Letter: Johnson, Hove support our riverfront easement

To the Editor:

John Sachen’s weak and vacillating position on saving our riverfront has me concerned. The Wards 1-2 City Council candidate said he “struggled” with the idea of supporting the Minnesota Land Trust Easement that will permanently protect our riverfront while speaking at a League of Women Voters Forum on Oct. 7.

His opponent, Council Member Dean Hove, said he was proud to have made the motion that made the easement official.

Ward 4 candidate Peggy Rehder was opposed. Her opponent, Dan Johnson, was strongly in favor.

The Voices of Red Wing, a group working against the easement, includes Rehder in their membership.

We need to make our election choice with our eyes wide open. The compromise easement left a way to overturn it. Voters should scrutinize candidates carefully.

I recommend the re-election of our leading riverfront advocate, Dean Hove, here in Wards 1-2, and Dan Johnson, who stated without hesitation that he would have voted to protect our riverfront, in Ward 4. We need to be careful or risk a return to the bad old days of the good old boys.

Paul Hallenberger

Red Wing

Tags: dean hove, dan johnson, opinion, letters, elections, city