gas powered engines are. I certainly would not want to be a mayor that says if you have a fine piece of working equipment now I'm going to ask you to throw it out. That does another kind of environmental damage. So I think we need to look at that and have a real solution that that works and is practical.
HREN
Victoria wants to know that you know some of the nicest neighborhoods in Bloomington evolved within a racist, classist, Bloomington, what would you do to diversify these neighborhoods make it available to more people while preserving its quality?
THOMSON
Yeah, I think it's worth looking at some some down payment assistance and some other tools that we could really use to help diversify some of these, some of these neighborhoods, I'll tell you that the older neighborhoods in Bloomington are, they're increasingly out of reach financially. For everybody. We do have a racist and classist history, you look at the deed restrictions in many of those neighborhoods. And, and it's very clear. So I would look like to look at some solutions. And I am open to people's ideas about that, you know, housing accessibility is, is something I've worked hard on for decades. And I have some ideas about how to do that I don't have all the ideas and would love to hear from other people.
HREN
Casey wants to know how you would handle the drug crisis without punitive action for those suffering from addiction. Will you plan on any drug decriminalization efforts?
THOMSON
The drug crisis is, is now at a profound state in Bloomington. And I would really, you know, I think that the, the heart of our crisis, as I understand it now happens to be fentanyl in the new meth. And those drugs are potent and powerful and highly addictive. I would partner with the service providers that are active now. We have several of them. And also, I think that we need an active state partnership. I have stated and I will continue to state that I think that we are dealing with more proportionately than our fair share in the state of the drug crisis, and that we should demand more than our fair share of that opioid settlement money so that we can really put together a coalition with a strategic plan that will deal with this crisis and compassionately partner with people who are in crisis themselves.
HREN
All right, last question, Nissy emails in what would you do as mayor to deal with the deer problem?
THOMSON
Yeah, you know, there was a commission set up or a task force set up. This was 10 years ago. That task force was charged with dealing with the urban deer population. What happened instead was we ended up doing a cull at Lake Griffy. So I don't know where we missed the mark there. But we you know, we had this set up and and it was one of those sort of Bloomington things where I think we studied it and studied it. And the thing with the highest support was a cull at Griffy, which really didn't have much to do with the problem at hand. I would suggest that we put together another task force to look at that issue and ask them to really address that issue. I'm not sure what's right. Because there are challenges with every sort of obvious solution there is. And I think that we need the experts at the table. And we also need some creativity. But, you know, in my own neighborhood, I actually have been chased by a doe who is threatened by me walking my dog when she has fawns nearby. So it's a safety issue, not just for vehicles, but for for pedestrians and cyclists.
HREN
I know this was a lot. Thank you so much for coming in and taking the time to answer our viewers and listeners questions.
THOMSON
Yeah, they were great questions. I really appreciate them. And I'm really happy to answer more questions. People do write to me on email and we get back to them. So I'm happy to answer further questions. They don't have to be routed through WTIU. Thank you.
