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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2015)
4A • March 6, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Letters to the Editor We need honest, kind leaders store. Dianne, per transcripts on record with the city, has stated that she told the business owner To the editor, “…it’s a bad idea to put out cam- Democracy is an ongoing re- paign signs at shops in Gearhart sponsibility. Whether you are and that none of the merchants voting in a general election or put out signs as it is a no-win sit- being asked to sign a recall pe- uation.“ tition, it is a voter’s democratic The business owner said that responsibility to gather and eval- Craig Weston, her landlord, had uate as much information as pos- said the same thing, but that she sible and take action according to could put up a sign if she want- your values and morals. ed to. Dianne stated (per tran- We believe, based on obser- scripts) she never told the busi- vation and experiencing retal- ness owner she had to take down LDWLRQ ¿UVW KDQG WKDW WKLV UHFDOO the sign. The business owner did is necessary so our local govern- leave up the sign for Kevin Wil- ment will, in fact, represent the lett. On Nov. 5, at a City Council collective standards and values meeting, the new business owner of Gearhart residents. On the FRQ¿UPHGWKDW'LDQQHQHYHUWROG west and east sides of the high- her to take the sign down. This way reside residents that believe can be fact-checked by Gearhart Gearhart government should be City Council meeting minutes. transparent, fair, compassionate, So what is the issue? Do you honest and supportive of eco- Gearhart voters think that Di- nomic development and racial anne Widdop violated the busi- diversity. ness owner’s freedom of speech? We deeply appreciate that If not, then why is she being ac- communities to the north and cused of doing so? south of Gearhart are privileged At some point after Dianne to have intelligent and profes- talked to the new business own- sional representation that serve er about the Kevin Willett sign, their voting populace with hu- the new business owner appar- mility and honesty. We can have ently talked to a few Gearhart the same if we ask for it and set- residents and business owners tle for nothing less than excel- about her conversation with Di- lence in the governance of our anne. These people included Joy community. Sigler, a past city councilor and We believe that this recall has the owner of a shop in Gearhart. the potential to bring our com- It is Joy and about seven other munity together and to collec- people who went after Dianne tively agree that we need leaders Widdop by misstating what she that truly have a passion to serve said. Note that Joy has been the all residents of Gearhart to the most vocal. best of their ability with honesty It is these eight people who and kindness. asked for the recall petition using Many residents were afraid their emotionally charged free- to sign the petition for fear of dom of speech violation claim retaliation. Based on our own to get signatures. They seem to experience that is a legitimate be angry people who see Dianne fear. However, there is power Widdop and anyone who does in numbers and our community not agree with them as their ene- government can be different if my. They have been very aggres- we desire it. sive and inappropriate and bull- Democracy requires facts and ish at City Council meetings. It is courage. The freedoms estab- unclear why they are angry, but lished in the U.S. Constitution some part of their angst is tied to must be nurtured and preserved. Gearhart’s historic barn. The goal of Oregon’s newly The transcripts of all Gearhart appointed governor and the ma- City Council meetings are public jority of Gearhart residents is the record. same: Restore trust. The historic barn on Pacif- Brian Sigler ic Way is home to an issue that Joy Sigler has been going on for several years, starting when the barn was bought as a venue for wed- To the editor, dings and large parties. The barn I am writing this letter to elim- was not in compliance regarding inate confusion and highlight the safety issues as determined by truth regarding the effort to re- WKH ¿UH GHSDUWPHQW FLW\ LQVSHF- move Gearhart’s mayor, Dianne tor and county electrical inspec- :LGGRS IURP RI¿FH 7KH JRDO WRU¶V RI¿FH 7KH RZQHU WR GDWH of this letter to the editor is to be has not accomplished what the as factual as possible, and I will city has asked her to do. The state when facts can be checked Gearhart city manager and Gear- and where to fact-check them. KDUWEXLOGLQJRI¿FLDODUHUHVSRQ- As some of you may know, a sible for making sure these com- petition was circulated, mostly pliance issues are taken care of. door to door, by approximately Several of the eight people eight people in Gearhart, asking who are going after Dianne Wid- for signatures to recall our may- GRSZRXOGEHQH¿WIURPWKHEDUQ or. having a wedding business. They The gist of the reasoning to have fought back saying the remove Dianne Widdop was that compliance requirements are not she violated a Gearhart busi- fair, and all eight of these people ness owner’s right to freedom of have been very hostile towards speech. Note: 108 people signed Dianne, the mayor and the city the petition. If you want to know manager. Keep in mind that all everything the petition stated, it businesses have to be in compli- LV SXEOLF UHFRUG DW WKH RI¿FH RI ance on safety issues…it is one the Gearhart city manager. of the costs of doing business. Dianne Widdop has served Note also that the barn owner has Gearhart for almost 20 years as sued the city and that we as tax- a city councilor and mayor. She payers are paying thousands of has worked very hard all these dollars for the city to defend it- years to keep Gearhart a great self…we will also spend around place for all of us to live…she $7,000 for this recall election. does this without pay. She, at the Everything regarding the his- very least for all she has accom- toric barn’s compliance issues plished, deserves a basic level and the lawsuit against the city is of respect and due process by public record. the voters. She is being accused This is what has happened and of violating a business owner’s why we are where we are now. freedom of speech, which is a The struggle to defame and re- terrible thing to do. move the mayor has cost us all But did she really do that? It money, time and energy. This has is our responsibility as voters to EHHQJRLQJRQIRU¿YHPRQWKVD ferret out the truth before casting period of time where the people our ballots and not allow our- that we all elected could have selves to be swayed by a small been getting other things done group of people that I feel strong- besides talking about making the ly, in this case, are aggressively historic barn safe and what Di- tainting the truth to further their anne Widdop said about a sign. needs, whatever those needs may Eight people in our town have be. an aggressive agenda to go after Gearhart business owners in and depose anyone in the Gear- the past have not put out cam- hart City Council that does not paign signs. The sentiment has agree with their agenda. That’s been that business owners do not just toxic, it is not right, it’s a want to politicize their business. waste of time and it is not what A new business owner, however, Gearhart is all about. And now did put up a sign for a candidate we need to take the time to deal named Kevin Willett. Kevin Wil- with their claim of a freedom of lett is not the issue here. speech violation by a mayor who Dianne Widdop used to work has worked hard for us for al- in the store location which the most 20 years. new business owner now occu- Suggesting that someone take pies. Dianne reached out to the down a sign as a matter of busi- business owner with advice as ness protocol, but not saying they she was opening her new store had to, does not mean legally or earlier in the spring of 2014. Di- logically that a person’s freedom anne thought of her as a friend. of speech was taken away. But On Oct. 17, Dianne talked to this in this case, unless we all un- business owner friend about the derstand and react to the truth, campaign sign in front of her it could unfairly affect all the Know the facts good that Dianne Widdop’s long public legacy has been about and send the message that the voters of Gearhart can easily be de- ceived and bullied. Wilson Mark Gearhart It’s about trust To the editor, Gearhart Mayor Dianne Wid- dop, in her informal interview for a Feb. 20, 2015, Daily As- torian article called me out by alluding that she is “facing the same situation” as I when a re- call was attempted to remove me from the Clatsop County Com- mission. That recall failed, and I was not removed from my elect- ed position. The motivation behind that recall was one issue, LNG, and not, as in our mayor’s case, a continuous pattern of question- able behavior, leadership and judgment. The recall of Gearhart May- or Dianne Widdop is about the loss of trust in her judgment and ability to govern by the commu- nity. It is a grassroots movement of citizens and involves many, who, in their experience during the two years Dianne Widdop has been Gearhart’s mayor, have EHHQ VLQJOHG RXW FLWHG ¿QHG regulated or unreasonably de- nied use of their property. It is not about Mayor Widdop’s stat- ed “good intentions” to uphold the comprehensive plan as given LQKHUEDOORWVWDWHPHQWDVMXVWL¿- cation to not be recalled. Read her ballot statement ex- plaining why she should not be recalled. She does not refute the stated reasons for her recall but construes a list of accomplish- PHQWV DV UHÀHFWLYH RI KHU SRV- itive contributions during her DOPRVW\HDUVLQSXEOLFRI¿FH Fact: She twice walked into a Gearhart business and requested the removal of a legally posted political sign from in front of the business. The second time she brought her husband. Is this ap- propriate behavior? In yet another instance, she sent her husband to knock on the door of a homeowner’s residence to request he come to City Hall to talk to the mayor about his RV parked at his home. Wouldn’t a letter from the city requesting a meeting have been a more ap- propriate approach? The list goes on and on be- cause the fact is Dianne prides herself in this hard, direct confrontational style without thought to the impact of her word, actions and style on oth- ers. Each time the mayor inserts herself directly into a situation, she riles some, intimidates oth- ers, but each time she establishes an antagonistic interaction from the start. The second and even more troubling revelation reveals a darker side to how this mayor conducts city business when out of the public eye. Fact: In October of 2014, an- other resident forwarded a string of personal emails to the may- or and city manager. The sub- ject of the emails was a private discussion among homeowners who had attended a city meeting about short-term rentals. These emails were not addressed to the city, nor had they been sent by the authors to the city, yet Mayor Widdop chose to forward them to selected City Council members and one City Coun- cil candidate. Nothing could be more divisive. By communicat- ing with only some members of the City Council and only one of the three candidates running for the City Council, a hierarchy of “favored” group of those “in the know” verses those who are ex- cluded was created. 7KLV GLYLGHV QRW XQL¿HV QRW only the council but also the community into camps of “us against them.” Mayor Widdop’s forwarding effectively allowed her to communicate informa- tion to those she wished while not disclosing it to the public. Worse, the next time these prop- erty owners appear before the City Council, a majority of the council members will already have formed an opinion thanks to the forwarded emails by May- or Widdop. Worst of all, these private conversations became innuen- dos, oblique references, gossipy topics and cliques… a private language. The mayor set the tone, and I believe, helped create an environment in which some- one could think it acceptable to send an anonymous Christmas card to one of the homeowners who spoke at the city meeting on short-term rentals and was among those whose email was forwarded by the mayor. The greeting in this card included a passage “incessant bleating ramblings” and ended in the threatening tone of “changes are a coming.” Was the forwarding of those emails by the mayor the catalyst for the card sender? This is not the Gearhart I know or want. ,KDYHORVWFRQ¿GHQFHLQ0D\- or Widdop’s judgment, leader- ship and ability to be impartial and fair. Please join me in voting yes for her recall. Patricia Roberts Gearhart Campaign suffers credibility To the editor, While not diminishing citi- ]HQV¶ULJKWVWRUHFDOOHOHFWHGRI¿- cials, I believe that the campaign to remove Gearhart’s Mayor Dianne Widdop suffers serious credibility. The reasons for my low regard include: 1) petitioners’ apparent disinterest in conciliating their dispute prior to launching a di- visive crusade; 2) their focus on highly disputable accusations at WKHH[SHQVHRIUHOHYDQWFRQ¿UPHG facts; 3) their senseless deroga- tions of character and warnings of political intimidation; and 4) their disinclination to give the mayor even a modicum of credit IRUKHU\HDUUHFRUGRIVHOÀHVV work to preserve, enhance and protect our little city by the sea. John Dudley Gearhart er Necanicum, Seamist, Sea- side, Riverview, Seahorse and Haystack rooms. However, a group of 500 would not be able to assemble as one large body in multiple rooms (and thereby allow for an imme- diate transition from, say, a meet- ing space to a meal space). The bottom line is that there are numerous scenarios and ca- veats that affect the size capaci- WLHV RI D VSHFL¿F JURXS$ FRP- plete list of room capacities and sizes can be found at seasidecon- vention.com. Russ Vandenberg, CFE General Manager Seaside Civic and Conven- tion Center/Seaside Visitors Bureau Use other spaces To the editor, As a local Seaside homeown- er, I have seen and witnessed a lot, and around town, the initial knee-jerk reaction was to oppose the expansion of the convention FHQWHU ,W XVHV WKH FODVVLF ³¿HOG of dreams” logic: “If you build it they will come.” We should be prepared by reinvesting not only in the downtown core but utiliz- ing existing spaces. The facility is ready — maybe even due — for an expansion, but it should stop and rethink its mar- keting and sales strategy to the community and public at large. Websites matter, and our local sites reek of fragmentation and cumbersome event calendars. A sales tax is likely beyond just a poor idea, and frankly un-Oregonian. Local small busi- nesses already struggle enough, especially in the rainy season, MXVWWR¿QGVWDIIOHWDORQHDQRWK- er barrier to a sale. Tax increment To the editor, ¿QDQFLQJLVDSRVVLELOLW\EXWUH- My reasoning for this letter alistically, lodging and parking to the editor is to add unknown fees are more practical. information regarding the com- We also need to raise prices plaints against Mayor Widdop by on the services our patrons use those who petitioned her recall. the most. The corporation of These complaints did not stop Worldmark should pay way more with the mayor, but went beyond in taxes. Every timeshare bought to include myself as the city’s and sold in our town should be EXLOGLQJ RI¿FLDO 2QH RI WKH taxed. The conventions and players attempted my replace- events themselves need to pay ment with a seven-page com- more. We need to raise the cover plaint letter to the Oregon State Building Codes Agency request- charge the city of Seaside charges ing that I be replaced immediate- WR ¿QLVK KHUH +RRG 7R &RDVW ly. They stated that I was being needs to settle and pay up its unprofessional, along with other huge bar tab. H2C is a self-con- misleading statements because I tained party at the beach. H2C wouldn’t compromise the health literally uses, abuses and pukes and welfare of the general pub- XSRQRXUFRPPXQLW\<HVLW¿OOV lic. But because I did what was up the hotels, but at what cost? It right by following the rules the ¿OOV WKH WRZQ ZLWK XQVXSSRUWLYH and intoxicated guests who have complaint was to no avail! Another player made a state- violated minimum stays and oc- ment that there was a certain cupancy requirements. Their self-contained party amount of fear of Mayor Wid- dop and those within City Hall. supports its corporate sponsors, In my 40 years in this profession, not the local community. It leaves 30 in Clatsop County, I can say a whole town with a hangover, this for the city of Gearhart: The leaving a bad taste in everyone’s entire city staff, Mayor Widdop mouth from locals to those who included, have made this one of drank too much. Tax the events the most people-friendly cities and tourists more and not the lo- I have ever worked for. Myself, cal community. A county-wide along with Mayor Widdop, are lodging tax increase makes the for what’s right. I promise you PRVW¿QDQFLDOVHQVH The convention center cannot those who follow the rules for the best of this community should stand on its own nor should the never fear retaliation from this local small businesses. We need to galvanize Clatsop County, city. Jim Brien utilizing our small local spaces Seaside better from the Cannon Beach boardrooms and to the Seaside schools’ gyms and churches, all To the editor, the way north to the Astoria cof- Several questions have been fee shops and all the restaurants asked of the Seaside Civic and in between. Convention Center since the re- Our community goal should lease of a financial feasibility be to foster better, smaller mi- study for the possible expan- cro-conventions that make use sion of the center. In response to of our already existing localized a couple of items that appeared spaces and even vacant spaces in story on Feb. 16 in The Dai- amongst the community. Lease ly Astorian and Feb. 20 in the out and pay to use underutilized Seaside Signal (“Seaside busi- spaces as mini-convention space nesses object to proposed sales downtown and literally spread tax”), we felt it was important out the community reach dollars and cars. to clarify accordingly. Until the numbers come back Although the article stated that the center “can handle only and the City Council votes, it’s 200 people,” this is not 100 per- to be determined, but as citizens cent accurate, and there are actu- of the Seaside community, we ally many scenarios that impact should plan for a better town and total volumes much larger than EH ZLOOLQJ WR EH ÀH[LEOH WR IXQG that. A theater style use of the the growing future. So expansion 3DFL¿F DQG 1HFDQLFXP 5RRPV of the convention center maybe, (main level rooms at the center) but only time will tell. Continue could hold up to 1,200 people. to cast the vision Seaside, we are Those same rooms, set with 80 the stakeholders. Sean William McKendry “rounds of 10” tables could hold Seaside 800 for a plated dinner. What’s typical of one event may be unrealistic for another. To the editor, Does a group require break- To the mayor, City Council, out sessions (where a large group splits into several small- and Chamber of Commerce: As er groups)? Perhaps a group if we aren’t taxed enough as it is! I will make this short and to will not be using the center for meals, choosing, instead, the point. If the city of Seaside to only host its meetings and goes ahead with a city sales tax, tradeshow functions inside the I PROMISE I will never spend facility. A group of 500 could another PENNY in your commu- meet together in the large Pa- nity! Bruce A. Forster cific room and then split into Warrenton breakout sessions, in the small- Support Gearhart mayor Center capacity A promise