To Senator Don Benton, Representative Liz Pike, Commissioner Mielke, Mr. Dave Standal
Thank you for attending the Ridgefield City Council meeting last night. It was an honor to have a State Senator, a State Representative, a Clark County Commissioner and a well-respected previous Ridgefield City Council member all address the Council.
In our political system a foundational tenant is “the majority rules.” When the ballot box has spoken, the public officials should abide by the will of the people. That 60% of the Ridgefield community voted against taxes to fund light rail was not a fact overlooked in previous deliberations by this Council.
The actions that placed Mr. Onslow in the position to cast a deciding vote on the poorly crafted [questionably legal, at best naive] C-Tran agreement with Tri-met were by no means unanimous by this Council, but they were by a majority of the Council.
In this case the impacts of his vote reach beyond the City Limits and beyond the will of a majority of our constituency. The reminder of who our representative should be speaking for, and the quality of review and preparation merited by the scope of the issue at hand is a valid peer review, and a deserved, if uncomfortable, rebuff.
As a community we are proud and protective of the people and ideals that make Ridgefield great. When the mayor’s wife alerted us to a “threat’ to Ron and the City Council the faithful turned out. Please do not think the crowd attitude is our typical hospitality.
We need and desire your support on issues in Olympia that critically matter to 100% of the citizens in Ridgefield. I, for one, hope and now trust that you will continue to remain true to representing the best interests of the majority of the people you represent.
Thank you again for your professionalism, dedication and commitment to making government work.
Darren S. Wertz
Ridgefield City Council, Position 5
