Letters to the Editor for Sept. 17, 2013

Smith wants to improve the community Why is someone from Ridgefield writing about a Camas city council candidate? Well, over the past few months I have been able to observe Melissa Smith through her service on the Regional Transportation Council. I also have a lot of friends who live in Camas and east county, and we talk politics from time to time. I am impressed at Melissa’s ongoing desire to improve her community, and her ability to sometimes make tough decisions. Melissa truly is vested in making Camas a world-class place to live. I urge you to re-elect Melissa Smith to the Camas City Council. Chuck Green, Ridgefield Don’t change what’s not broken About a year ago, then councilor Jon Russell took a job in the east and left the Washougal City Council. At that time, candidates for the open position were interviewed. I thought several were good choices. The councilors appointed Brent Boger. Mr. Boger is an attorney, assistant city attorney for the city of Vancouver, and a recent resident of Washougal. I would not have chosen Mr. Boger because of my belief that he was too new to Washougal and that as a big fish in a small pond, he would try to take over the council. I think that has proven to be true. I do not believe there is any reason to change what has been working well, (the three perfect audits demonstrate that fact). I do believe that Proposition 1 is an effort created by Mr. Boger because Mr. Boger wishes to be mayor himself. How he would manage the mayor’s duties is a mystery to me, since he already has a full-time job and is often late to City Council meetings. On the other hand, Mayor Guard has his own business, but still manages to spend many hours a week attending to his mayoral duties, for which he is paid only for part-time hours. Mr. Boger’s statement in Dawn Feldhaus’ well-written article, regarding the resolution he wrote himself and passed directly to Don English, the Washougal city attorney, is another red herring, so that he can prove that Mayor Guard is creating a private fiefdom, when the truth is that councilors are not supposed to deal directly with staff. All staff take direction form either the mayor or David Scott, city administrator. That is the system that has been used for decades in Washougal, as it is in most cities. Staff do not take direction directly from council members. It is not Mayor Guard’s personal system. I am concerned that Proposition 1 proposes a system of government whereby personalities supersede good management and do not give attention to the needs of the citizens of Washougal. You will get what you vote for. Please do not fall into the trap of not carefully reading the proposition and our rebuttal. Marilyn Tyrrell, Chairwoman of the Committee Against Proposition 1

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