To the editor:

I am compelled to respond to your editorial of March 28 in which you take issue with certain comments made by the mayor. We interpreted the comments differently.

The debate over how the city should proceed with the Suzuki property has been impassioned since the city purchased the property over a decade ago. The emotions reached a peak recently, when a respected member of the community used the public comment period to individually shame specific members of the council. Later, another respected and frequent city observer made public comments commending the courage of the same members for the same vote.

I believe the mayor saw the personal comments as a turn toward name-calling that does not further informed and civil discourse on the difficult decisions that face the city. As a council, we do not always agree, but we respect and listen to each other’s opinions. We listen to and carefully consider public comment. Council members change their votes and opinions based upon the comments of other council members and the public. When comments include character attacks, we are distracted from the substantive issues and the quality of the substantive debate suffers.

The mayor’s comments served as a gentle reminder that, while we will not all agree on policy, we are all making decisions that we believe to be in the best interests of the island. We all have a duty to refrain from personal attacks or praise based on differences of opinion on policy. The important decisions facing the city deserve our full attention on their merits and not whether a council member’s policy decision is made courageously or shamefully.

ROGER TOWNSEND

Bainbridge Island City Council