Editor,

I was very shocked to have Mayor Scott Dudley stop by my home on Saturday, Aug. 31, and to be actively campaigning against standing city council members.

This is the first time in my voting history in the City of Oak Harbor that I can ever recall a mayor actively participating in this kind of activity.

While this may not be illegal, I find it in rather poor taste that he would be doing so, and I especially find it wrong for him to have been trying to gain my vote for his candidate by not telling me about that person’s strength, but by telling half-truths about Councilman Joel Servatius position.

He told me that Joel voted against the rescue unit for the Oak Harbor Fire Department, and that is all he had to say.

As an active member of the Oak Harbor Fire Department, I followed the story regarding the purchase of the rescue unit.

I wanted to see the city be able to replace the old rescue unit that we had, and helped to find the apparatus that was eventually purchased.

I had conversations with some of the council at that time, and I know there was a whole lot more to the story.

The council had concerns because of the financial crisis that the city was in, in part due to income resources, and in part due to the potential for major settlement concerns after you chose to fire several people from city departments.

I agreed with the concerns mentioned by some on the council that it would be better to understand the bigger picture prior to authorizing the purchase than to come up short on the city’s finances and have to make cutbacks in staffing.

From my point of view, I think it is healthy that council members should have the opportunity and should be expected to ask questions regarding issues they are being asked to vote on.

An informed council member helps to make sure that the actions the city takes are in the best interest of the city, and helps to ensure that the monies they spend are spent wisely.

I believe that the mayor should be doing all that they can to work together with the council for the betterment of the city in which we live. It does no good to spend time creating such a divisive atmosphere by actively working to remove council members who may disagree with you.

There is far too much work to do as a collective group than to resort to these kinds of political behaviors.

Robert K. Wallin
Oak Harbor