Letters to the Editor 12/31/2014

To the Editor:

Rumor or not, the unusual circumstances surrounding the new City Council are raising valid concerns regarding the selection for mayor.

For instance, there's growing public concern of what seems to be a crony class of well-connected insiders that influence the system to their benefit.

Moreover, there's rising concern over a faction that has actively supported crafting more and more rules that many folks consider forceful or unnecessary, such as back-in parking and highway traffic-circles.

I understand Eva Eagle's concern about the polarization she expressed in her (civics lesson) letter to the editor. She advises "all of us take a deep breath and let our elected leaders do their jobs."

However, it's well documented that Americans have been intensely divisive about politics since the founding. In fact, Alexis de Tocqueville described the clamor of American society in his classic book, "Democracy in America."

I believe it's not only unwise, but profoundly un-American to sit back and be quiet and let the government do its job.

It is the Council's duty to rely on the signals from the electorate for determining the correct direction. The selection for mayor should rise from the bottom up, and not be decreed from the top down. And the results from the November election are very clear.

Additionally, City Manager Gorayeb's accumulated power within the district has raised genuine concern. Therefore, the selection for mayor is critically important at this time. We must balance the power so we don't end up with a city government of the elite, by the elite, for the elite.

Kevin L. Dumas

s s s

To the Editor:

The City Council needs to rescind the decision by city staff to allow food carts on the mayor's property, return his application fee and start an open, transparent, democratic process.

Food carts are not the same as brick-and-mortar restaurants and should not be treated as such. The approval was given to the mayor without a public hearing. Most of the public was unaware of the project until the 14-day appeal process was over. Even the planning commission was left unaware.

Hit the rewind button, start over and do it right.

Sharlene Weed