Our leaders set the tone for public discourse, and by the power we give them, their actions and words hold us to their standards of respect, trust, honesty and transparency.
While I respect Jan Hill and appreciate her dedication to Haines, she has been unable and often unwilling to demonstrate leadership that would help our community move beyond the posturing of stand-offs on important issues that freeze the dialog in an “us versus them” mentality. This failure is crippling many of our individual and collective efforts to thrive and present the best of ourselves to each other and to the world beyond Haines.
Leaders, whether the Mayor, the borough manager, assembly members or business and nonprofit leaders, have a responsibility to enrich the public discourse through an openness and willingness to consider ideas and options beyond their own, to respect the value of everyone’s input and to judiciously foster informed consensus.
The Mayor of Haines is not a figurehead. Haines Borough Code designates the Mayor as the chief executive officer, with real power to shape the future of our community. I believe Joanie Wagner is the person capable of setting Haines on a new course and ask you to vote for Joanie on Oct. 3.
Carol Tuynman