Letter: Mayor serves with wisdom and candor

To the Editor:

In the weeks since the City Council declined to accept the initial appointments of two individuals to the Port Authority Board, there have been several letters attacking Mayor Donna Dummer.

In my mind, not only does Dummer not deserve these attacks, but they are also detrimental to the spirit of the city of Red Wing. We have seen over the past four years a mayor who has served with wisdom, candor, humor and a strong desire to fulfill the office in a manner that has made it possible for us all to be proud of our mayor.

Red Wing has a mayor-council system of government, with the most power vested in the City Council. The mayor has not run roughshod over the City Council wielding her "many powers." She made well thought out recommendations of individuals to fill positions on the city's boards and commissions.

Council members took issue with two of her recommendations to the Port Authority. They had their reasons for doing so at the time. Dummer graciously accepted the decision of the City Council. She then went about her duties bringing back one of the original candidates and, since the other declined to be submitted a second time, a recommendation to replace that individual. How can this be seen as a "power trip"? Dummer was doing the job that she was elected to do!

Please, Red Wing, let's not bash our mayor. She has done a wonderful job representing Red Wing and has been a mayor that we can all be proud of. She is owed a big thank you not barbed criticism for doing her job.

Marilyn Olson

Red Wing

Tags: opinion, letter, red, wing, mayor