The Position 5 race is one of three Vancouver City Council seats on the ballot for Tuesday’s general election
VANCOUVER — Incumbent Ty Stober, a member of the Vancouver City Council since 2016, is vying to return to Position 5 despite the challenge of candidate David Regan.
The Position 5 race is one of three Vancouver City Council seats on the ballot for Tuesday’s general election. Here’s a closer look at both candidates (in alphabetical order):
David Regan
Regan listed no elected experience on his profile. His professional experience includes ownership of Regan Bail Bonds. He also served as vice president of the Washington State Bail Bonds Agents Association (2010- 2016) and has served on the Washington State Bail Bonds Agents Association Legislative Board (since 2016); Wildwood Neighborhood Association (secretary since Feb., 2019); Vancouver Rotary; Eastside Vancouver Business Association; Uptown Vancouver Business Association; Downtown Vancouver Business Association; and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Regan is a graduate of Skyview High School and he has a Degree in Political Science from UCLA (2009); a Degree in Church Leadership from Portland Bible College (2015); and experience from the Emerging Leaders Program, Small Business Administration (Portland, 2018). His community service includes donating transitional housing for those recovering from addiction and homelessness; hosts a weekly recovery support group; and participates in Just One Thing (a work group to end homelessness).
In his Voters’ Pamphlet statement, Regan said “Born and raised in Vancouver, I have seen it grow and prosper. I’ve also seen concerning gaps in city planning, road paving, parking, addiction and homelessness. I’ve been in the trenches creating coalitions with community organizations to help restore people suffering from living on the streets and struggling with addictions. As a council member, I’ll bring this real-life experience with me. As a small business owner, I see how the Stronger Vancouver Initiative burdens businesses with additional planned taxes in order to fund projects we want instead of the services we need. Let’s focus on getting our needs met first, then creating fiscally responsible ways to fund our wants. Our port property is vital to the future growth of attracting family jobs to the city. It’s tied to the city’s needs for jail space with other safety and economic factors. A holistic approach must be taken. My experience with the justice system gives me knowledge for real solutions. Having Puerto Rican ancestry, I speak both English and Spanish; beneficial to communications within our diverse city.’’
Ty Stober
In addition to being a member of the Vancouver City Council, Stober serves as a member of the C-TRAN Board of Directors; Council for the Homeless; Safe Communities Task Force; Strategic Plan Oversight Committee; and Police & Fire Pension Boards (chair). He is the manager of the Professional Experience Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and has performed sales and operations for various start-up businesses including TESSCO Technologies (director) and Larsen Electronics (sales manager). Stober holds a Bachelor’s Degree from University of Puget Sound and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Senior Executives in State & Local Government from the Harvard Kennedy School; and Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Washington Association of Cities. His community service includes being a former foster parent; serving as a board member for Daybreak Youth Services; a Vancouver Public Schools lunch buddy; and service on the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, Policy Advisory Committee.
In his Voters’ Pamphlet statement, Stober said “Vancouver is going places and it has been my honor to represent you on council. With the opening of the Waterfront, redevelopment of Tower Mall, investment in East Side infrastructure, and a commitment to building affordable housing, we are truly a city with an exciting story. My vision is more than just creating a fantastic place to live today, it is about creating a future where our children, seniors, and entire diverse community thrive. I strive to make thoughtful, informed decisions about investments in our future and ensure all voices in our community are heard. I will continue to approach every decision I face with the highest integrity.
League of Women Voters Candidate Forum
Both candidates participated in the recent League of Women Voters of Clark County Candidate Forum. Among the questions each were asked was “as a city councilor, what would be your top two priorities and why?
Stober: “Two things that stick out as passions for me. The first one is inclusion within our city government. The demographics of our city are changing rapidly. And we have opportunities to take advantage of that. At the same time, our society in general is recognizing those changes and the value that that diversity brings to us. I’ve been a very strong advocate of us forming a Human Rights Commission within the city to be helping us address those types of issues. And then, being dedicated to the outreach necessary to make people feel empowered in our government. Second, is safety in our transportation system. We have one of the highest rates of pedestrian and bike accidents in the state and addressing that is very important to me. I also hear safety when I hear about people speeding through neighborhoods. So, for me another key priority is prioritizing safety in our transportation and transportation system, in particular, emphasizing pedestrians.’’
Regan: “My two biggest issues I’d love to focus on are economic development. I got cut off a little earlier. But, I was talking about I feel like as a city, I’d love to develop a Section 30 focus on areas like Highway 14 and the Tower Mall area. How can we improve economic development there and especially in the Fourth Plain corridor. It’s awesome to see that we’re going to focus as a city on an area like that. And I’d love to also focus on some Workforce Development and family wage jobs. And secondly, I would love to really focus on homelessness. I feel like that’s where a lot of my experience with my community service and my involvement in faith-based communities and running men’s addiction groups. I feel like the city’s collected a lot of money regarding Proposition 1, but I feel like the council could have been a little bit more thoughtful in the way in which they spend that money. I think, taking steps to see more visible results in solving chronic homelessness. I would implement a system like Snohomish County has implemented. I feel like my skills and talents can really serve those two issues the best.’’
Regan: “Yes, I visited the Navigation Center. I think the city took some positive steps towards building a day center, which is good. Yet, we neglected to develop a comprehensive plan on the way city does homelessness and that’s why I think we’re seeing some of the issues that we’re seeing at the Navigation Center. I’ve knocked on doors and spoken with hundreds of residents in that area that have been affected by the day center. And, most people wanted the day center in there, but they feel like the city’s not honoring the Good Neighbor Agreement and our people there. The other question I might pose is, are people there to charge phones or transform lives? Because I feel like the day center was there so that people could transform lives. And the Good Neighbor Agreement isn’t enough. We need to strengthen our neighborhoods that are having those drastic increases in crime and we need to rebuild trust with those neighbors because how are we going to put something else in another part of the city or provide services in another area if we don’t have that trust?’’
Stober: “Yes, I have been down to the Navigation Center several times. have also attended the Good Neighbor meetings. So, I’ve heard from the neighbors, their concerns, the stress that that neighborhood is feeling and also have been able to see the needed resource that that is for so many people in our community. The need for the basics of shower, laundry, just a place to go to the bathroom. Since the beginning of the year, after visiting the Alpha Project in San Diego last year, I came back and became an advocate for us focusing our Talking Trash program, which is the program where we pay the homeless to go out and pick up trash, to focus it on the immediate community. I think that that’s an important step for us to do, because it will reassure the neighbors that people are watching out. But the problem is, it takes four votes to do anything.’’
