Woodland City Council races enter final weeks

As the Nov. 8 general election approaches, the focus on the race for Woodland City Council Position No. 4 between candidates Anthony Brentin and Marshall Allen has increased amidst the surfacing of private criticism of Brentin’s personal finances.

In the Oct. 12 issue of The Reflector, a letter to the editor from Shana and Brandan Stroh stated that Brentin owed the couple $4,812.24 in past due rent and utility payments. The couple provided evidence to The Reflector of a Cowlitz County Superior Court judge’s ruling in July on a judgement against the former Woodland Fire Chief. The Strohs also said that at that time, Brentin had yet to make any payments on the unpaid debt.

Brentin informed

The Reflector that he paid the debt on Oct. 13. Shana Stroh confirmed the payment a day later. Brentin said he hopes the citizens of Woodland understand that his personal finances are separate from handling City funds.

"When I was the fire chief, I was in charge of the City’s funds for the department then," he said. "I made sure I handled the financial part for the City extremely careful because that was my job and I was paid to do it."

Brentin went on to say his personal finances took a backseat to his other commitments, which is why he said he accrued the unpaid debts. He hopes Woodland voters will understand.

"My personal finances are not perfect," said Brentin. "Nobody is perfect. I just hope Woodland voters understand."

Allen said the outcome of the election is for the voters to decide and he had no comment on Brentin’s situation.

"I don’t know Tony’s financial situation," said Allen. "Times are tough right now and it is up to the voters to decide who they want in office."

Here’s a closer look at the two candidates:

Marshall Allen

Tony Brentin

Other council races

Like Allen and Brentin, the candidates for Woodland City Council Pos. 7 are also talking about the City’s communication problems.

Robert Ripp, 70, is a long-time Woodland resident. He coordinates efforts for the American Field Service student exchange program, helping to place students in schools and homes and he also volunteers with his church.

Professionally, he has owned and operated Woodland Welding and Fabrication for the last 40 years.

"I am running for this council position to bring common sense and business knowledge to the Woodland City Council," he said during the primary election. "I just recently retired and now have time to devote to the City. I plan to do that by becoming a council member."

Ripp has continuously said he is worried about the communication between City officials and the citizens.

Perry, 70, is a semi-retired Vietnam veteran. Professionally, he has worked with marketing data processing systems for credit unions and has managed his own company.

Perry currently serves on the Horseshoe Lake Management Committee, and said over the last three years he has regularly attended meetings for the Woodland Planning Commission, Port and Chamber of Commerce in addition to City Council meetings, which has given him an understanding of the people who make things happen and those who impede progress.

Perry said the communication issue needs to be addressed immediately and he suggests possibly starting a regular town hall meeting.

"The issue needs a lot of attention," said Perry. "When you look at these meetings you see the same faces all the time. We need to encourage new people to come and voice their opinions. We need more involvement from our citizens."

Brentin, 50, has been in Woodland since 2002 when he joined the Woodland Fire Department as a volunteer. In July 2002, he became the interim Fire Chief for Woodland and a few months later became the permanent chief.

He retired from the department in January of 2009. Brentin said he attended almost every council meeting during his time as chief and feels he knows what the City needs.

"There are major communication problems between everyone in the City," said Brentin. "I can help with this issue and hit the ground running because of my experience from when I was the fire chief. I can help this City work out the problems."

Brentin believes he can help Woodland’s leaders adopt more of a long-term approach to issues.

"The City lacks a vision of who it is and what it wants to be," he said. "Right now we are not a business-friendly City and I would like to change that. We need to grow."

Brentin also wants to focus on better communication between City officials and citizens.

"We have to start communicating better," said Brentin. "It can’t be about people’s special interests anymore. We have to start compromising to have the City move forward. We all need to get on the same page and have the same goals."

Allen moved to Woodland in 2004 after spending 20 years in the Air Force. He originally left the Air Force and went to California, where he spent time working as a flight tester. He has never held a public position nor ran for public office before.

Allen, 76, said that he is running because he feels the current council members do not listen to the citizens as well as they should and he wants to change that.

"The people should be listened to more," said Allen earlier this year. "I feel special interest projects and groups get special treatment and that needs to change. I feel I can be that person to change it around."

Since the primary election, Allen has made it a goal of his to make sure all expenditures need to be justified and accounted for better. He said there is a lack of accountability on how the City’s money is being spent.

"We have to justify why we spent that money to the citizens," he said. "We have to be able to explain why we spent the money."

The major issue sprouting up around the forums is communication between the council members, mayor, citizens and City administrators.

"Communication is key and right now there are issues," said Allen. "We need stability and to be able to communicate better to get things done."

An idea Allen had to help with the communication problems would be to create a town-hall meeting for citizens with concerns.

"Communication has to get better," he said. "Whether we do it monthly, biweekly or whenever, it would help with citizen concerns."