Elect a CPA who serves community | Letters | Octy. 30

Published 2:57 pm Friday, October 30, 2009

After careful consideration of the two candidates running for the South Ward position, I am convinced Tim Jacobsen is best suited to serve our island and its new form of government.

I want to see our City Council become an effective governing body. To do so, we need council members that will work together to establish clear direction for the city. Tim’s demonstrated ability to find workable solutions by building consensus through compromise and reasoning is exactly what we need on our council now.

I first met Kirsten (Hytopoulos) when she moved to the island and into our Emerald Heights neighborhood in 2002. Her property was among those most significantly impacted by the South End Sewer project.

To her credit she picked up the project where those before her had left off, worked to form (somewhat controversial) LID boundaries, and followed City Hall as the project moved forward until she left the island. I must say that I admired her tenacity.

However, when Kirsten returned, I was very much surprised to find that the same individual that fought so hard to upgrade her own neighborhood’s infrastructure was so actively opposed to the proposed infrastructure work on Winslow Way. I’ve since read her opinions and commentary published through her Green Voices blog and in letters written to our local papers.

I’ve paid attention to her active role in the fight to prevent field-turf installation at the high school and the construction of new turf fields at Battle Point park.

My observation is that more often than not, her activism has been channeled as an attack on the issue(s) at hand without necessarily offering viable solutions of her own. Activism, as such, has a place, just please not on our City Council.

Tim Jacobsen’s community involvement has been one of service. He was the president of our Boys & Girls Club and he continues to serve on the board. He successfully led the city’s Salary Commission, a position that could have easily turned political. Instead it focused on its mission and successfully completed its goals. He has successfully led other nonprofit boards.

His CPA profession is one of problem solving. For many years he has helped businesses, individuals and nonprofits address their financial challenges. We desperately need a councilperson that understands a balance sheet and can make informed decisions regarding budget and investment in capital projects.

We do not need more discord on our City Council. We need someone who has a proven record of working with others, regardless of their views, to successfully address issues and challenges. That’s why I’m voting for Tim Jacobsen.

Rick Peters

Emerald Heights