The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Incumbent County Commissioner Sheilah Kennedy’s campaign slogan is “accountability.” But, has she really been accountable and listened to the citizens’ concerns these past three-plus years? 

She and the other commissioners were not accountable to the hundreds of citizens who protested against the Three Devils Road closure. She ignored their comments and voted to close the road to people living near the road, for tourism and ATV use.

She has not been accountable to the taxpayers nor the county’s finances when the commissioners decided to litigate at least five lawsuits against the county instead of negotiating settlements. These legal costs need to be spent on required services and infrastructure.

She was not accountable to current state law nor respectful of citizen input into the recently revised comprehensive plan. In the commissioners’ hurry to accomplish this major task, she now shares responsibility for a comprehensive plan that is flawed and currently being sued by three different groups.

She has not even been accountable to the future of agriculture and ranching with a new zoning ordinance that says there is enough water for one-acre densities of up to five mobile home or five multi-family apartments throughout most of the county. This group is her constituency! For two of the last three years, there have been water shortages, droughts, wildfires caused in part by lack of water, and some farmers did not grow crops. Are you ready for your well to run dry in the future like some Midwesterners, who live above to Ogallala Aquifer, are now experiencing?

In this November election, it is time for us to be accountable to our county’s future and vote for new leadership and much better management than has occurred these almost four years. 

Stuart Rick Gillespie

Oroville