RAPID CITY - The two remaining candidates for mayor expressed support for improving downtown and emphasized their qualifications Thursday during an appearance before the Rapid City Downtown Association.

Alderman Sam Kooiker and state Rep. Alan Hanks, fresh from Tuesday night's besting of six other mayoral candidates, including incumbent Jim Shaw, took their first steps of the three-week campaign leading to their June 26 runoff by answering questions mostly about downtown-related issues.

Both candidates agreed downtown revitalization efforts are needed.

"I think Rapid City has been struggling the last couple of years trying to get some momentum about the downtown area," Hanks said. "We need a mayor, and you need local volunteers and organizations to sit down and make some hard decisions and start implementing them."

Hanks said business viability is important. Because larger retailers have a tendency to locate on the fringes of town, the downtown should promote specialty shops, nightlife and restaurants.

"Specialty shops thrive in a downtown setting," Hanks said. "Let's face it: The downtown of any community is really the life and soul of the community. If the downtown is dying, it reflects poorly on the rest of the community."

Kooiker said downtown has a lot of vitality, but there is room for more. "We need to be more of a destination."

Kooiker said the City of Presidents project, placing bronze sculptures of U.S. presidents on downtown corners, is exciting and should be promoted more.

"Mount Rushmore is 20 minutes away, but this is the City of Presidents. We've been Star of the West, but we are the City of Presidents," he said.

With city hall located downtown, the mayor should be committed to downtown, Kooiker said, and should help make it more than a spot on a map. As a councilman, Kooiker noted that he helped push the state Department of Transportation to add to signs along the southeast connector pointing the way to downtown.

When questioned about the Rushmont building, a 15-story parking, condominium and retail/office space complex proposed for the lot at Fifth and St. Joseph streets, Kooiker said he initially voted against using tax increment financing to pay for public improvements at the site but later voted in favor of the TIF after questions about blight and property ownership were answered.

"I know there are concerns regarding the project. I believe it's an exciting opportunity for downtown," he said.

Hanks said conceptually, he thinks it is a good project because it provides additional parking and retail space, though he hopes the final design fits the theme of downtown better than the initial drawing.

"I think the downtown needs to encourage any development in the downtown area," Hanks said. "We need to make sure whenever anybody wants to come to the downtown area and either wants to remodel or rebuild, we need to be there 100 percent for them."

One of downtown's problems is open storefronts, but Hanks attributes much of that problem to a lack of parking.

Another factor is the high cost of renovating or remodeling older buildings.

"One of the things we need to do is find a way for those business owners to go in and upgrade so they literally look like new buildings," he said. "One of the ways to do that is to establish a rotating funding mechanism - I'm not talking about handouts - that would help with the high expense involved in remodeling."

Kooiker said as mayor, his role would be that of a facilitator who brings people together to make things happen.

"I'm not a politician. I'm a leader and an administrator. I believe the functions of mayor are planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating and budgeting," he said. "I march to the beat of a different drummer. I believe my responsibility is to be responsive to constituents."

Hanks said the position of mayor is as much about listening as it is about talking.

"One of the things I've learned over the years is the best way to accomplish things is to be quiet and listen and bring everybody together to try to find good solutions," he said.

Hanks said it is important to have someone in the mayor's office who has both experience and the "leadership package" of communication skills, the ability to work with people, the ability to get things done and a track record to prove it.

"I want to make sure we bring a new attitude to city hall to make sure we are customer-service oriented," he said. "If I'm elected mayor, I know who I work for - it's the voters. And so does every city employee. We're accountable, and we're responsible to those voters."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com