By Pepper Fisher
SEQUIM – The Executive Board of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce issued an open letter to the public Monday that calls for “local leaders to practice transparent, non-partisan governance, and best business practices to stabilize and recover our economy.”
It says, “Instability impacts our business community, and is doing damage to the reputation of our community. Hundreds of phone calls, emails and letters have poured into our offices from deeply concerned citizens, customers, and business owners. Folks who have decided not to retire here, shop here, or even visit because of concerns about recent events.”
Executive Director Anji Scalf says that the regional and even national attention Sequim has received has not been good, and is calling on citizens to support their local businesses, now more than ever.
“You know, what we’re really trying to show is, this current issue, if you will, it’s not reflective of our community, and we don’t think that it’s fair to judge our small businesses because of this issue. And it’s kind of a two-pronged thing because, of course, the national news has picked up on the Q-anon thing because that’s what is in vogue right now. But really that’s not the issue that’s going on our community. You know, the issue in our community is governance not being conducted in a transparent way.”
Scalf is referring to the outcry over the way City Manager Charlie Bush was forced to resign by a majority of the City Council.
But Scalf also wanted to go on the record as not wanting to be dismissive of the Q-Anon concerns people have. She thinks the beliefs the group espouses are heinous and based outside of the realm of reality. She thinks they’re not philosophies that are held and supported by the local business community, and that the community as a whole is horrified by them.
But Scalf says the messaging in the letter is not meant to be political, but to call attention to the need for all segments of a small community to be working well in order to thrive.
“We’re not coming from a partisan place. We represent all businesses and all backgrounds. But the issue is that, you know, our government needs to function well so that our economy can function well, and that’s not happening. When it comes to how government and local organizations work together and how citizens are engaged, they’re..all legs of that stool need to be supported. And so we really…we just want to see our government work well.”
Click here for the entire text of the letter.