Letter: Vote no on ward voting in Marion

The ward voting issue in Marion, if passed, would allow only the voters who live in each ward to vote for their ward council person. This also means that you will not be allowed to vote for the three council people from the wards you do not live in. Of the seven governing council positions, you would only be allowed to vote for four, those being the mayor, the two At-Large positions and the council person from the ward in which you live.

Keep in mind that the three council people you would not be allowed to vote for will continue to vote at council meetings on matters that concern your ward. During council proceedings there are many times when a member abstains from voting for ethical reasons such as conflicts of interest. This results in six or sometimes less council votes deciding an issue. Now remember that three of those six or less council people could be council people you were not allowed to vote for.

If a council person is going to be voting during meetings on matters that concern my ward, I should be allowed to vote on the election of that person regardless of which ward he or she lives in.

Please vote no on ward voting in Marion.

Larry Hansen

Marion