To the Editor:

Here is a case of “half a dozen of this and six of another.” Last November, nearly half of the John Day voters gave their vote of confidence to Shannon Adair (narrowly defeated by only 19 votes) to represent their views on the city council. At the first meeting of the new city council Jan. 10, half of the council members continued to give their support to Shannon Adair as an applicant to fill the seat vacated by the current mayor.

It did not appear that votes for Adair were in any way merely an anti-vote against her opponent. It was overwhelmingly apparent by so many testimonials that Adair holds high respect through her record of giving and competence, benefitting John Day residents.

So why didn’t the others, the mayor and newly elected council members, recognize her status in the community and act to be inclusive of her (and nearly half the voters)?

If they had supported someone who had an established record of community service and skills required for the position, one could understand their introduction of an unknown applicant. Instead, siding against Adair left 376 voters discounted in favor of an inexperienced person with no proven credits to his name.

There is only one path forward for John Day, and in fact, for the entire county, the country, the world — make a commitment to be inclusive.

This means stop demonizing the “other.” Don’t give in to social cynicism by those who impulsively defame and blame anyone who disagrees with them while never offering real solutions. The only hope is to be certain that all key actors are represented at the table, to be inclusive of all the voters’ interests. Listen to one another. Then engage in good-faith negotiations.

Install Shannon Adair. Thereby, newly elected, you prove your wish to be transparent and independent of any politicized group. If you can do this, there is hope for the city and, therefore, the county to flourish. As goes John Day, so goes Grant County. (Hence, county residents watch your actions with a vested interest.)

Kay Steele

Ritter