It may be a challenge to know whom to vote for in our current City Council race. Here are a few facts to be aware of as you select your candidates.
* Two candidates for City Council appear to be running on a single issue: no development on the North waterfront. They may not say so, they may even deny it, but they have repeated the same arguments over and over at public City Council meetings for several years (minutes of Council meetings are public record and are available on the City’s website.)
* One candidate is advocating for development ‘in proportion to our nostalgic village’. I believe an omission in this advocacy is the necessity to rely on our established zoning and ordinances when any development is proposed.
* One candidate, who says she’s ready to “get to the work at hand,” was chastised by the Mayor during a City Council meeting for making “negative comments about the character of the developer” (City Council minutes, 9/21/2021). I know that being respectful and courteous are always the best practices — always.
* Two candidates for City Council have “beautification” of our City as one of their goals. Do they have other, more realistic ideas in response to Wheeler’s financial challenges? Again, I have repeatedly stated that Wheeler is facing critical issues and that, by working together, we will find needed solutions. I certainly support beautification, especially as a way to celebrate once the hard decisions have been made.
* I have been offering Wheeler residents clear answers in response to questions about the financial stability of our City, including support of sensitive and responsible development, and not just on the North waterfront. Our City faces multiple challenges. I believe we need to work together and be open to multiple, possible solutions to increase our revenues, make needed improvements in our infrastructure and address other, pressing concerns in our community.
Wheeler voters: Ask the hard questions of ALL candidates, such as “what are your specific ideas for increasing revenue for our City?” Listen carefully.
Respectfully,
Mary Leverette
ml2@comcast.net
503.449.8445