Mayor accountable for actions

As a new homeowner moving to Sequim, I was stunned by the selfish, self-centered, nonsensical response from the Mayor defending his trip to the Sturgis motorcycle rally this year (Letters to the Editor, Sequim Gazette, Aug. 19, page A-14).

I’m a 30-year motorcycle rider myself. Operative word: myself. As an official elected to serve as head of a city, town, the mayor is responsible for the safety of the city’s citizens. Period.

Given the mayor is elected by the city council, the city manager controls the day-to-day City of Sequim operations and management. The city council sets policies and budgets and they are the ones the community relies on for basic public administration leadership.

We need to hold the city manager and the city council responsible as much as the mayor’s actions.

Do the citizens of Sequim think they deserve better? I do.

Dennis Hamner

Sequim

Resignation is in order

In the past year, Mayor Armacost has shown that he does not deserve our support. His inability to adhere to the basic tenets of leadership are worrisome and should concern all of our citizens.

Two events come to mind that, to me, indicate his inability to lead. First, he showed complete disregard for other members of our community after attending a motorcycle rally in South Dakota and failing to follow proper health safeguards. His later described rationale did nothing to alleviate the concerns of many.

Second, the recent article where he expresses support for QAnon makes me question his ability to impartiality support all members of our town.

QAnon is a delusion that supports racism, bigotry and anti-semitic beliefs and is of concern to law enforcement due to these far-right beliefs. In fact it has been described by the FBI as a potential terrorist group.

Given the above it’s my belief that, in the best interests of the Sequim community, Mr. Armacost should resign. Sequim deserves better.

Scott Clausen

Sequim

Let mayor do his work

William Armacost has been an active resident/member of Sequim for many years — about 35, I believe. He has been very well-known as a Christian, a Trump supporter, an avid health freak and a motorcycle enthusiast.

Get off his case! Let him work his magic! You’ll be glad you did.

Maggie Philichi

Sequim

Drivers: Watch your speed

Your time is valuable, so why would you risk it by speeding through a residential neighborhood?

Posted speed signs aren’t there to annoy you, or be ignored. The posted speed limit is meant to keep you and the local residents safe, and for you to continue on about your business.

How much of your time would be wasted if you hit a dog, or a deer, or a person or got a ticket?

Slow down, enjoy your time and let us enjoy ours.

Dan Bolton

Sequim

Signs will help keep motorists’ speed reasonable

I live on well-traveled East Fir Street. From my front windows, I witness a stream of traffic seven days a week. East Fir Street is part of the Olympic Discovery Trail. Bicyclists and walkers pass by every day, along with a stream of auto/truck traffic.

It is shocking to see the number of vehicles that speed. Sometimes cars and trucks are traveling at least 40 miles per hour. A neighbor told me she has witnessed night-time, side-by-side car races down East Fir Street. It sounds like another accident waiting to happen.

There are many more walkers and bicyclists because of the coronavirus situation. Riding a bike and walking are good means for exercise and fresh air. It’s time to put up two electronic speed signs that warn drivers of their speed.

I request that this becomes a safety priority before an accident occurs. Pronto, please!

Ruth Marcus

Sequim

Party partiality unfounded

One wonders why nearly 80 percent of African-Americans self-identify as Democrats despite their shoddy treatment during post-reconstruction-era Democrat administrations (per Duke University associate professor Ismail K. White’s “Why are Blacks Democrats?”).

For instance, Woodrow Wilson, an overt racist, reversed the then on-going integration of government agencies and instead implemented re-segregation to include separate eating tables, dressing rooms and public toilets in government buildings (theatlantic.com, vox.com). And he was a Democrat.

And Franklin Roosevelt who, reflecting his white supremacist loyalties, catered to the Jim Crow “Dixiecrats” by excluding black workers from key provisions of the New Deal. And he was a Democrat.

Not forgetting Lyndon Johnson, though lauded for enacting the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, pursued this legislation as a matter of political expediency all the while referring to his black supporters in the most insultingly bigoted terms (msnbc.com). And he was a Democrat.

As for Jimmy Carter, historians note that his black supporters were dismayed at their failure to reap any tangible benefits despite backing him in the election (jstor.org). And he was a Democrat.

Bill Clinton enjoyed considerable black support but took it for granted and, ignoring the black community, continually catered to his white constituency (jstor.org). And he was a Democrat.

Lastly, though a historic achievement, Barack Obama’s presidency was not the answer to black inequities and, quoting one disappointed supporter, “We didn’t get anything, really” (manhattan-institute.org, latimes.com). And he was a Democrat.

One wonders why Democrats treat the black community with such casual disdain.

And why the black community continues to accept it. And for how much longer?

Dick Pilling

Port Angeles

Consider president’s inaction when voting

I am moved to write this letter on 9/11, a day in which almost 3,000 innocent lives were lost. We were shocked and wanted justice against those who planned this.

Now we have a President in office who knew early on how bad the coronavirus was, but instead of taking action to stop it, he told us it was a hoax. Check out the number of deaths in the U.S. now as a result of his inaction.

He let people attend his rallies. People believed him and they died. Think of the young woman from Arizona whose father died from the virus because he believed his president and thought it was perfectly safe to carry out a normal life.

I am not saying that every death is

because of presidential inaction, but how many 9/11 equivalent lives would have been saved if he had acted swiftly and effectively? How much sooner would the economy have been recovered if quick and meaningful action had been taken?

The president has said that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in New York City and nothing would happen to him. His irresponsible action has been far worse. We are now, this day breathing unhealthy, smoke-filled air. It certainly symbolizes the smoking gun of presidential irresponsibility for unnecessary deaths due to his failure to act against this deadly this virus.

Be a voter-jury and issue your verdict by voting him out of office this November.

Jim Dries

Sequim