It is unfortunate that officials from our two cities have taken it upon themselves to get involved in each other’s politics.
First, Washougal’s Mayor, Sean Guard, endorsed your council member, Mike Ciraulo, for re-election. I think the endorsement unwise and Battle Ground voters are fully capable of making their own decisions on who should serve on their city council.
Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. Mr. Ciraulo returned the favor, and along with Battle Ground Council Member Adrian Cortes, wrote an opinion piece in the Camas-Washougal Post Record, informing us about the recent controversy regarding Battle Ground’s procedures for electing your mayor.
Washougal is currently considering changing its form of government to the council manager form that Battle Ground has used with general success since 1997. The effect of their column was to magnify what seems to me to be a pretty unusual problem Battle Ground has and inform us that the council manager system is not perfect. We know that no system is perfect. Thank you for sharing.
What would motivate them to tell Washougal voters about Battle Ground controversies is beyond me. But, it does seem designed to influence an election in Washougal to adopt Battle Ground’s generally-successful system.
Brent Boger, council member
City of Washougal
