[Letter by Catherine Cotton – City of Snoqualmie Councilmember. Views expressed are those of the author, not the Living Snoqualmie website. You may submit letters of support for your candidate to info@livingsnoqualmie.com.]
Dear City of Snoqualmie Residents and Community Members,
I’m writing this letter as a Snoqualmie City Council Member, long-term resident and City Volunteer. What I hate about politics…is absolutely the politics! And you can quote me on that… Unfortunately, in the current dismal political climate, most people’s views of politics and government are extremely negative — and rightly so.
I’m sorry to see that in this local election cycle, current and former Council Members who have previously worked and collaborated together through the years are now pointing fingers at the current City Administration for all the problems, issues, deficiencies and/or concerns…and of course, deflecting any responsibility away from the previous administration, foreseen or unforeseen adverse circumstances and themselves. It’s always easy to lay blame elsewhere, and of course, our current Administration is not without faults or problems, but let’s also be realistic about spreading responsibility.
The truth is, each and every one of us has a responsibility to try and improve our city, our community and our world. As Snoqualmie residents, we should be good neighbors and not only participate but be a positive voice in our community and city government. As Snoqualmie City Council Members, we should all share responsibility for our choices and decisions. But we are only human after all, with the frailties that come along with our humanity. As individuals, we have strengths and weaknesses, including leadership styles and communication skills. These are not excuses, simply facts which can affect working relationships, collaboration, understanding and most of all, public perception.
In those famous words from the film, Cool Hand Luke (1967), “What we’ve got here is Failure to Communicate” (and most recently in the intro to Guns N’ Roses Civil War, 1991). Which, of course, then leads to “Man’s inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively” (Carl Rogers). These concepts all apply and sum up some of the biggest problems of government and politics today.
As a Council Member, I am standing up and accepting responsibility for any failures (real or perceived) in my role participating in our city government. I will not only try to do a better job in addressing issues and resident concerns but also strive for improvement in communications, transparency, trust, relationship building and fiscal responsibility. And I hope my fellow Council Members, many of whom already follow this example, will also continue to do so.
It seems more frequently than not, voting in an election has become choosing the lesser of two evils, not who you wholeheartedly support. I appreciate and support those who put in the hard work, such as our current City Administration and City Staff…which honestly is to show up every day, roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done (half the battle sometimes is just showing up!).
I also cannot overemphasize how invaluable the knowledge and expertise of our Snoqualmie City Staff is in keeping leadership up to speed on our government functions and intricacies, which ultimately aids in informed decision-making. All the City Departments, Department Heads and Staff Members are Snoqualmie’s very heart and soul…our daily business would grind to a halt without them! When I really want to know what’s happening within our city, I always go to City Staff. And I’m being told that there is progress and improvement within the current Administration and that with the recent hires in Department Heads and Staff, there is more cohesiveness and smoothly running daily operations. Unfortunately, there is more uncertainty being caused by the potential of a leadership change and subsequent disruption in the City’s rhythm and efficiency. I sincerely hope that our City will continue to run safely, effectively, and most of all with our residents’ needs at the forefront.
I am Cat Cotton, I am one of your City Council Members, and I will stand up to take responsibility for advocating that our City Government strive for improvement in our transparency, trust, communications, responsiveness and participation in local community, business, tribal and regional relationships, as well as promoting our environmental advocacy and government public forums.
Now, let’s get back to the work of taking care of our City’s business…
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Catherine (Cat) Cotton
Snoqualmie City Council Member
Position #5
Comments
Thank you. Well said, and nice to see some accountability and humility. And I agree that politics is the worst part of politics! Can’t wait for this election season to be over. People get so wound up. Thank you for your service to the community.