Northwestern and the future of town-gown relations dominated the mayoral forum cosponsored by College Democrats and College Republicans on Wednesday night.
In the forum, held at Kresge Hall, 1880 Campus Drive, the four candidates – Stuart Opdycke, Ald. Elizabeth Tisdahl (7th), Jeanne Lindwall and Barnaby Dinges – spoke to a group of 20 students.
They each said that NU is an important part of Evanston, but they added the tensions between the university and the city are real, and there are difficulties to overcome.
Tisdahl said that when she became alderman in 2003, she wanted to address the issue, but has had problems.
“I thought, well it will be easy to improve the relationship with Northwestern,” said the candidate, who identified NU’s property tax exemption as a major factor in the tension. “I found out quickly it wasn’t so easy.”
The city often blamed NU instead of working to solve problems, Tisdahl said.
On Wednesday, the candidates focused on coming up with necessary solutions, such as using NU’s intellectual capital to help the city.
Dinges, a small business owner, suggested NU students offer free consulting work to the city, along the way earning valuable experience.
“What if we could do a hands-on through the Kellogg School, and the lab is the city of Evanston?” Dinges said. “And your partner is the Evanston Chamber of Commerce.”
The candidates also discussed safety on and around campus.
“I want every citizen in Evanston to be safe,” Dinges said. “And that includes every student as well.”
Last year, the City Council installed a number of blue light phones in Evanston in an effort to increase security.
Tisdahl said the phones were an important step in terms of both safety and city-university relations.
The mayoral hopefuls also talked about sustainability.
Lindwall, an urban planner, presented an all-inclusive plan for addressing green issues in Evanston, including sustainable buildings.
“My view of sustainability includes more than just looking at climate action,” she said.
Dinges, whose current job involves working with wind turbines, presented wind energy as a possible way for Evanston to become green.
“How many of you would have found Evanston more appealing if there had been a wind turbine?” he said.
The Lakefill and the area near Ryan Field are perfect sites for these turbines, Dinges said.
Tisdahl agreed, saying that students’ general desire to see renewable energy made them more receptive of the structures than other Evanston residents.
Dinges also voiced frustration with how hard it was for Evanston residents to recycle. He said large blue recycling cans should be available to residents “tomorrow.”
“It’s going to take longer than Barnaby would like, but it is going to happen,” Tisdahl said. “Big cans are coming to everyone.”
Opdycke injected some humor into the evening when addressing the question of why students should vote for him. The current Plan Commission president told the crowd the story of when his wife, a teacher, asked her class what he should do as mayor.
“The consensus among the third-graders was save the pandas,” he said. “So I will save the pandas if I’m elected mayor.”
