To the Editor:

When attending city council meetings in John Day, there are certain rules regarding speaking to the council. Before we may speak, we are required to give our name and address. There are also online participants that post comments. These people have not been required to identify themselves prior to being heard.

So, at the last council meeting the mayor read many aggressive comments (some blatantly false statements) from “unknown” commentors. It is impossible to determine if those persons making remarks online were even residents of John Day! Some people seem to enjoy hiding behind their anonymity. But, in fairness, I believe that no online comment should be read without identifying the individual making the comment. Just as if they were there in person.

For those of you that missed the meeting, there was a well-organized attack, attempting to force our mayor into appointing a specific candidate to fill her former position on the council. With some people even going so far as stating that it was “the will of the people.”

However, the good people of John Day already expressed their will at the ballot box, when they stripped this councilor of her seat on the council. As the only seated councilor to lose her bid for reelection, one might think losing that seat would cause one to reach a certain conclusion! And to give her back the seat that the voters took from her would most certainly be a slap in the face to the citizens of John Day and the election process itself. To say it is “the will of the people” is a blatant lie, as the voters did express their will in the matter, and in no uncertain terms!

This kind of behavior is what the people of John Day rose up against in the last election. Attempting to force the mayor’s hand was reminiscent of the old city council and the rude behaviors that outraged voters in the first place! It is time for the city council to move forward, not by returning to the outrageous characters and behaviors of our recent past!

T. A. Davison

John Day