To the editor:
The crucial issue in this election is rightly focused on city council’s accountability.
Working with a strong voting block, city council votes repeatedly result in a number of 4-3 votes.
Three incumbents are up for reelection. Most disturbing, they openly campaign to keep their voting block together, “Vote to keep us together because we get along so well. “
What does this look like in action? An ever widening gap between the city council and the public; fewer opportunities for public engagement; less council deliberation; no parliamentary procedure.
Accountability and transparency are almost non-existent. Medina refers to himself as “Our elected mayor.” We didn’t elect him our mayor. In 2009, the community voted over 70 percent to not elect anymore mayors.
Worse, “the block” makes financial and land-use decisions without due diligence, affecting our island for decades to come. They support large high density developments not financially sustainable, conflicting with our community’s long-range plan.
The comprehensive plan’s Land Use Element identifies where future growth will occur. Its future land use map is policy-oriented, and is implemented by its official zoning map. Instead, “the block” follows the HDDP.
When I served on city council, and chaired the city’s land use committee, we developed a housing design demonstration project (HDDP) to explore ways to include green building in city code. That was 2009. It went into effect in 2010, meant to sunset in 2013.
Instead, the city council made it an ordinance renamed the Affordable Housing Program, for site specific developments outside the comp plan’s official zoning map.
The comp plan is state law. By contrast, the HDDP is city code. The Washington state Growth Management Act establishes the comp plan’s primacy.
None of this behavior serves the public interest. Instead of public servants, “the block” performs as if it’s not accountable to the people it represents. They call this “leadership.”
We do not need to be led. We need to be served. We need our community plans to be followed and our collective direction respected.
Vote to break the block.
Anthony Oddo, Michael Pollock, Kevin Fetterly, Grayson Wildsmith are pledged to public service.
DEBBIE VANCIL
Bainbridge Island
