Several years ago, the voters voted someone onto the Federal Way City Council whose #1 priority was and continues to be to work for the people. That someone was Jim Ferrell. He’s faced his share of adversity, often standing alone against the powers-that-be. But he’s persevered. His detractors resort to accusations of grandstanding. What nonsense. Those who have something beneficial to say, say it. Think of any good leader. Did he sit back and allow conditions to stagnate around him? No, he was out there making his case. Ferrell wins awards like “Most Inspirational Prosecutor.” That’s not grandstanding — it’s working for the people. And it’s the kind of leadership this city needs.
The local press has referred to Ferrell as the “polarizing” candidate. I’ll cut them some slack on this, only because that’s what a candidate appears to be when he fights for what he believes to be right. Ferrell clearly demonstrates that he doesn’t want to simply stay the course — when the course needs fixing. He represents change. But his opponents do not want that, and that’s why they will band together to oppose him. They fought against giving the voters the right to elect their mayor —and lost.
By the way, how many of you saw that four-person debate before the primary vote? Ferrell showed transparency, and had answers. The others? Not even close. And the press failed to point out the significance of Skip Priest conveniently sidestepping the issue of the skyscrapers headed our way. He couldn’t talk about it? C’mon — he has to talk about it!
We tend to speak loudest when we see our city leaders falling down on issues that affect us and our neighborhoods. I have seen my share of that, and have written about it on several occasions. There’s an issue pending (on hold) right now which would, if city planners get their way, change our neighborhood — and not for the better. Mr. Priest had not been involved in our initial fight on this issue and in our talks with the city. But when he was going door-to-door asking for votes, and this issue came up, what did he tell affected residents? First, that he would “take care of it,” and later, that he had “taken care of it.” I knew that wasn’t true because I helped form the committee dealing with this issue. Even if he had wanted to “take care of it,” he was in no position to do so.
Summary: One of the candidates for our mayor will apparently say whatever he thinks someone wants to hear. That is, unless he wants to “take the 5th,” as he did at the July debate. The other candidate is Jim Ferrell. And when he speaks, he means it. What a contrast between the two candidates. And yet, with all this, apathy is still rampant. Voter turnout is typically low. How tragic it is to know that this election could go wrong because not enough people are paying attention. Please, don’t be one of those people. Make your vote count.
Dave McKenzie, Federal Way
