In view of the front page article that appeared in The Daily Republic on Saturday, April 28, I find it rather unusual that Mr. Ken Tracy believes that I have the unfair advantage because of my dual "exposure" on the mayoral forum and the one-way/two-way street forum.
I find that to be an unusual comment in view of the fact that he is in the public spotlight sitting on the City Council and receives far more exposure than all the other mayoral candidates from that vantage point. Certainly no other mayoral candidate was invited to the recent city employee recognition banquet and asked to stand by Mayor Lou Sebert, while those in attendance were encouraged to support Ken Tracy in his mayoral bid, and a city government with the promise of "more of the same" if they want things to stay the same as they are.
Who received the exposure and advantage over other mayoral candidates on that particular evening? Although this was an evening to give recognition to the hard work and dedication of our city workers, our mayor decided this was an appropriate venue and great opportunity to give a campaign speech in support of his candidate, Ken Tracy.
Many in attendance (and others unable to attend), found the speech inappropriate and offensive in view of their support for other mayoral candidates. Several people commented to me that this should have been an evening to give praise to city employees and should not have been used as an opportunity or forum to give a campaign speech to a captive audience.
Our mayor is certainly entitled to express his support of a particular candidate, but Ken Tracy's statement that I have an "unfair advantage" over him is ridiculous and laughable in view of his exposure on the City Council and finding himself in the spotlight at the employee recognition banquet.
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I am in the spotlight on this specific issue because in October, I believed the City Council's decision to changed three one-way streets to two-way streets was wrong and decided that it would be appropriate to circulate a petition and let our city voters decide the issue. That is the democratic process.
I was then chosen by our committee to represent our group at this debate next Tuesday. Quite frankly, I would prefer to debate Mr. Tracy on this issue since he did vote in favor of changing these streets to two-way streets. He chose to ignore the will of his constituents that he was elected to represent.
The other Ward 1 alderman voted the will of his constituents. This split vote also occurred in Ward 2, and that is the reason this issue is on the ballot and the purpose for the debate.
Jerry Toomey, of Mitchell, is a candidate for mayor and a former member of the Mitchell City Council.
