Mayoral candidates make their final appeals as election night looms

SPOKANE, Wash. — In their last few weeks on the campaign trail, mayoral candidates Ben Stuckart and Nadine Woodward are making their final appeals to Spokane voters.

Woodward says she is focused on grassroots campaigning, while Stuckart has placed a priority on public appearances, such as debates and forums.

There have been 16 community forums leading up to this year’s general election; Stuckart has been to all 16, and Woodward – just nine. Stuckart claims this shows Woodward is not answering to voters, though she says that just because she has missed some forums, it doesn’t mean she is not listening.

“It’s been a long seven months,” said Woodward. “In a way it’s been long, and in a way it’s gone by super fast.”

In two weeks, those seven months on the campaign trail will wind to a close, and Spokane will have its next mayor.

“Here we are today, you know, up in 5 Mile door-belling,” said Woodward. “Because the race is won on the doorstep. It’s the connections that you make – the conversations you have with the voters.”

That is one of the many things Woodward and Stuckart disagree on.

“I doorbell every day, seven days a week, and we had 40 volunteers out yesterday, so that’s true, but it also takes going to public forums and having discussions,” said Stuckart. “Sometimes that’s the only avenue somebody has to actually reach out to somebody and let their views be known.”

Stuckart says he has heard those views, and shared his own, at all 16 candidate forums for the general election, while his opponent has missed seven. He says how you run for office reflects how you will govern. He believes Woodward has shown that she will not open herself up for conversation if she becomes mayor.

“You need to listen to all the citizens,” said Stuckart. “I’ve been doing it for the last seven and a half years as Council President and I don’t believe that missing seven out of 16 forums is really what we need in a mayor.”

Woodward says she went to as many forums as she possibly could – and says that she is listening, just on people’s doorsteps.

“I wish I could’ve gone to all of them, but we went to as many as we could, and I’m working 12 to 14 hours every single day,” said Woodward. “It doesn’t stop and it won’t stop until the election’s over. So you just cannot be everywhere all the time.”

“During the campaign if you’re not going to show up to events, are you gonna show up to events as mayor?” Stuckart asked.

As for which strategy pays off, we will have to wait until election night.

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