Re-elect Dan OrtizBy Douglas Thompson August 09, 2016
A couple of topics have crossed my mind recently. One of them is I have not seen any report on how much Celebrity Cruises have paid the City of Ketchikan for the damage they did to our dock. I am very curious as once again in the on going trend of mismanagement Amylon gave the repair without getting any competitive bids. The pile driving company was sitting idle in Ward Cove and is here for most of the summer. It wasn't that long ago that cruise ships anchored out and shuttled in visiting passengers as a matter of course. Calling the damage an "emergency" seems to be a bit far fetched. Most especially when bids could be let and an special session of the city council could be called in seven days to choose the winning submission. Hardly a time issue. When you have an auto claim and have it repaired at the highest priced shop without getting competitive estimates you will generally not be paid the full amount. Therefore I wonder just how much if anything that Celebrity reimbursed the city for of that almost million dollar tab? Might just be another costly attribute of letting the Ayatollah Amylon run the town as his personal fiefdom. Which brings me to the primary election coming up. Bob Sivertsen in a past Sitnews article promised to join the Republican majority if elected to the State House. This same group is working to take the Permanent Fund dividends away from us and divert most of the revenue flow to the Anchorage area. Does that sound helpful to the Ketchikan area? I had to chuckle also as Bob Sivertsen used to be (before he counted votes) an Ad Hoc Democrat and now is an ardent Republican. Is that the "Integrity" he refers to on his signs? For anyone to claim "Leadership" after ten years on the council kowtowing to the every wish of the Ayatollah Amylon is a bit ludicrous also. The Chinese have a saying, "there is forty years of experience and then there is one year of experience forty times." I have no doubt which applies here. After his appointment and time served as a councilman just what has he accomplished other than throw money around in an irresponsible way? Time served on the rubber stamp council is really no qualification for anything requiring intelligent problem solving. Right now the state needs some problem solving and sound financial planning. Bob Sivertsen's platform seems to be one of "elect me and I will join the Republican social club in Juneau" much the same as he did with the city council in Ketchikan. The majority that he is so enamored with in the House seems hell bent on returning every dime the oil companies ever paid the State of Alaska and then some. Yet he can't wait to join them and do their bidding. Yet he considers that as "being part of the solution"? It would appear as usual he cannot even identify the problems much less attempt to solve them. I am a classmate of Bob Sivertsen and have known him most of my life. While I think he is a nice guy he just is not what we need in politics. It should not be a popularity contest but a way to solve problems when we elect appropriate people. The same person it is pleasant to have a drink with is not necessarily a good choice to be in charge of spending tax dollars. I believe David Hanger in a previous letter was succinctly on the mark in his assessment of Bob Sivertsen's candidacy. Which brings me to my closing observation. While I often do not agree with David Hanger I have to say that every citizen has the right to publicly disagree with political actions and express their views as they care to. It is not required to run for public office to do so and in fact is what helps make a democratic form of government work. A problem cannot be righted until it is recognized. So I think it highly inappropriate for someone from Oregon to indict his right to express his views simply because he chooses not to run. Is everything so perfect in Oregon that they need to contribute long distance to Ketchikan politics? I would also say that I think Mr. Hanger's series of letters on the State's financial situation is right on the mark and a good contribution to understanding the present political climate. I would only hope that the Republican party could find a more qualified candidate for the job of State House of Representatives. At present Dan Ortiz seems more aware of Ketchikan's interests and in protecting our Permanent Fund making him my choice between the two. Sincerely, Douglas Thompson Received August 07, 2016 - Published August 09, 2016
Related Viewpoints:
Viewpoints - Opinion Letters:
Representations of fact and opinions in letters are solely those of the author. E-mail your letters
& opinions to editor@sitnews.us Published letters become the property of SitNews.
|
||
