Reference is made to the Aug. 26 article “Federal Way mayor says no to elected mayor,” written by Jack Dovey.
After reading the article, it was pretty obvious that it was written from a “very biased” point of view since he currently holds the position that is at the center of this controversy. I would like to respond, as a citizen of Federal Way, to some of his comments.
Contrary to what Mr. Dovey claims, I do not believe that ACT (Accountability Comes to Town) is way off base. How can giving the voters of Federal Way a choice between electing a strong mayor instead of letting the city council appoint a mayor from one of its members not be in the best interest of the City of Federal Way, especially in light of the past decisions of this council: Letting the voters decide the issue of whether to build Celebration Park and then building it anyway after the voters turned it down; ignoring the vocal concerns of neighboring residents by allowing the Christian Faith Center to build their megachurch in a congested area too close to the downtown area; building the Community Center without having a plan that would ensure that it could operate profitably, etc.).
He claims the timing is not right to increase the city’s overhead given our budget crunch. Well it did not stop the council from building the Community Center, which has yet to turn a profit. If now is not the right time, then when? If the voters of Federal Way think it is a good return on our investment, why shouldn’t we be allowed to vote in favor of this proposal? It certainly did not stop some of neighboring cities like Auburn, Kent and Renton, and if it is working for them, why can’t it work for Federal Way?
City Council member Jim Ferrell thinks so and a lot of citizens respect his opinion because he listens to the citizens when they have valid concerns about relevant issues. There have been too many articles criticizing the “established” members of the city council for “doing their own thing” instead of listening to the valid concerns of the Federal Way residents they are supposed to be representing. As a result, they don’t always make decisions that are in our best interests.
That is why I disagree with his claim that “the council is made up of very unique and diverse personalities and as a result, good decisions are made.” Although that may be true now, it wasn’t the case before Jim Ferrell and Dini Duclos were elected and because the “establishment” is still in control of the council — good decisions are not always made. So his last claim that we are well represented will not be true until we elect more new members on the council that are in the majority, not the minority.
He says if the citizens of Federal Way want a change, it should not be with management but with the council itself. That would be a great idea if it were possible; however, let me ask Mr. Dovey a question: When was the last time an incumbent running for the city council was defeated in an election? I can only remember that happening once when Jim Ferrell defeated incumbent Mary Gates. Finally, Mr. Dovey concludes his article by stating that “changing our form of government is a bad idea.” Well that is his opinion. There is an old saying that most of you are familiar with: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In the case of our city, it is broke and definitely needs fixing – so support ACT, Jim Ferrell and vote yes for a strong elected mayor who will listen and be accountable to the citizens of Federal Way. Remember, if it didn’t work, the citizens of Auburn, Kent and Renton would not have already gone down that road.
Gary Robertson, Federal Way
