The real issue is validity of petition

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

July 11, 2008 04:54 pm

— In reading the article done on the “Recall Election” — l believe that the city board is missing the big picture. Instead of worrying about the validity or the lack of validity of the petition that has been presented, why not look at the reasons for the petition?
This is the whole purpose for the petition to begin with.
The city board does what it wants to do, and ignores the issues and complaints of the people who put them in the offices. If rumor carries any weight, even John Feuchtenberger walked away because the board refused to listen to his legal advice.
The whole point is not whether or not the peititon is valid.
The whole point, is that the citizens who signed the petition are fed up with the things that the city board is doing. A lot of the board’s decisions are and have been a detriment to the town of Bluefield for far too long. The city’s neglect of the historic buildings, has led to the crumbling and destruction of parts of our history that we can never get back.
The failure, by the board, to recognize and pursue property owners who have left the area and failed to maintain the properties they own here, has led to the degeneration of our neighborhoods and city streets.
Yes, the city has begun to tackle the matter of the unmaintained properties, but why did it take so long?
The whole action, by the city board, to see only the question of whether or not the petition is valid, is just another example of the refusal to remove the blinders from their eyes and see that the people have had enough of bad and neglectful government in Bluefield.
This is the main reason for the petition, to make an effort to pull the blinders way from faces of our voted officials and shed light on the problems and concerns of the people who put them in the offices they now hold.
Come on, this is just another way to avoid the problems at hand. If someone doesn’t wake up soon, any effort to make any changes will have been made too late to change anything.
Tammy Wyse
Bluefield, W.Va.