Letter to the Editor: Eight candidates, two choices

Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor. The opinions expressed in this letter are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Mendocino Voice. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor feel free to write to info@mendovoice.com. 

Dear Editor:

Voters in Fort Bragg’s November City Council Election will need to sort through eight candidates to fill three available seats. Of particular importance this time is not only who we vote for, but how we go about choosing.

One option in the selection process is to vote by popularity. This way of choosing is the easiest. Simply check the boxes next to candidates that you see at parades and food fests, or who have done you a solid, or whom you recognize as cheerful hand-shakers. For a generation of Fort Bragg elections, this method has mostly resulted in well-intending council people. These status quo politicos tend to support government by sales taxes, special referendum taxes and visitor bed taxes, along with a dependency on a rapidly evaporating pool of grant monies.

The second option, and less comfortable voter method, requires some heavy lifting. It involves pushback, demanding follow-up questions to pat answers and real back-and-forth public dialogue. Remarkably, this challenging civic-minded device forces candidates into the open, where they must provide specific ideas concerning Fort Bragg’s everyday issues — before it’s too late and our votes are already spent. Sometimes the extra voter exertion will even generate the pursuit of excellence towards meaningful community planning, driven by local pride.

We, the voters, have more than eight choices for City Council this November. We have two.

Bill Mann
Sue Rogers
Fort Bragg