Election

I went to the Candidates Night week before last.  Most of what I learned was that the County Council candidates don't know that much about Point Roberts and, even more interesting to me, that we in Point Roberts don't know much about the County Council and what they do and are interested in.  When the generous question period came for these candidates, nobody had any questions.

Even when the Fire District Commissioner candidates and the Park and Rec Board Chair discussed their various candidacies (Mark Robbins was speaking on behalf of the Levy to repair the Community Center), precious few questions were heard.  Stan Riffle (Fire District Commissioner candidate) said he was a good guy with experience (and didn't mention any of the sturm und drang that have been the hallmark of the last year+ of Fire District meetings in which he has fully participated as a safe vote for whatever Bill Meursing wants).  Craig Carter said he wanted to bring "harmony" to the Fire District Meetings (which means, I'd guess, he wants to be another vote that Bill Meursing can count on; it's worth noting that he has previously been in business with Meursing and that he volunteered that an unnamed person had asked him to run for Commissioner).

Fire Commissioner candidate Rob Dean did mention some of that disorderly mess that followed the Fire District's firing Nick Kiniski "without cause", a firing that has never been explained by Meursing/Riffle.  As well, Dean spoke about some more recent matters, including the inexplicable 20% increase in the Fire Chief's salary that was passed very recently.  This was then followed by an unexpected and very loud appearance by the Fire Chief (Chris Carleton) who is NOT running for any office but felt some need to strongly defend pretty much everything he's ever said or done in Point Roberts.  After the talking was over, one of the County Council guys asked me privately, "What's wrong with the Fire Chief?"  Indeed.  Good question.

If you vote here, you've received your ballots.  I can't prove that, if Jeff Wilmot and Rob Dean are elected, the Fire District will settle down to a wonderful performance level.  But I do know that if Craig Carter and Stan Riffle are elected Bill Meursing will have three votes instead of his current two votes (himself and Riffle).

And here's two things about Meursing that may be worth knowing:

1.  Meursing allows public comments only at the beginning of each Fire District public meeting.  However, he does not allow questions during the comment period because, as he has repeatedly advised me when I try to ask questions about what they're doing, "This is a Comment Period, not a Question Period, Ms. Ross."  Now Bill Meursing may have great powers, but he doesn't have the power to overrule the 1st Amendment to the Constitution and it's the First for a reason.  He doesn't have to answer the questions, but every member of this community has a right to ask questions about what they are doing as Fire District Commissioners.  Meursing does not seem to know that.

2. A frequent Meursing comment at regular meetings to Jeff Wilmott, who is also a Fire District Commissioner, is "Are You going to play ball here?"  Perhaps he also does not know (because he does not appear to be a native English speaker) that that phrase implies something slightly distasteful in the democratic context.  In fact, it is the heart of democracy to vote one's conscience rather than to just "go along" with what someone else pressures you to do.  Meursing apparently lives in a world where everyone else is just expected to "play ball," and in the Fire District world, that means doing whatever Meursing wants, as far as I can tell.

So, a vote for Jeff Wilmot and a vote for Rob Dean will not be more votes for Meursing and, if their candidacies are successful, it could change the atmosphere around the Fire District for the better: more open, more transparent, more accessible and accountable to the public.

That's my take on that particular election, as someone who has attended almost all Fire District Meetings in the past 14 or 15 months.

Second Election Issue:  As someone who is at least peripherally involved with the Park and Recreation Dept. (in connection with the new library fundraising), I very strongly urge everyone to vote "YES" on the $250,000 levy that will pay for major maintenance on the Community Center.  Just imagine how this community works (the community part of it) or doesn't work without a Community Center?  And if that grand old building doesn't get major repairs, we're not going to have a Community Center.  The only sensible vote is "YES," and it will cost each of us a pittance--something like $5-$10 each year--on our property taxes for the next decade to restore it to wholeness.