Bellevue Mayoral Race Splits On Tax Relief Path

Bellevue Mayor Rusty Hike and challenger Kevin Pflager both promise lower property taxes. They disagree on how to get there. Hike wants big projects to widen the city's tax base; Pflager wants steady sales tax growth.

Hike points to the water park and REACH project as the way to draw visitors and businesses. Hotels and restaurants are following those projects, he said. "When you're coming from out of state or outside the city, those people are leaving money here in your city, which allows you to start lowering your property taxes," Hike said.

Pflager would work to make those projects succeed, including shaping development around the water park. "We have to do everything in our power to make sure it's a success," he said. He calls the water park "a big, fancy idea and I think it will help," but says it "is not going to be the sustainable, guaranteed, foolproof method to get these down."

Both candidates support Olde Towne revitalization. Hike calls it the city's downtown and a priority. Pflager backs improvements and would seek grants and loans to fund them.

No official debate has been scheduled. Pflager raised the idea online; Hike said he would participate only if an independent party organized it. "I'm certainly not afraid to debate anybody, but I want to make sure it's an unbiased debate and not some kind of hit job," Hike said. Pflager called his request an official invitation, made after Hike posted about him on Facebook. An 18-year-old preparing to cast a first ballot said they wanted to learn more about the candidates.

Conflict-of-interest questions surfaced for both. Residents asked Hike whether his real estate business affects his decisions. He said it does not and that he recuses himself from votes near his properties when necessary. "I do own some properties around town, but there's a lot of people who own some properties around town," Hike said. Hike questioned Pflager's work as a city planner in neighboring Papillion. Pflager said a planner's role is not to recruit development and that developers choose a site first. He said conflicts could arise only in a land swap or boundary adjustment, adding that many such matters were settled years ago.

Voters in Olde Towne named property taxes as a leading concern. The race offers an incumbent focused on continued development and a challenger arguing for a wider approach to building sustainable tax revenue.