The City of Kent needs new leadership and here are seven reasons why.
1. Mayor Cooke’s budget is based on false revenue assumptions and is not even close to reality. During 2009, the Mayor continued to bury her head in the sand while we are in an economic crisis. It will take many years for the City to recover from the Mayors mismanagement of the budget.
2. During the mayor’s tenure, her own administrative budget increased by over $1 million or 59 percent. Hard to swallow when everyone else is tightening their belts.
3. When cuts were made to city employee wages, Mayor Cooke cited a state law why she could not take a similar pay cut. Ironically, a month earlier, the mayor of Seattle got around this law by simply writing a personal check for his share of the pay cut forced on Seattle employees.I thought leadership came from the top.
4. The mayor approved a $36 million “Road to Nowhere,” even though widening a road 6 blocks away would cost the taxpayers $25 million less and do a better job of relieving traffic congestion.
5. Mayor Cooke embarrassed the city by strongly endorsing Amiga as the sponsor of the Events Center when a simple Internet search would have shown Amiga had serious financial difficulties.
6. According to the mayor, the City has NO say over what events are brought to the ShoWare Center. Lingerie Football, what is next? Last time I looked, taxpayer dollars are funding the ShoWare Center.
7. The mayor helped create a “falls on deaf hears, can’t fight city hall” atmosphere at the City. Many Council meetings have no public input as citizens have given up on talking to a blank wall.
Jack Nixon
Kent
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