MAILBAG:Council needs to act professionally, involve public

The Daily Pilot has carried the childish spatter between Keith Curry and Steve Rosansky a step too far.

I am but one of many Newport citizens who feel the paper is nearly as guilty as the correspondents in the perpetuation of needless, off-the-wall arguendo for and against various new city hall locations.

It reached a new level of absurdity with Curry’s attack and defense tactics (“Mayor’s letter diminishes City Council,” Aug. 8).

As a 27-year resident of our city, I have, of course, borne witness to much useless, if not desperate, newsprint needling among council members over a variety of issues. But this latest series of unilaterally self-serving chiding takes the cake and has gone way over the top in its unreasonableness. It has not only reached the stage of irrevocably desecrating council credulity but, sadly, that of your publication as well for staging it and for not advising the parties to do business in the professional manner to which the citizenry should be entitled.

Curry and Rosansky should be ashamed and owe apologies to the community as their next move, before either feels inclined to further their conflicts in the media.

We have the right to duly noticed council meetings, study sessions and other public forums wherein issues like the park/city hall dispute are properly aired — and which rightfully include the public — hence, this inept tender and slamming of personal opinions and positions in which Curry, Rosansky and other city officials have recently engaged must stop.

You can do your part to induce the cessation of the regrettable sandbox-level of communication by advising the involved adults-acting-like-children to retreat back to their public meetings to state, restate and supportively argue their positions.

Personal attacks and unverified, nonauthoritative off-the-wall arguments should be kept to themselves by council members until the public can challenge them in duly scheduled meetings.

Please, Curry and Rosansky, let’s stop the ongoing nonsense and get back to appropriate, business-like behavior.

The Daily Pilot can also do its part to encourage this.

DOUG TEMPLIN

Democrats need time to clean up mess

Rep. Campbell and the previous Republican Congress are the ones to blame for the current investigations and monumental tasks at hand for this Congress.

To blame Democrats for not fixing in six months what the Republicans ignored and manipulated for seven-plus years is the height of delusional arrogance.

It was your abdication of responsibilities that has created the mess we are in. The list of abuses and missed opportunities to actually make our lives (and those of our military) better is too long to recount.

Suffice to say, you can’t create a huge mound of garbage for years then expect a guy with a pointed stick to clean it up in a day.

No, Rep. Campbell, however you try to spin, the stink of the Republican trash heap will remain through the next election and remind the voters who didn’t accomplish anything meaningful. Have fun in retirement … but please no lobbying.

GREGG PETERSON

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