Editor,

In an ideal world, our elected officials are voted into office to represent a majority of constituents and better the community in which they live. Recently in Oak Harbor it appears that certain political figures are more concerned about press and personal feelings than they are in representing Oak Harbor.

The windmill in Windjammer Park has deteriorated over the past 40-plus years and requires rebuilding, as does our local political structure. Recently in the Whidbey News-Times, one county commissioner calls out three of our city council representatives over the windmill and its removal.

It is sad that our iconic windmill has deteriorated over time, as it is sad the communication and cooperation among our elected officials has.

Social media, for better or worse, is now being used to air personal feelings on political issues and make personal attacks by these same elected officials. Most recently on Facebook, one county commissioner uses the platform to attack a city council member over comments that were made in private.

At issue here is that social media can be manipulated, edited and even purged to bias the conversation, one that should not even be taking place in public.

How as a community do we encourage all of our elected officials to perform the duties for which they are elected? How do we get them to represent the majority of constituents in our community and work together to make Oak Harbor a strong and vibrant community? How do we get them to stop using the newspaper and social media to project their personal feelings and get them to address the critical issues as a unified body and make Oak Harbor a community we can all be proud of?

Leo Mitchell

Oak Harbor