Last Night's Council Debate...No Wait...

Last night, Tuesday, October 13th, was the debate by the candidates running for city council hosted by the Ferndale Record Journal and Chamber of Commerce. The only problem was that it really wasn't a debate as such. It was a debate between Jon and Ken but for Lloyd (a.k.a. Zoyd for those that were there) and myself there was no debate. Why is this you are asking?

Lloyd's answer is easy, there is no one running against him. As for myself, my opponent, Mr. Kieth Olson, choose not to be there. It was my birthday last night and yet I was still willing to show up and let the public know my opinions on the issues brought up. To me last night was very important. Unfortunately the public did not get to hear Mr. Olson's responses or be able to choose between us.

So why was Mr. Olson absent last night? It depends on who you talked to. The moderator said that it was due to previous family obligations. When I talked with those close to Keith they said that is was because he did not want to go on the record in the paper with his responses.

Personally, I think this is just another example of Mr. Olson's lack of commitment to the position as a council member. He has stated on numerous occasions that he does not like any additional study sessions and he did not attend the council member retreat earlier this year. He only seems to show up at his paid meetings.

Ferndale needs and deserves better than this. Ferndale needs a council member that is involved in the city and willing to go the extra mile and attend meetings and events. My track record shows my volunteer involvemet in Ferndale. When elected I plan on continuing that involvement.

Currently I am spending up to 6 nights a month attending various meetings, all of which are volunteer. Mr. Olson, as a paid representative of the citizens of Ferndale, complains about an extra meeting here and there. This is wrong and should not be tolerated by the residents of Ferndale.

I am involved in Ferndale. I love this city and support all those who give of their free time to make this a better city. I see this every month at the CCA meeting. There are good people doing great things in this city. Ferndale needs a council member that has this same mind set and I am that person.

For those of you that attended last night's debate, thank you. I hope the evening was informative for you. I enjoyed the evening very much.

If you have questions that were not asked last night and would like to know my opinion, please email me at: BrentListenstoYou@yahoo.com. I will post any question asked and my responses here on my blog. If you would like to help with my campaign you can also contact me at the above email address or call me at 384-8151.