I would like to respond to Jody Johnson’s letter to the editor (Dec. 27) and also acknowledge Kathy Diaz and everyone else who has not given up and continues to ask the questions that deserve better answers then we have gotten.

I would also like to thank Councilman Larry Anderson for replying to my emails and being the only Albert Lea City Council member making a real effort to address my questions and concerns. Even though he is not my councilor, he has always made himself available.

It does seem like the problem is, that if you question the people who should have the answers, they will treat you like you are the only one who wants answers and they will ignore you and hope that you will give up, and they won’t be held accountable. Is that the type of individual we really want representing us?

Jody Johnson made an interesting statement about the broom sweeping the other direction and how much dirt it may sweep out from under the rug. I believe there is a lot of it under that rug and that many of the citizens of Albert Lea aren’t aware of how their tax dollars are being wasted or misused.

An example is the article on the clearing of snow from homeowners’ sidewalks along the new Blue Zones walkway. It says that the homeowners along the walkway are responsible for clearing the snow from their own sidewalks. I hope that is the case because that is not how it was handled in the past on certain private sidewalks (Martin Road) where city employees and equipment were used regularly to clear snow per some private agreement made when those sidewalks were put in during the big Blue Zones push.

There are a lot of issues that have many different sides, and because it is so hard for one person to get answers, I would like to see the local paper do more in-depth investigative reporting and ask the hard questions of our city and county officials and print their answers so that all the citizens of the community will have a better understanding of what decisions were made, who made them and why.

I believe the citizens of Albert Lea deserve better! Ask questions of the people who represent you! They were elected to make decisions that are supposed to benefit the majority of us, not a select few. They have a tough job, but they are responsible for the decisions they make and should be held accountable.

Honesty and integrity are what we deserve from the people who represent us and only you can demand it, by asking questions and being informed.

 

Gary Hagen

Albert Lea