So, I got an email this morning from someone who knows me pretty well, and who reads this forum, but has never posted. The email was prompted by a couple of my posts in this thread, in which I complemented a couple of members of the Bellingham City Council and gave a small nod to the new Mayor. The email wanted to know if I was running a fever or just not feeling well in general. Here is the salient line from the email: "How is it you are giving props to Stan Snapp and Barry Buchanan? Aren’t these guys liberal Democrats?" So, I thought it might be worthwhile to kind of lay it out there how I see things working here at Eye on Whatcom, and how I view the political arena in general.

Are Stan and Barry "liberal Democrats?" Maybe. I don't really know either of them well enough to pigeon-hole them, and I don't like pigeon-holing people anyway, even when I do know them well. I know Stan and Barry are members of the Democratic Party. Is Stan a liberal? I don't know. Is Barry? I don't know.

What I do know is that it is possible to be a member of a political party without being a "partisan hack." I do know that here at EoW, we are far more interested in what is good for Whatcom County than we are in what is good for any specific political group or special interest. I am more aligned with the Republican Party than I am with the Democratic Party. Heck, I'm a Precinct Committee Officer. Yet, when I see the Republican Party as a whole mess up, or a specific individual mess up, I'll call them on it, usually in private, but if necessary, in public. And when I see Democrats do something that I believe is the right thing to do, I'm giving them props, and in this case, very public props.

What Barry Buchanan did by balking at the 3/4 million a year in new operating costs for the proposed library was the right thing to do. He should be applauded for that. When Stan Snapp asked the question about additional operating costs weeks before this data even came out, it was an incredibly insightful (almost clairvoyant) question to ask, and a very fiscally responsible concern to voice. He should be applauded for that.

People, look, right is right and wrong is wrong. What is good for the county, or a specific city in the county is what we srive for. It doesn't matter if we slap a "D" or an "R" or an "L" or a "G" on it. If we can all keep our eyes off of our own navals and adopt that attitude and view, we're going to have some fabulous discussions here over the coming years!

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