Subject: Candidates' views differ on light rail, Marketplace Date: Monday, May 01, 2006 7:03 PM Opposing philosophies emerge Candidates' views differ on light rail, Marketplace By GARIN GROFF TRIBUNE CONTACT WRITER: (480) 898-5938 or ggroff@aztrib.com At last, the people running for Tempe City Council present clearly different visions of their city. While the March primary election revealed few major differences between five candidates, opposing philosophies are clear in the the two remaining candidates - Len Copple and Onnie Shekerjian. Longtime incumbent Copple is behind some of Tempe's signature, yet controversial, projects like light rail and Tempe Marketplace. Newcomer Shekerjian is skeptical of the city's approach to light rail and the Marketplace. While there's no reversing those matters, the differences reveal philosophies that would guide how either might look at future issues. Copple has focused his campaign on his eight years in office, saying voters should keep him if they're happy with the direction Tempe is going. He's active in community organizations and said his career as an attorney drives him to study contracts to ensure Tempe doesn't get into unanticipated problems. "I think I offer something different to the council that other people might not be able to, simply because of my legal training," Copple said. Shekerjian has campaigned on her experience as a public policy researcher and advocate for parents dealing with school issues. She said she often found herself asking tough questions about school issues and trying to reform practices that didn't work. "Having been an advocate, I realize the individual needs of individual people are important," she said. She has called for more code enforcement, neighborhood cleanups and neighborhood planning committees - something other cities, such as Phoenix, do to gain more local involvement with development issues. Shekerjian said she opposes higher property taxes, even if the cost is small, because that would hurt new families. "I tend to be pretty fiscally conservative with my own money," she said. Copple wants to fund projects that were delayed in recent years because of bad economic times. He wants more code enforcement, a neighborhood shuttle service, alley cleanups and new walls along arterial streets where old fences are falling down. "We're in good economic times, and I'd like to see the revenue the city has going into some of the projects the council thought was important but that we never had the money for," Copple said. Copple is a longtime light-rail advocate who has followed the project closely and advocated other transit issues. Shekerjian said she probably would have voted against light rail had she been on the council. Shekerjian also opposed how Tempe went about approving Marketplace, now under construction on the northeast corner of McClintock Drive and Rio Salado Parkway. The City Council attempted to use eminent domain to buy industrial properties if owners refused to sell to a developer, which Shekerjian saw as an abuse of private property rights. Copple supported the approach, saying the area's landfills and polluted industrial properties were a safety hazard. Copple and Shekerjian placed third and fourth, respectively, in the March 14 primary election.