This is the text of a recent letter to the Editor:
Rosalia’s Mayor, Ken Jacobs, whined piteously in his latest newsletter. Some audacious residents video the council meetings. Can you imagine that? They probably just want a reference other than the heavily edited minutes posted on the town web site, that is, if they are ever posted at all. Citizens have a right to open records and open meetings. Washington has some of the strictest laws in the country regarding these rights and availing oneself of his or her Constitutional rights is completely legitimate. Denying citizens their rights or complaining when they exercise them is not legitimate.
Some residents attending the meetings were indeed part of previous city government. You probably know these folks. Having spoken with them, I can say they seem rather intelligent, thoughtful and sincerely dedicated to helping Rosalia achieve its considerable potential. They’re good Americans with sound ideas and certainly didn’t bring the town to “ruination,” as our Mayor laughably claims. Glenn Edgemon is a fine person undeserving of the Mayors attacks.
Mayor Jacobs realizes three council seats are up for election and there is a very real possibility three of his bobble heads may be replaced by people unlikely to agree with his every word. I bet it’s a scary thought.
He trots out his tired slogans once again: Rosalia is a great place to live. We have a vibrant business community. Rosalia truly could be a great place to live, but isn’t living up to its potential under Jacob’s watch. Jacobs has created such a nourishing environment for business that many of them have been closed for years. It seems that the business community was more vibrant in the past. I’d like to see that turned around and so do many others. It would be great to have many businesses busy enough to hire residents wanting to work close to home. It would be great if people made a profit by serving the needs of the community and paid taxes to improve the local infrastructure.
As he likes to say, Rosalia is a business and costs go up. True to a point, but the reality is that businesses usually fail if their only strategy is raising prices. Businesses thrive through innovation and providing greater value, but that doesn’t seem to be his way. All our Mayor can come up with it scrambling for grants which create long term obligations for the town and raising taxes for the few people living here. His economic development plan, if it exists at all, is not too robust.
Rosalia needs to replace the incumbents in the three Council positions up for election with citizens dedicated to serving the interests of all residents, not a select few, and who will work diligently within the framework of Washington State law to ensure the rights of all are respected and public participation is encouraged.
