Letters to the editor: Elected should represent, not direct

Elected should represent, not direct

It seems to me the same attitude portrayed by our federal and state governments permeates our city and county commissions; that their constituents aren’t competent to know what is best for themselves or their tax dollars.

The county commission, regardless of a resounding vote against the judicial complex building plan, continued ahead with the property purchases included within the plan. Then it proposed closed (secret) committee meetings to address the issue.

The voter approval of the .25 percent sales tax increase seemed to have been borderline extortion by threatening to raise property taxes if it was not approved. The purpose of the revenue sought by this tax increase (the Ute water project) I believe to be indeed worthy, but there was no apparent shortage of funds for other projects — the purchase of the Chaparral Golf Course and the “lending” of more than $1 million to an out of town developer to renovate/restore the Hotel Clovis. And there are concerns about “wasting” $17,000 to have a vote on the issue?

These elected officials need to remember they are elected to represent/serve their constituents, not to direct them. And remember those constituents don’t forego their rights to have and voice opinions without being labeled “obstructionists.”

In my opinion, Clovis would be far better served should the city undertake to shoulder some of the infrastructure costs of growing Clovis, rather than forcing all the costs of sewer service, curbs, and streets onto the developers. Those are prime drivers of the high cost of building in Clovis.

Why should we look to an outside developer for the Hotel Clovis project? And why do we typically purchase fleet vehicles and other high-dollar goods and services from out of town suppliers?

Just another obstructionist.