Letters to the Editor for Aug. 26, 2009

Everyone welcome at the market

To the editor:

I’m writing in response to Iva Mace’s letter “Back to the Old Market.” Our Baker City Farmers Market is a very good thing for our community and local farmers. Having it on two days meets the needs of more of the community. There are lots of people that go to the river, mountains, or out of town on Saturday that can shop on Wednesday night and then there are those that enjoy the Saturday a.m. market instead of the midweek.

Our goal is to meet as many of the vendors’ and customers’ needs as possible. Most of the early vendors burned out because of the workload of managing the market and being a vendor.  To have a good market it is necessary to have leadership. A manager is a very important part of that and we are very fortunate to have Ellie Feeley fill that role. It is worth it to me to pay my vendor fees and let her manage the market.

The board voted a fee schedule that makes it affordable for anyone to come and sell their wares. They are governed by by-laws that dictate the percentage of agriculture vs. craft, etc., 150-mile radius for local area and the products must be raised or made by the vendor. We would love to see more vendors take advantage of this opportunity to market their products.

The market is a fun place to come and shop, visit, and try new things. My advice to Iva Mace is: Bake your best pie and come to the Pie Bakeoff on Sept. 2 and enjoy the fun and sign up to volunteer and help make our market even better.

Valerie Tachenko

Vendor, board member

Baker City Farmers Market

Medical Springs

Recall not the only option for voters

To the editor:

Recall is a democratic process, first adopted by Oregon in 1908. It provides for the removal of an elected official from office without the involvement of the courts or accusation of crime.

I would like to remind voters, however, that the city council members facing recall were also elected by democratic process, for the express purpose of making decisions — which is what they have done. A majority of Baker City’s 5,758 voters believed that they would be accurately represented in council meetings by the persons that some of them now wish to recall. 

The Baker City charter states that council members are to be elected to a term of four years. Establishing a term provides for stability in any government, be it at the city, state, or federal level. Therefore, I would encourage would-be recall petition signers to consider that there is a reason we give our council members four years in office.

I can think of only two reasons for recalling a city council member or other elected official: they fail to do what the law prescribes, or they do what the law prohibits. Ms. Calder and Mayor Dorrah have done neither.

Granted, infraction of the law is not necessary in order to circulate a petition for recall. However, I would hope that voters in Baker City consider whether either has actually done anything wrong. Perhaps we are too quick to judge on the basis of whether we agree with their decisions.

Remember that Baker City citizens voted these councilors into office, believing in their ability to fulfill the duties required of our council. They have only acted in the power that our charter gives them. Both Ms. Calder and Mayor Dorrah’s terms end in two years. If you still disagree, you need not vote for them in 2010.

Charlotte Bowers

Baker City

Work on recall affects Council

To the editor:

Baker City voters created a representative democracy in which city councilors are given broad discretion under the charter. Section 4. “The council shall appoint and keep in office a city manager, ...(and other positions)... all of whom shall hold office subject to the discretion of the council and may be removed by the council with or without cause.”

I choose not to engage in a public debate about Mr. Brocato. Had he been warned of the very things that finally caused me to fire him? Yes. Were they good reasons? Yes, I believe so. Past removals of city managers have sometimes been abrupt, and without great public notice or disclosure. No procedure is specified to remove the city manager except a simple vote of the majority.

Others claim that the majority of council failed to follow procedure. That is simply false. Resolution 3407 governs council members’ behavior. Two councilors who are now attempting to recall others, themselves publicly slandered and defamed their fellow council members. They modeled disorderly and disrespectful conduct. Before I agree to new rules they want to make up, they better follow the rules we have. Section 22 (f) forbids the city manager from influencing municipal elections because the councilors are his bosses. A councilor who sees “nothing wrong” with city manager lobbying, tells you he can violate law.

Does the recall affect Councilor Pope and Bryan’s job performance? Yes, absolutely. They have no bridges left to burn, except perhaps with the voters. Two councilors are “stuck,” determined to fight and control every action of the council.  They want you to overturn past elections and give them power to appoint their cronies without your control. One election every two years isn’t good enough for them. Councilors who try to influence votes by threats are worse than ineffective, they are destructive.

Councilor Calder and Mayor Dorrah deserve praise for behaving with grace and fairness toward everyone, including those who declared them their enemies. When you see a headline stating “Councilors Support Recall,” know that I do not.

Clair Button

Baker City