Editor,

On Tuesday, March 3, Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy sent an email to everyone signed up on his email list. It was a reaction to the Feb. 28 letter to the editor written by Sharon Emerson. The following day, The Record contained four pro-funicular letters. It is so incredibly coincidental that I believe the mayor’s email and the four published letters were coordinated to promote the funicular.

For those who did not receive the mayor’s email, he said he wanted to show why Ms. Emerson’s letter to the editor was untrue. His presentation did not succeed. Most of his comments were merely opinion. Many would disagree with him that city leaders listen carefully to all inputs including those they find contrary; that city leaders are open to all possibilities regarding improved access to Wharf Street; that city leaders would be willing to return the grant money; and that the mayor will not saddle Langley with a “ruinously expensive albatross.”

The mayor wrote, “Some people in Langley would prefer that we coast rather than to dream and grow and strive to improve the city.” He cited a wise person who said, “It’s OK to coast — just be aware that when you are coasting there is only one direction that you are going.”

A funicular has long been the mayor’s dream, or, in his own words, his “pet project.” A simpler, lower- impact approach is apparently considered “coasting.” He is not being open-minded. It is an attack on those who think differently.

The mayor said that he believes the majority will support the city’s choice. Since the city has never shown interest in obtaining the opinions of most Langley business owners and residents, it is evident that the majority opinion will remain unknown and the mayor’s claim of having general agreement will be unsupported. Many do not read the local paper and are unaware of city hall events. Their voices will not be heard because the city will not reach out to them.

There may be an upcoming public meeting but the mayor is as opinionated and closed-minded as ever.

PATRICK RYAN

Langley

EDITOR’S NOTE

The South Whidbey Record’s opinion page policy is to run all letters to the editor. The only exceptions are those deemed overly offensive for a family newspaper, such as messages of racial inequality, or unfounded or unfair accusations, such as claims that one’s neighbor is an axe murderer.

Also, letters are run in the order they are received.

Hence, the letters that ran in the March 4 edition, and their topics, were nothing more than “incredibly coincidental.”