[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, submitted by a verified resident(s). It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The B-Town Blog, nor its staff:]
Last night I attended the Burien City Candidate Public Forum, the only opportunity Burien citizens had to hear all the candidates in an open, fair & impartial question/answer discussion. All the questions were written by people who came to the forum and then dropped into a container identified by the subject – crime, economic development, youth, homeless issues. The written questions were taken out of the container at random and each candidate had a minute to respond to the same question.
It was a respectful, collegial group of candidates who met the moment by sharing their views on important topics of concern to Burien and the region. I regret to say that a group of four did not show up. Martin Barrett, Mark Dorsey, Alex Simkus and Stephanie Mora had something more important to do last night. All were invited. The Forum was planned weeks ago & the ground rules laid out ahead of time…NO surprises, No highjacking any candidate, No bias toward anyone, No rigged questions.
I regret that a group of four did not choose to participate. I was anxious to hear each one because this was my ONLY chance to do so before the primary.
I thank all the volunteers who spent their time and energy devoted to this important event and also the Methodist Church for providing a meeting place. Thanks also to the candidates who were present and willing to openly state their points of view on many complex issues that matter to all of us.
– Sally Nelson
Former Mayor and BCC 16 years
EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have an opinion you’d like to share with our highly engaged local Readers? If so, please email your Letter to the Editor to editor@b-townblog.com and, pending review and verification that you’re a real human being, we may publish it. Letter writers must use their full names and cite sources – as well as provide an address and phone number (NOT for publication but for verification purposes).
