How big are racial issues in  Eau Claire?
Middleton: We have to take a proactive approach to it.  There isn't a problem in our community currently.  Groups as a whole are not segregated against, but there is personal racism that does exist.  We do have to react to the current problems in our community.  We simply cannot just sit back and pretend that it's something that's going to disappear.
Levandowski: I don't really see one.  There is a small black population and I haven't heard of any major problems in that respect.  And there's a certain amount of Hmong population in the city, and of course they're represented on the council.  There's minorities all over the city, and I think Eau Claire has a good mix of citizens and I think for the most part everyone gets along.

What is the most important issue for the City Council to tackle this year?
Middleton: Educating the community about the political process, and that will get things accomplished. I have some ideas on how to bring our community together.
Levandowski: The flooding.  These people have had way too much suffering. And not so much in an 8 or 10 inch rain, but in 1 and 2 inch rain.  There's a lot of people out there that don't understand what even just a little bit of water was doing to these people. They're in misery and we need to correct that.

Is there any organization that you are currently involved with that could cause a conflict of interest with your City Council position?
Middleton: I don't see any conflict of interest in anything that I'm currently doing.  If there are some they certainly haven't been addressed with me.
Levandowski: No not really.  I am involved with the St. James Pastoral Parish Council, and if a situation ever arose where St. James was a matter of topic, I would simply bow out for that discussion.

What are some negative aspects of the current council?
Middleton: I don't think we've really had the leadership to our city's problem solving entities together.  I think the listening issue is one that I'm bugged by as well.  As a therapist, that's one of the things that I'm trained to do, is listen.  You can't just listen, you need to respond to what you hear.  The council didn't do that with the sidewalk issue.
Levandowski: You need to give anyone at the podium your full attention.  I've always been taught to be courteous to other people and when someone is talking you listen. It's just plain and simple, it's good manners.