Dear Editor:
Those who know me or who have read my letters (even if you don’t agree with me) know that I will not be silent.
My voice and yours are sometimes the only tool we have in which to get our message out. When we see and hear something we do not agree with or that threatens our freedoms as Americans we must speak out because remaining silent makes us complicit in what is happening. Many remain silent and complicit because they are afraid of how others will view them. I am not that gal. When I see something that I believe is wrong, I am not going to stay silent or complicit, essentially giving my permission to let it continue.
At this month’s Weiser City Council meeting something happened, not for the first time, that I can no longer remain silent. While I understand why the city council does not allow public comment unless to prevent disruption in the meeting process, the mayor’s treatment of me at this meeting and the treatment of others for not remaining silent is unacceptable.
I did stay silent. I stayed silent when the council started a discussion on placing limits on how the citizens of Weiser can celebrate the 4 th of July and change the culture in Weiser. I stayed silent when the mayor stated that the promised savings in merging the city and rural fire departments have not happened and the merger has increased the city’s cost. I stayed silent when the mayor stated that he feels that the rural fire department is treating the city as their own personal “piggy bank”. I stayed silent when the mayor mentioned that the agreement was year to year and either fire department has the right to sever the agreement. If severed, equipment that was partially funded by the city will belong to the rural fire department. Although these revelations made my blood boil, I remained silent.
I stayed silent during the entire two-hour long meeting with one exception, I did not stay silent when the council were asking each about a piece of fire equipment. The council members admittedly did not know have an answer, so I gave it to them. Yes, I broke decorum in doing so but my five-syllable answer was not disruptive and did not warrant the treatment I received from the mayor.
The mayor’s response to my break in decorum left me shaken. It was only a couple words, but those words were spoken by our mayor is such a vicious tone that it took everything I had not to call him out on the spot. No one should be subject to such treatment, especially publicly. “A true leader would have said thank you for your answer, but I need to remind you that there is no public comment, answers or questions” and then held a private conversation if warranted. Instead, our mayor chooses to lash out when someone dares to speak a word. I for one am tired of his lack of respect and demand for total silence.
That comes to my questions….
Don’t we have the right as the people who pay the taxes to fund this city a say in the process? Much of what is brought forth in the council meetings is not public until the meetings. We as citizens and sometimes the council themselves, have no way of knowing what direction the discussion will go. As such, it is only natural that we as citizens would have questions, comments, and concerns which we are unable to voice or present in any form. How can they represent us if we have no avenue to communicate and are to remain silent during these proceedings?
I have suggested a limited, timed public comment addition to the council meetings or a way to submit written comments and questions. This has fallen on deaf ears. Why don’t the council members stand up to the mayor and allow those who elected them to have a voice? My only guess is that others on the council agree with the mayor and that we should remain silent while they make decisions based on what they think we need instead of what we know we need.
I believe we have been silenced long enough. Do you?
