Dear Editor,

OK folks, it’s time to “name names.” Which of your City Council members are the ones who consistently vote against any growth in our fair Kirkland? I’ll call them the “Obstructionist Four” — and they are Jim Lauinger, Dave Asher, Jessica Greenway and Tom Hodgson.

But these four have voted for some things — they’ve voted for: surface parking lots as a continuing major downtown feature, the denial of development to private property owners, a smaller Kirkland and the continued entitlement to exclusive view rights for certain condo owners (who just a few short years ago took the views of others).

Now, these four have managed to emasculate Kirkland’s Design Review Board (DRB) by substituting their own non-professional design opinions for the judgment of design and architectural professionals. Can you blame the members of the DRB for resigning when the “Obstructionist Four” know it all? Why would any design/architecture professionals want to devote hours of volunteer work only to have their efforts summarily dismissed?

~Jim Hitter, Kirkland