Council is mirror of voters

Re 'Elected board is wrong answer,' letters, Nov. 29: I have to partially agree with the writer that the problems with our city start at the top, with our City Council. We elect them, but with such a small number of voters showing up to participate, are we always getting the best candidates?

It is very hard to unseat a councilman. Tommy Smigiel can attest to that. But Smigiel's voice on the City Council has made a positive difference. As citizens and voters, it is our job to monitor our council members and to hold them accountable. If they have not made positive changes and worked to make this city a better place, then vote them out. Until we take control of our own destiny, we will suffer under mediocre leadership.

School Superintendent Richard Bentley had a vision and could lead, but look where that got him. If you get on the wrong side of a few of our City Council members, you are out of a job.

This was a big loss for our city and the schools, which were on an upward swing under his leadership. If School Board members were elected, the City Council would not have been able to pressure them to ask for Bentley's resignation, and we would not be taking a giant step backward.

We have another leader with vision and good leadership skills in Marcus Jones, our city manager. I hope that he doesn't do anything to upset our city leaders. I would hate to lose another good man to the whims of some on our council.