Yakima City Council member Bill Lover once said at a 2007 city council meeting (while voting for increases in fees for the 2008 budget) that he was “the only true fiscal conservative on the council”. Newly elected amigo Rick Ensey, says he shares the conservative “values” of Yakima voters and that he is against taxes. Micah Cawley continually refers to his conservative and “Christian” ethics. Dave Edler, Neil McClure, Norm Johnson, and Kathy Coffey have all invoked the “conservative” word to describe their philosophy. So, if I read that correctly we have 7 conservatives on the city council. And as far as Yakima goes that seems to be the safe route for political success.
The Yakima Republican Party claims to be conservative as do the Central Washington Homebuilders, the Yakima Association of Realtors, KIT Radio, KUSA radio, and even the master of twisting information, Bruce Smith, editor of the Yakima Valley Business Times.
It’s amusing to watch them all try to out conserve each other! It appears Mayor Dave Edler has broken free from their ideology of being against everything (all in the name of conservatism, of course). So too has Neil McClure, and to some extent, Norm Johnson and Kathy Coffey. Fortunately they are a majority of 4 that can lead to objective and rational decisions for our city and for open and honest debate.
That can’t be said for the three Amigos, (Lover, Cawley, Ensey). They are panderers, not leaders. They get support and encouragement from cheerleading radio stations and outright distortions by Bruce Smith and their campaign financers; the Realtors, Homebuilders, and of course the local Republican Party. (All of them flaunting their supposedly conservative ideology)
They say they are against taxes (isn’t that a brave thing to say!) and therefore cannot consider improvements to infrastructure and services unless something else is cut. Okay, show the way! Lead us to a better quality of life and improved economic development opportunities by cutting the budget. You go Amigos! Provide us with the public safety you campaign on. Lead us! Show us what conservatives can do!
But the Amigos and their band of supporters continue to fail while they waste our time and money professing their “conservative values” and misleading the voters. Accountability is another word they toss around but they do not consider that it applies to them. To the three amigos the words conservative means to support lower taxes, without actually doing it. They must have everything both ways. Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan would be ashamed of such pathetic and spineless leadership!