|
 | |||
| Lopez Island | Orcas Island | Visitor's Guide | ||
| Email this page to a friend | ||
| ||||||||||||||||
COLUMN BY SHARON KIVISTO |
|
Email this page to a friend | |
|
Who's trying to run the county?By Sharon Kivisto posted 05/10/2006
Along with the Charter, came a small group of people who believe they know how things should be done and they are more than willing to share their knowledge. Some of the former freeholders and a few others have taken on the job of making sure the "spirit" of the charter is followed. This has taken a variety of forms. Some have vowed to put together a referendum to replace the salary commission if the salaries aren't low enough. If things don't go the way they think they should at council meetings, they show their displeasure. One of the more colorful remarks was the angry "This is war!" declaration. A speaker who said something they didn't like was booed and hissed during another meeting. We seem to have forgotten we have a representative democracy. We elect people to represent us and run our government. Yes, we have free speech. Everyone can attend the council meetings. That doesn't mean that everyone has the right to demand and expect that their version of the "spirit" of the charter is correct and should be followed. If the charter needs to be interpreted, that is up to the prosecutor or the county council or the courts. One of the former freeholders, Charles Bodenstab, gave a presentation to the salary commission two weeks ago. Each elected official was given 10 minutes to tell the salary commissioners about the duties of the elected office they held. The salary commissioners were gathering information in order to determine the proper salary. Bodenstab said he was there to educate the salary commissioners about the process the freeholders went through to write the charter. Much of his time, however, was spent contradicting and dismissing what Councilmembers Kevin Ranker, Bob Myhr and Alan Lichter said about their work. One example was his discounting of the importance of councilmembers going to Olympia to speak to our state legislators. Letting Bodenstab inject anectodal evidence into the salary-setting process doesn't make sense. When asked in a phone interview if he had ever been a public servant, Bodenstab said he hadn't. He was involved with Fortune 500 companies and when you "get right down to it" business and government are the same, he said. They both have the goal of providing service in an effective and efficient way. Something has definitely gone awry in our county government when the county Administrator turns towards the former freeholders, rolls his eyes and shrugs his shoulders after the council makes a decision the group doesn't like...when Bodenstab says the county Prosecutor is "delighted" with the help the group is providing by "intimidating" the council when it goes astray from the charter...when Susan Robins says the council may have the power to make some of the decisions its made but not the "moral right." There is a lot of change going on and a lot of people are under a lot of stress. What we don't need at this time are people applying more pressure with their demands. The former freeholders need to let go. They wrote the Charter but it needs to stand alone. If they want to govern, they should run for office. If they want to participate, do it like the rest of us. Vote, use public access time, write letters, work on advisory boards, the planning commission, the solid waste advisory committee, etc. Don't expect special access, just because you demand it. This is a democracy. |
|
|
SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
|