Letters
Light rail gives ‘kick in the teeth’ to democratic process
Letters to the Editor
To the Editor:
By voting to give Tri-Met five million dollars toward the construction of Milwaukie Light Rail a few weeks ago, the Milwaukie City Council gave democracy one of the biggest kicks in the teeth since King George started all that foolishness that resulted in the Boston Tea Party.
The people of Milwaukie resoundingly defeated light rail twice and recalled three councilors for trying to shove it down their throats. The dual issues of rail and density have caused constant friction that has torn our city apart for the last dozen years, yet our council took it upon themselves not only to bring light rail to town but to subsidize it without giving the people an opportunity to vote. The arrogance of their action is unconscionable, as is Tri-Met’s incursion into our city to eventually convert our entire down town into their own private transit center and switching yard. Under no circumstances should the people of Milwaukie allow the city to pay even one cent toward light rail without a vote.
Some members of our council seem to have been under the impression that the only way we can be a good regional partner is to knuckle under to every whim of the metropolitan government. They sip the Kool-Aid, play the game, and then hop on Metro’s magic carpet to higher office -the legislature, Metro council, county commission - leaving an injured and unfulfilled city in their wake. In the future we should elect more grounded leaders without such lofty political ambitions, people who will stay the course, listen to the citizens, follow democratic principles and lead Milwaukie to what it should be - a great little city.
In the long run, with an open-minded leadership willing to again open a true dialogue with the citizens, the negative impact the puppets and pretenders have had on our city will diminish. A new year sounds like a good time to chart a different, more enlightened, course.
Ed Zumwalt
Milwaukie
Friendly faces during snowy trip
To the Editor:
My family went to Oregon for an overnight jaunt to attend my grandson’s birthday. We got stuck in the recent snowstorm, unable to come home for several days. From the people working in the hotels we were in Gladstone’s Oxford Suites and the Monarch Hotel in Clackamas, where the employees were wonderful during power outages, etc., to the men in their trucks who stopped and helped us get chains, and drove our grandkids to their home, we are very grateful. There were many more offers of assistance than we could use. You have a friendly, unselfish, unbelievable group of citizens that we were lucky to meet. Thank You.
Fran Barker
Seattle
A call to join Pickens Plan for energy independence
To the Editor:
In the coming weeks the 111th U.S. Congress and the new administration take office and begin work on a variety of bills to reinvigorate our economy, determine a new course in foreign policy, chart new directions in national defense and rebuild our infrastructure.
The Pickens Plan is the only energy plan that proposes U.S. energy independence within 10 years, and is the only plan ready for Congressional hearings within the Obama Administration’s first 100 days. This is a grass roots effort to develop a tangible national energy policy that actually frees America from overseas energy.
American citizens are joining with each other and T. Boone Pickens to demand that once and for all, that we as a country become energy self-sufficient. We recognize this will require a combination of technologies and a number of years to achieve, but we believe it is critical that we start now.
If you agree that energy independence is vital to our freedom as a country and to maintaining our individual freedoms, please accept my invitation to join the Pickens Plan at: www.pickensplan.com, and then join the Oregon 5th Congressional District Group at: http://push.pickensplan.com/group/DistrictGroupOR05.
Larry Sigurdson
Pickens Plan Oregon 5th Congressional District Group Leader