Leadership or partisanship?

The City Council and mayoral elections, nonpartisan so that all residents are afforded equal representation, has in fact resulted in a major political and philosophical shift of the dynamics at City Hall.

Beginning next month senior council member Nancy McLaughlin (R) and first term council members Amber Waldref (D) and Jon Snyder (D) will be joined on the dais by newly elected President Ben Stuckart (D) and members Mike Fagan (R), Steve Salvatori (R) and re-elected member Mike Allen (R). U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ (R) ex-legislative aide, David Condon (R), will occupy the mayor’s office. Though the new mayor’s campaign signs redefined him as nonpartisan, his political roots are deep and well-documented.

With that in mind, my sincere wish for 2012 is that our elected leaders find a way to work together, to find compromise and find real answers to the very large problems Spokane’s citizens face in today’s economy.

The balance of power is precarious and offers a unique opportunity for a swing vote to become a public hero by honestly and responsibly representing the needs, desires and best interests of Spokane neighborhoods and citizens, or march in political lockstep to serve a philosophical end.

Mike Killough

Spokane