As the general election nears candidates for Seattle City Council positions are campaigning heavily around hot button issues like affordable housing.

Voters will decide four races for City Council, including three incumbents, on Nov. 6.

The candidates appeared in dyads last week at a forum in Ballard. Each pair had 20 minutes to take turns answering questions posed by moderator Robert Drucker, a member of the community group hosting the event.

Jean Godden vs. Joe Szwaja (Position 1)

Szwaja said his "progressive" vision is what's needed on the City Council. His primary platform issues are affordable housing, transportation solutions and the environment.

If elected, Szwaja said one goal would be to reducing carbon emissions in Seattle up to 5 percent a year for the next 20 years. He would also work to stop resident displacement and curb "out of control development."

Godden has served on the council for the last four years and is running for a second term. She earned a little more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary while Szwaja snagged about 22 percent.

Godden plans to push an initiative for a citywide broadband Internet connection to every Seattle home. She also said she would vote to approve the three-county Roads and Transit plan this election. It includes investments to major interstates and bridges, as well as light rail and bus service.

"We need to be able to move goods and services," Godden said.

Szwaja said voting "yes" on the initiative would only further the current "climate change hole," and worsen the situation because it would result in additional carbon emissions.

Instead, Seattle should better prioritize its funds and spend less money on projects like the South Lake Union Trolley so it can provide bus service to other areas of the city, he said.

Godden said the trolley is designed to eventually connect to nearby neighborhoods and is "one more way to move people."

A former newspaperwoman for both The Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer, Godden chairs the council's energy and technology committee. Her endorsements include both daily newspapers, Washington Conservation Voters and the Seattle Fire Fighters.

Szwaja moved to Seattle in 1993 and has been a teacher at Nova High School for the past 15 years. He served three terms on the Madison, Wis. City Council. He promised to work overtime as a city councilman and meet regularly with "average people," not just "developers and big donors."

"We have to shake things up," Szwaja said. "We can't continue with the same leadership."

Bruce Harrell vs. Venus Velazquez (Position 3)

This race will fill the first open seat on the council in eight years. Councilman Peter Steinbrueck announced earlier this year he would retire from his seat. He has endorsed Velazquez.

When asked about how the city should approach updating it's 10-year-old neighborhood plans, Harrell said the communities should be given most of the power.

"While I love this city I will always hold it accountable," he said.

Velazquez said the model the mayor has proposed puts too much control in the hands of city departments.

"The process needs to be connected to the past," she said.

Velazquez maintained city leaders have not kept their promise of providing amenities like increased transit in urban villages that have accepted more density.

"Ballard has seen the kind of growth we could not have predicted 10 years ago but it has not seen the amenities," she said.

Both Velazquez and Harrell are former City Council aides. Both earned a "very good" rating by the Municipal League of King County.

Harrell grew up in the Central District and both his parents worked for the city. He was a University of Washington Husky football player in the late 1970s.

Velazquez, a former West Seattle neighborhood planner for the city, works as a public affairs consultant mainly for non-profit organizations. Harrell is an attorney and has also represented non-profits.

Velazquez grew up in St. Louis, where she was as a social worker until she moved to Seattle in the early 1990s. She earned about 43 percent of the vote in the primary while Harrell trailed at nearly 30 percent.

Velazquez sad she would focus on sustaining residents and businesses and "tackle" the Seattle School District's financial problems to find "solid solutions." Some of her endorsements are the Seattle Police Officer's Guild, 36th District Democrats and several in the business community.

Harrell said he would fight to build alliances and partnerships between elected leaders and the community. He's endorsed by the Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer, among others.

"They all know my commitment to people," he said.

David Della vs. Tim Burgess (Position 7)

Incumbent David Della is running against Tim Burgess, a marketing consultant who has a background as a police detective and a journalist. The pair weren't in the primary because they are the only two candidates up for the seat.

Della chairs the council's parks, education and libraries committee and is vying to be elected a second term.

Burgess favors looking into a moratorium on condominium conversions to save affordable apartment complexes like the Lock Vista in Ballard. He said it could be a "partial solution," to help the city's current affordability "crisis."

Della and Burgess both said they support some kind of incentive zoning in which developers can build higher in exchange for building some affordable units. Burgess suggested the city speed up its building permit process to lessen the project costs for developers.

Della said he's reviewing Mayor Greg Nickels' proposal to change the multi-family zoning code that includes incentive zoning and land banking to create affordable housing.

Also on the table is a proposal to expand the city's multi-family tax exemption program, which gives developers a 12-year tax break in exchange for setting aside a percentage of units as affordable housing.

The candidates were asked how they would help secure for public use several surplus city properties and Seattle School District properties that are up for sale.

Both said the sites should remain in public hands. Burgess said the city should partner with the community and contribute financially to ensure that happens. He suggested the sites could be an opportunity to generate solar power.

Della supports the mayor's proposal to set aside $4 million in the 2008 budget to help purchase surplus school buildings.

Burgess pledged that if elected he would stop "irresponsible development" that threatens the historic character of neighborhoods.

"The city should be much more declarative in protecting our single-family neighborhoods," he said.

Della touted his efforts to develop a new Pro Parks Levy, after the current levy sunsets next year. He also said he'd continue to focus on providing and preserving more affordable housing and hire more police.

"I want to make sure Seattle is affordable, livable and safe," Della said. "Experienced leadership is needed to keep the city going in the right direction."

Sally Clark vs. Judy Fenton (Position 9)

Clark doesn't face much competition from her opponent. Fenton, a small business owner and mother of six, had little to say about issues like incentive zoning and the environment.

Fenton favors a retrofit of the damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct because it is the least expensive option and causes minimal disruption to traffic. She supports more sidewalks in school zones and on bus routes.

One of her primary goals as a council member would be to remove a statue at the Olympic Sculpture Park that she called "offensive." It features a nude father and son.

"Part of keeping our children safe is upholding safe boundaries for them," she said. "Public art should not blur and confuse those boundaries."

Clark, a former Seattle Department of Neighborhoods staffer and council aide, was appointed to fill a council vacancy early last year. Last fall she was elected to fill out the unexpired term and now is running for her first full term.

Clark easily outpolled her opponent in the primary election. She earned nearly 70 percent of the vote, while Fenton garnered about 13 percent.

Current chair of the council's economic development and neighborhoods committee, Clark said she would continue to focus on the "safety affordability and sustainability of our neighborhoods."

"Incentives for developers have to be part of the toolbox" to create more affordable housing, said Clark, but can't be solely relied upon.

Fenton agreed that incentives could useful, but admitted, "I have a lot to learn in this area."

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at rebekahs@robinsonnews.com