Womack looks to future with run for city council

As the youngest candidate for city council, at 29, McKibben Womack looks to bring a youthful perspective to the city council.

In his last seven years in Sisters, Womack has started his own landscaping business, brought three new citizens into Sisters (ages 4, 2 and 1 month), and served on the city's budget committee.

He also served on the ad hoc Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that wrangled over the city's water system capital budget for almost 50 hours in 11 meetings, resulting in a 52-percent reduction in the city's planned five-year capital improvement plan budget, from a proposed $1,414,750 to $677,800.

Womack first lived in Sisters from 1989 to 1996. Womack joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school and served for six years. He moved back to Sisters in 1996 at the conclusion of two tours in the Middle East, primarily in Iraq.

One of five children, McKibben, his siblings and his parents, Rebecca and Thomas, are well-known in Sisters.

Womack expressed clear ideas about some of the key issues facing Sisters.

"I feel the current city council is lacking in leadership, and among the city staff there is an atmosphere of caution - a 'keep your head down' attitude," said Womack. "I believe when you are open and transparent, that takes away 80 percent of the misunderstanding and resistance."

Womack said, "I am very pro-business, but at the same time I don't believe the city needs to be involved in the private business of companies looking to move to Sisters; that is something the chamber should do. I think the economic development manager is needed, but I believe that job should report to the chamber.

"The city's job is to be developing the livability of Sisters, like using tax breaks to incent landlords to keep their 'spaces' full and to help facilitate filling all the empty spaces downtown," said Womack. "There should also be incentives for landlords to keep their building attractive and appealing to those that might want to move here. We need downtown to look inviting, even with all the vacancies."

Womack believes that the Cascade Avenue project needs to be done, but he feels that the current controversy over the shut-down of Cascade Avenue for five months could have been avoided if the city staff and council had an ongoing and well-developed relationship with the merchants.

He sees the same problem in the city's relationship with the schools. Womack said, "We have got to a better job liaising with the schools. Let's say that SPRD brings in a basketball tournament; the city, the chamber, the schools all need to be coordinating and contributing. The thing we are missing here is unity. The city is really a bad word in a number of those (civic) groups."

Womack's relative youth is actually a part of his platform.

"I want to get young people involved," said Womack. He supports the concept of a high school "youth council" that meets with the mayor once a month. "They would bring energy and enthusiasm and some outside-the-box ideas."

With the commitment to launch a business and raise his young family in Sisters, Womack is thinking long-term.

"I think it is important that people understand that in the decisions I'm going to make, I'm looking at what is good now, and what is going to be good 20 years down the road," said Womack. "I believe as a councilor I represent the business people, I represent the citizens and I represent the people in the greater community, outside the city (limits).

"I think our job as councilors is to listen to people, communicate effectively with them and hear them out. I think you need to be willing and able to explain to people why their idea is good or not good. That is representation."