To the Editor:
Profoundly disappointing was how the news arrived in this Keizer household! Daily we learn another norm of long standing and American practice is under attack at the national level. Meanwhile, according to new developments locally, we, also, appear undergoing a hometown variation of the same kinds of things in Keizer, Oregon.
Here’s how this voter views the most recent local political action. It is that, by a free and fair local election, one of the two persons who ran to be Keizer’s mayor lost that 2024 November race; however, her supporters, it’s speculated, were unhappy with the outcome. There’s also a suggested sour grapes syndrome in this mix.
So, it would seem, they got together and decided they’d remove most power and privilege of office usually bestowed upon the winner so the loser and her supporters could take over and control Keizer’s city council anyway. This action then denied voter choice for the first time since the city broke from Salem and established its independence in 1982.
All this looks and feels like just another action – resembling insurrectionist – that should find its way to a courtroom for resolution by a fair and impartial judge, seeking resolution. It would appear thereby to demand that the council, as now conducting city business, reestablish its long-standing, traditional standards of conduct.
Seems we in this community would want to set a good example for our children, ourselves and other Oregon communities, not set what comes across a bad one as this event suggests is underway. May democracy be reinstated in Keizer, Oregon!
Gene H. McIntyre,
Keizer
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