Foreword to the disinterested, of which there will likely be many: I apologize if this post seems inappropriate for this forum. The reason I decided to post this here was that I figured I would probably reach more residents of Elma here than just about anywhere else.

Surprisingly, I have observed a notable presence of what my neighbor calls "Elmalodians" (residents of Elma) among the members of the forums here. This post is intended for those folks - others will likely be less than interested, but please feel free to read/contribute as you like.

Since we all (presumably) share an interest in sport fishing, I suspect at least some of us may also have similar interest in local politics in the greater Elma area. Up until recently, my level of interest in local politics has been next to none, mostly because I have not found the time (or compelling reasons) to get involved. The only City Council meeting I have attended during my seven years of residence in Elma was to argue against an ordinance a crazy, evil neighbor was attempting to get passed that would have required city police officers to fine members of the community whose dogs could be heard barking long enough for her to be annoyed by it. (I should add that I would not have been concerned about such an ordinance were it not for the fact that said neighbor had complained to the police about my dogs (and those belonging to many of my other neighbors) after only a few audible barks, which I figured put me at undue risk to be fined over something so petty.

I moved to Elma in 2003, partly because I was working in the area, but mostly because housing was considerably more affordable in Elma than in Olympia for a man of means similar to mine. For the most part, I really like living in Elma. Sure, it's got its problems (some of which concern me deeply as a father of three young children), but I am always comfortable in our sleepy, little town. I liked it better when the fishing was a little better, but that's for another thread.

I have always been generally aware that political decisions in our community (typical of a small town, to be fair) are made largely by a few individuals. I have been told by many locals that the motives of those individuals are not always community-centric, and that is putting it mildly. I try not to put much faith in hearsay without personal experience, so I have always taken such "information" with a grain of salt and reserved judgment. While browsing through the East County News (which I also take with a grain of salt in most cases) last evening, I came across a story that caught my attention and left me somewhat disturbed and angered. Did any of the rest of you see the story about City Councilman Jim Sorenson's proposal to expand the City Council's membership to 7 members being blatantly dismissed by the Mayor and the other Council members?

To be clear, I'm not entirely sure we need more City Council members. However, I do agree, whole-heartedly, with Sorenson's primary intent, which was to make room for new blood on the council. Sorenson stated that the Council meetings typically proceed in a "bang, bang, bang" fashion, with all propsals (at least the ones the Mayor likes) being passed through without any open discussion of why or why not they might be appropriate. He noted this was because there tends to be no dissenting opinion presented, as the Council members (himself excepted, of course) typically agree with everything the Mayor proposes. I recall noticing that trend in the one meeting I attended, and to hear that this is how those meetings always go concerns me.

Left to their own devices, the Council can potentially make decisions in their own, personal interests and set them into motion without any resistance from those affected. This, as Sorenson pointed out, is not the way Democracy (for whatever that term is really worth anymore) is supposed to work. This is effectively a dictatorship.

The reason this is of particular interest to me at this point (and why it makes me suspicious) is that the Council recently passed through proposals to spend a thus far undisclosed amount of public money to build a new fire station and renovate/expand the existing police and fire stations, as well as City Hall. I do not question the importance of sufficient police and fire coverage in the area, and I don't intend to make this an issue of what I think our firefighters, police officers, and public servants deserve. My concerns are more around the priority being placed on these projects versus other things that I feel would stand to benefit our community, as a whole, more. Sorenson's remarks from the article indicated that all these projects were "the Mayor's," which suggests that his personal agendas may be influencing the decisions made.

I am not accusing anybody involved of wrongdoing for personal benefit, but I do think the majority of our community would be better served by allocating these public monies (which WILL increase our city taxes significantly - remember the ambulance initiative from last year?) to projects that benefit the entire population.

An example of something I would personally rather see money dedicated for would be a public recreation center (with a swimming pool, sport court, etc.), which could serve as a much-needed safe haven for the kids in the community, who currently have little to do to keep themselves occupied besides underage drinking, experimenting with hardcore drugs, getting pregnant, and finding trouble in general. It would also give us a place to go to escape the summer heat in a clean, safe environment (I don't consider the Vance Ponds a safe place to swim and play).

If I am wrong, and the local public safety and government offices do need an overhaul more than we need a community center (or anything anybody else might propose), cogent arguments among the Council members, with opportunities for citizen input, could convince me of that. The main problem I see is that no deliberation is occurring over matters that will consume our city budget and, inevitably, raise our taxes.

If anyone else is concerned by this, I strongly urge you to start attending City Council meetings as often as you can. I know I will be making an effort. If any of you fellow Elmalodians out there have any comments you would like to share with me but don't feel comfortable expressing them online, please send me a PM. I would love to hear from you and get a feel for what other ideas are out there. Who knows - maybe one or more of us can be the ones to bring some new blood and fresh ideas to the City Council soon.

With the best of intentions...