Herald: Terry Bjerke has made his reputation as a limited-government or tax-cut crusader; in one interview, he said his goal is to 'Cut, cut, cut.' What's your own view?
Grand Forks City Council candidate Nate Hilliard: I have a bit of a different view. I understand what he's saying, and we definitely need to find a way to address city spending and to cut back.
But I'm not the kind of guy who's going to go in and just say "No" to everything. I'm just not. I take a long time to make big decisions. I like to look at who this is going to affect, and how; how much it costs and what the benefits will be. And if it turns out that it's the right thing to do, then I'd support it.
That's the bottom line: Is it the right thing to do? Is it something that will positively affect Grand Forks, on balance?
Just because it costs money doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Economic development, for example, is really important for Grand Forks as a growing community. The second-largest employer in the state is UND; it's extremely important that we work well with them. .?.?.
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Taxes are a necessary evil Nobody likes to have them myself included. But they do give us the chance to have incredible things like the Greenway. The council does a great job of making sure people get benefit out of their tax dollars, and that's so important.
