Apparently Barry Morrison (letters, Sept. 30) and other members of Accountability Comes to Town (ACT) believe it is OK for the Federal Way Police Guild to publicly make a misleading claim on its Web site regarding how they arrived at their endorsement of the strong mayor initiative.
The police guild never invited or met with any representative of Federal Way Works about our reasons for opposition to this misguided and counterproductive effort to change the form of city government in Federal Way. To date, in spite of a written request and phone message, they have failed to provide a name or date of any such meeting to support their statement they met with both sides on this issue. Many of us believe representatives of the police have a pretty high standard to meet when it comes to truthfulness, accuracy and fact finding. This does not meet it.
The leadership of the guild makes clear their belief that a strong mayor will give them the opportunity to “flex their political muscles.” And as they state: “We are in negotiations which provides all kinds of windows of opportunity to jockey for position and gain support of influential people within the city.” We don’t think that is necessarily good for the city as a whole. For the average member of the guild, if they fully considered the ramifications of this change, they may not want to jump headfirst into this. They may not have considered the difficulties they might experience should a strong mayor ever be elected who really doesn’t like the police. They may not have considered the potenital problems created by the wrong political appointee to the police chief’s position that may make their life a lot more difficult. They may not have fully considered the ramifications of political interference in operational issues. Think it can’t happen? Look across the country and you can find plenty of examples. Be careful what you wish for.
Morrison’s statement critizing our concern that insulating the chief executive from political pressure at the bargaining table doesn’t meet the transparency ACT is seeking defines where they are headed. A highly politized system where those who yell the loudest or apply the most pressure get what they want is not good for overall well being of the city.
Morrison’s assertion the current form of government doesn’t serve the needs of Federal Way is stictly a matter of opinion, which he is entitled to his. Many of us strongly disagree with that opinion and find the council-manager form has served us well since the city was incorporated.
Jerry Vaughn, Federal Way
