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June 19, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels April 20, 2004 Infighting got in the way of healthy debate I attended the city council meeting on the DeBoer residence appeal on April 6. After the Mayor excused himself since it involved his brother, all the council members discussed any outside contact they had on the subject. At this point one citizen stepped up and asked one of the council members to excuse himself as he considered him prejudiced based on past statements supporting developers. The council member then spent the next five minutes defending himself. Finally an attorney for the other side got up and said he didn't think a different council member could give a fair vote. She assured him she could. The point of the hearing changed for me right then. I no longer cared how big a house these people wanted to build and whether it fit in Ashland or not. I was appalled that representatives from both sides started by making personal attacks on our elected officials ostensibly because they might not get their votes after the evidence was presented. I was under the impression that we were there to argue whether a large house was to be built in Ashland, not if our elected representatives could be trusted. I haven't attended many of these affairs before, so I don't know if this happens often. I hope it doesn't. I don't think council members should have to justify who they are at these hearings. It seems to me the time to be concerned with someone's politics is at election time. It is important that we have a variety of representation on the council so that we can all feel connected to our local government. If they all represented one mindset we'd have far more problems in our fair city than we already do. To have any balance at all we need people on both sides of the teeter-totter otherwise it just won't work. I'd like to think that we could do things differently here in Ashland than the example we see in Salem and Washington, D.C. I would hope we could argue opposite sides of an issue and still treat our neighbors with respect. With very few exceptions I believe every resident of Ashland wants to live in a community that is unique; a city where esthetic and environmental values are equal or more important than profit; a place where diversity is honored and encouraged; a place we can all balance our frustration with world affairs by our involvement locally. Our vision of how to accomplish that may vary, but without mutual respect we all lose. Whether we are driving downtown, in a park, a grocery store, or at a public meeting we need to open our awareness to those around us. Our actions create impact far beyond ourselves. If we truly want to live in a unique community, the way we treat others must be the foundation. We can pretend that we are just doing our own thing and not hurting anyone or we can actually attempt to be thoughtful and courteous to everyone, regardless of who they are or if they agree with us or not. We can choose to have the people we come into contact with daily feel better or worse for the experience. So next time you put your oar in the water think about how far the ripples go. Randy Ellison Ashland DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams