Light rail gives ‘kick in the teeth’ to democratic process

Letters to the Editor

, Dec 30, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

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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.

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