In response to what the Mayor said in her column last week in the Reporter, I stand by what I said. “If we go to regional meetings, we should insist we push for projects that benefit Kirkland without giving away the farm. I contend our participation in regional groups for the most part has resulted in us giving up more than we have received.”

I believe citizens are paying more into regional issues than what we are getting back. That’s why I’m going to do a dollars and cents analysis of what goes in and what do we get back.

Given the fact that 66 percent of Kirkland is socialistic, it will not matter to them if the Mayor pushes her ideas without considering the cost to those who pay the bills. She and others thrive on using other people’s money (OPM) to pay for what they want. They’re high on OPM like any other drug and it’s gotten us into the serious and habitual budget shortfalls we find ourselves in. We end up paying higher taxes for fewer services.

As far as printing the Mayor’s response, any correspondence put out by the city is normally approved by the Kirkland City Council. We don’t have a strong mayor type government and she is not the lord, master, or czar of Kirkland.

It’s not the Reporter’s job or any paper’s job to determine if the Mayor is speaking on her own or speaking for the city. Maybe it should be. But it puts the paper at risk of losing part of their readers if they don’t remain neutral. Had she spoken for the city using city resources (there are plenty of them we’re paying for) instead of an editorial in a private newspaper, publishing the Mayor’s opinion would have been a news item, not a publicity stunt.

The Mayor should represent those who pay the bills as well as those feeding at the public trough. Granted, two-thirds of Kirkland citizens will not care about my dollars and cents analysis. But I do and I believe at least a third of the population in Kirkland does also.

Ms. McBride is a Councilmember that lobbied and traded favors for her to become Mayor. That doesn’t give her free reign to say what she wants without acknowledging council’s approval. If she is speaking for the city, then say so. If she has their approval, at least we will know besides herself who is responsible for this budget mess we find ourselves in.

Bob Style, Kirkland