by retired Orcas Council Member Patty Miller
One thing the majority of us may have in common is that we are tired of the negativity in politics. I am tired of people digging to the bottom to attack the motives of others as a way of suggesting that they themselves have purer motives. I am tired of the tactic of opposition painting a picture of manipulation and back room meetings to distract from the real question.
Pure and simple, Proposition 1 was put on your ballot via a unanimous vote of the San Juan County Council in order to give YOU a choice.
As one of the “authors” of the proposition, I am the only one that can tell you my true motives. Pure and simple, I believe that when the citizens of SJC voted to adopt the charter form of government, you did so in large part due to your desire to maximize your voice in our government.
Pure and simple, there is ambiguity in our charter and it is unclear if our citizens can propose changes to one aspect of our government – the shape of our council districts. It is clear that citizens can bring forward initiatives to change every other element of our government, except this one area. I believed that this was something that the citizens would want to clarify, so I presented it to the council and we put it on the ballot for you to make the final decision.
Supporters of Proposition 1 have not launched a big campaign to convince you to Approve Proposition 1. It is your decision, because after all, it is your government.
Pure and simple, I will vote to Approve Proposition 1 because I trust that our citizens will make intelligent choices and will reject poorly conceived proposals. I will support it because I want our citizens to have the strongest voice in the shaping of our government. I will not reject it because others want me to live in fear of hypothetical examples designed to confuse the issue.
My only request to you is, PLEASE VOTE. It is your government and this is your choice. Please do not let a small majority decide this important issue on your behalf.
Well said, Patty!
I myself will be voting for Proposition 1, because I trust the people of this county and prefer to maximize their power to control their government.
The arguments against Proposition 1 seem to me to be almost entirely based on creating fear, uncertainty, and doubt, while attacking the motives of “others”. Frankly, I do not believe there are secret cabals here in the county brewing up initiatives to hoodwink our citizens. But I do believe there is a bug in our current charter that requires fixing.
I think the majority of us are also getting tired of our county government changing — seems like every few months. Let’s leave it alone for a while.