September 29, 2007
Saturday AM

Thank you to all of those who continue to send me notes of support, along with your intriguing questions and ideas about what is working and what is not in our Borough. Keep cranking out the support for the next few days, and let's rock the vote on October 2nd.

There are two individuals who found it in their best interests to write specific letters to me and post them on Sitnews. Mr. Tyson's posting is a shorter version of a much longer diatribe sent to me directly. Mr. LeCompte's is apparently one of those straight-to-the-pressers. I will respond to both here and now, as they both, in one form or another, may be construed as an attempt to derail my election bid. So be it.

Mr. LeCompte wonders publicly about my lack of disclosure about personal matters in my life. It is interesting to note that he does not wonder publicly about Mike Painter and his similar lack of disclosure in the same article. Mr. LeCompte also does not point out that I also decline use of my significant other's name, as well as my newborn daughter's name, amongst other things I deem not relevant to this or any election cycle. You see, these are the same responses I gave last year.

And there are reasons why.

I became very protective of my personal space and those closest to me over the last several years due to the backlash I have received while participating in causes in which I believed. I have been a target of politicians on both the right and left over the years that have pulled every unethical trick in the book to crush me like a bug, to make my work irrelevant. Given the type of work I do in this community, I come under some pretty heavy 'scrutiny' here as well, and I recognize it comes with the territory.

Sometimes that 'scrutiny' crosses the line. It crosses the line when people dislike me and/or what I do for a living so much that they begin to act out beyond interacting with me in a civil manner.

When people repeatedly vandalize my car, for example, it is crossing the line. Or when the hate mail goes to someone in my family other than me, it is crossing the line. Or when people drive around Ketchikan ripping down my campaign signs at various locations on the eve of an election, over and over, it is crossing the line. Or when I tell a group of people at a meeting a year ago that I worked on a particular project and for 6 weeks someone from here blasted that project for my involvement, it is crossing the line. I could go on, but I think you get the point. My point is this: by running for office, my goal is to improve this community. I will not put my family under further stress and scrutiny than it already is if I can avoid it, however. I think the list of examples above is long enough, don't you? So, to that end, I limit what access people have to my private life because there are those out there that get a kick out of crossing the line and/or seek to hurt me and my family.
I have had plenty of one-on-one conversations with goodhearted folks about my background, and will undoubtedly have more. But until the structure of dark matter comes up as a topic for a Borough resolution, I am not sure my strong interest in astronomy and physics is all that relevant to this or any political race, so you can choose to throw it out, or count it as a hobby, or whatever you wish. As for information that is public, you can see from my campaign disclosure forms that I still pay loans associated with the University of Vermont, and if you have ever seen one of those specials on Ted Turner (I can't keep up with the various cable channels) then you know I went to the McCallie School in Tennessee. Please know that I contacted both of these institutions already and have asked them to keep an accounting of callers so the proper authorities can deal with any subsequent harassment. As for the other institutions I attended and am currently attending, none are public entities and that information will remain private due to the circumstances above.

I am sorry if this answer is not satisfying. I suppose if I knew you and trusted you, none of this would be an issue. But, as it is, I do not know you, and wonder about your motive for sending such a letter to Sitnews when you could have easily sent one to me directly, like others did. Perhaps you really want me lose ala Lew Williams? Perhaps you know who goes around stealing my yard signs? Perhaps you are just playing devil's advocate? I suspect I will never know.

As for Mr. Tyson, I will now address your email. First, you say "we will have to assume that the road did in fact meet the proper standards". Mr. Tyson, in fact, this road project is still under investigation by the Corps of Engineers, as confirmed as recently as last week. So your assumption about the road meeting proper standards and not needing permits is not correct at this point in time. You ask if I support the operation of the mill. I support the value added work they do at the mill, increasing the value per board foot. I do not support chipping operations or round log exporting practices, and it is difficult for me to say how much they do of either. As for federal, state, and local timber sales to provide timber for that particular mill, those should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis - and will be.

Again, thanks to all the stalwart supporters out there. We must be doing something right when they start piling on like this, so keep fighting the good fight, friends! And everyone, no matter where you stand and who you stand with, please vote October 2nd.

Raise your voice at www.gregoryvickrey.com!

Gregory Vickrey
Ketchikan, AK

About: Candidate for Ketchikan Borough Assembly.

Received September 27, 2007 - Published September 29, 2007

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