Leroy Walker

Age:  76

Occupation:  Retired 

Political experience: Seven terms as Ward 5 councilor

Why do you think you’re the most qualified, or best candidate, for this seat?

My experience comes from being a city of Auburn employee for close to 40 years, and then becoming a city councilor and holding that position for the past 14 years (seven terms).  It has been my privilege to serve the great people of Ward 5 (New Auburn) for all of that time.  I have the longest running consecutive terms of any of the city councilors to date.

Please name two issues that you believe are critical to Auburn’s future, and how you would address them. Be specific.

Two of the most critical issues that face Auburn are: Taxes being too high, and the homeless in our city. 

Taxes: My solution would be to get all of the city department heads to come together with the city councilors and the city manager, to find every possible way that the budget could be cut.  Every department would have to participate. The taxpayers must come out in numbers to support me in making these cuts.

The homeless are among us: We have done what we can to keep them warm, fed and clothed, but unfortunately there are no long-term solutions. I would like to hear from anyone who has any constructive suggestions.

Auburn, like many other municipalities, is seeing rising property taxes resulting from higher property values. What can Auburn do to address this issue?

We need to build more single-family homes in Auburn to increase our tax base. High-rise apartment buildings are not the only answer. We need to open up more buildable zones , and we need to find ways to help to finance down payments for those who want to build a home. This will help to bring the tax rate to a more affordable level. This would only work if we could get  federal funds.