To the editor:
I would like to assure Yachats residents of what I believe to be an appropriate context for Leslie Vaaler’s statement of candidacy in the latest edition of the YachatsNews. In speaking with the editor, I learned that the WordPress platform for the paper automatically produces “related posts,” which in this case was an unfortunate juxtaposition of a letter from eight months ago. It was not an editorial choice.
The extremely one-sided and hostile tone of that letter lent a negative coloring to the body of Councilor Vaaler’s statement. Readers could inadvertently contort the implied meaning of her comments. Instead, I believe that her comments should be interpreted in the context of her service on the City Council the past two years. Vaaler has consistently stood for the “spirit of Yachats” and the “voice of the community.” In this light, it would be a disservice to her to assume she intended any implied insult to the current mayor.
There are many community voices, a majority of whom elected the incumbent mayor, so I am sure Councilor Vaaler is committed to representing them all, if she is elected. In this spirit, I recommend that her statements be interpreted as her promise to also “listen respectfully, welcome robust discussion, and recognize the value of diverse points of view,” as does the incumbent mayor — and as do the other incumbent council members. I will venture that those who believe otherwise have not talked to them directly, as colleagues.
Vaaler is certainly promising to also include “open and honest communication, citizen input and responsible stewardship of our financial and natural resources.” Recent citizen input from another resident has urged the current incumbents to continue being “kind, foresighted and transparent.”
Councilor Vaaler as a mayoral candidate has much to offer on her own, and does not need to put others down in order to lift herself up. To do so would be beneath her standards and should be beneath the standards of those who support her. In this time of divisiveness, Yachats can resist the ugliness we see on a national scale. Yachats prides itself on its unique community feeling, and hopefully will preserve its avowed traditions of civility, dignity, mutual respect and cooperation.
There is no more crucial time than this to follow Ghandi’s advice: To be the change we want to see. As hackneyed as this phrase has become, we are in fact being the change which we will certainly see. We choose our tomorrows by our behavior today. We can learn to have conflict without hostility. How we conduct this campaign will influence our future interactions and the nature of our village. Let us not begin by assuming the worst about our candidates.
— Fran Morse, Yachats