Pro & Con

By Judy Dunster

Two years ago, you, the voters, said you wanted to stay with our present form of government. You made the right decision! Blaine has made progress in many areas since then. Those of us who are working to retain our present form of government would like that positive momentum to continue.
We believe the voters will look at the facts and vote with intelligence and good sense. Changing the government won’t save money, make city hall more accountable, or be the magic wand that to solve all of Blaine’s problems.
The city manager and council are responsible for a $29 million budget. Electing a mayor won’t change the money it takes to keep our town running smoothly. Let’s leave the management of our city in the hands of a person with the education and professional experience to do the job effectively.
Positive changes are happening and we need to let the council and staff we have continue to work for the improvement of Blaine.
If you feel you need more accountability, get involved! Volunteer for a board or committee, talk to your council people, visit city hall and meet your present city manager. Attend city council meetings, committee or commission meetings and find out what is happening in Blaine. Every meeting except executive session is advertised and open to the public. Work with the system we have. It is a good one!
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By Jim Anderson

Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Sumas, Everson, even Nooksack has one. An elected mayor. Despite everything being heard in our community, we must ask ourselves a very simple question: Should the top executive in Blaine be a hired employee or someone who should be accountable to us?
Administrators are important. We always rely on experts in their field to give all of us sound advice. However, in many governments entities the top executive is always someone that has been elected by the people.
Our involvement in choosing our leaders is still the best form of government. A winning system was set up by our forefathers, who had no actual political experience but instead ran governments with common sense and life experiences.
Fact is, the nay sayers are making this into other issues by saying “it isn’t broken – don’t fix it.” Blaine is crying for someone with leadership and passion to open up other great opportunities we have here and make life better for everyone. Just like other levels of government, our mayor can provide a balance to our council – its checks and balances – used in thousands of cities in America!
Choosing the mayor of Blaine doesn’t belong to a select few. You should have the right to choose our city’s top executive! Elect the people’s mayor - vote yes on #2 - You can decide!!
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