A Comment From David Massey

Salisbury is incredibly fortunate to have Mrs. Campbell on city council. It's hard to imagine how any council member - or any member of government for that matter- could be better informed about the issues or more dedicated to the city's welfare than she is.

I'm surprised that Mr. Boda pointed out Mrs. Campbell's "nay" votes at last night's forum. Perhaps he didn't realize that he was really pointing out one of her many strengths. To me, a no vote says, "I've taken the time to do my homework and look at ALL the implications of what's being proposed, and this proposal is not in the best of interests of the taxpayers or the city." HMMMM...could this mean that council majority rarely does ITS homework to the extent it should and just pushes through a lot of unwise things with that "yes" rubber stamp that so often used at the GOB that it's nearly worn out???

I understand that Mr. Boda also said that one has to be able to work with people (or words to that effect). To that I'd just say, "Yes,Mr. Boda, YOU try working with people who won't even give you the paperwork you're supposed to have so you can be well-informed before a work session or meeting. YOU try working with people who get annoyed with you because you see a need to further discuss and question things before you vote on them. In short, sir, just TRY to effectively do your job in the kind of climate (icy cold) in which Mrs. Campbell does hers, THEN come back in four years and tell me about working with others." Until that time, though, don't make comments in public that tend to mislead citizens about Mrs. Campbell's ability to work with others.

Sorry for the length of this post, Joe, but it "steams" me big time whenever I've heard over the years people criticize Mrs. Campbell because she "rocks the boat too much" or "takes too much of council's time to get things done."

Good government isn't about how fast we can get things done or how many times per minute we can bang that "YES" rubber stamp down. It's about doing the research, doing the homework (regardless of how much time and sweat that takes) listening to your constituency's voices, weighing all factors, and THEN saying yay or nay.

Mrs. Campbell does all those things, plus a LOT more, for Salisbury, and probably puts up with way more crap while doing it, than we'll ever know.

To the Anon. post @ 9:42 who predicts one day a building will be named after Mrs. Campbell, I say, "I sure hope you're right." We owe her that and a lot more.