One thing has become very clear to me since Federal Way changed to an elected mayor system of government. The guy that won chose to let others do his thinking and talking for him. He chose to use other people to deliver his “message,” whatever that is.

He failed to appear at the press conference after five people died in this city. He used a 2011 crime statistic to say that we have a “safe city,” and ignored the fact that home burglaries and car thefts are actually way up.

When I want to hear from him on the major issues affecting our city today, I hear instead from the chief of police, or communications director. That was not supposed to be the case — and this is not the mark of true leadership.

I wanted to see what our mayor had to say about the different issues related to the PACC — yet he is absent from the debate. The city remains rudderless, and Mayor Skip Priest hides within the safety and comfort of City Hall. I suppose he thinks no one will notice. Well, he’s wrong.

David McKenzie, Federal Way