Charter Review Proposition 2 wants to give our county council the responsibility of managing operations. What a dangerous, double-edged sword to give them.  On the one hand, as our elected representatives they could advocate for constituents who feel they have been wronged and intervene on their behalf. That sounds like a pretty good thing. On the other side of that sword, it would open the door to “advocating” selectively on behalf of their “friends” who may have helped them get elected.

The founding fathers of our country understood this dilemma well when they designed a system of “separation of powers” with “checks and balances.” The same issues exist for our local government today.

The freeholders in 2005 proposed our present system of checks and balances and it was passed by us voters. Proposition 2 would go back to a system that we voted to change because it was flawed at that time. It won’t be any better this time around either.

Several checks and balances already exist within the present system to ensure that constituents receive fair and proper treatment.  Let’s continue to move forward in an intelligent manner rather than revert to an already proven flawed system.

Please vote NO on Charter Review Proposition 2.

Elizabeth Barth

Eastsound