SitNews - Stories in the News - Ketchikan, Alaska

Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions

New City Council Members Needed

By Douglas Thompson

 

September 03, 2014
Wednesday PM


Dear Editor,


I thought I had had my own "Groundhog" day and it was April Fool's Day early when I read Marty West's comments from her seat in Ketchikan Council Chambers.

Aside from the questionable legality to be campaigning from the council chambers to say nothing of the bad taste, it struck me as the heights of hypocracy for Council Member Marty West to be making the comments. Under the thin veil of worrying that City Council candidate Kevin Staples would have a conflict of interest with the Ketchikan cops she made her patently political charges.

This concern for his character totally ignores her own glaring conflicts and flaws. Thus elevating the art of hypocritically abusing her office.

Just this past winter when she put forward the name of a person with documented questionable character and continued to defend that person after documentation to the point of voting him into a council seat. At that time, she had no qualms about character of any kind!

She had no problem with conflicts of interest as she works for PeaceHealth while voting them lucrative deals while sitting on the council.

Her position at KRBD and the timely release of these 'news' items regarding Mr. Staples is also questionable.

I have no objection to truths being reported but I do object to her abuse of office to promote her self interest and the hypocracy she has displayed. If she has no regard for being such a gross hypocrite and wishes to campaign it would be appropriate to do so as a private citizen.

I would also point out that Kevin Staples is on record as having apologized for the one incident and was upheld by the courts in the other whereas City Council Member Marty West has made no apologies whatsoever for her lack of 'due diligence' (a requirement of her public office) in promoting, installing and defending a person with documented questionable character to the council. A total insult to the community at large and specifically to parents of children.

This just reaffirms the need for a new council.

Sincerely,

Douglas J. Thompson
Ketchikan, Alaska

Received September 01, 2014 - Published September 03, 2014

 

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