Rick Schroff best for City Council

There are two intelligent and capable people running for the Ward 7 City Council. However, we do have to choose, and I will vote for Rick Schroff.

We have an exceptional quality of life in this community, and not by accident. Without a thriving private sector it will be in jeopardy. It is critical that some members of the City Council be active participants in the private sector to bring a necessary balance to important policy debates and decisions that will have an impact on the local economy.

Sustainability is a word often bandied about without due consideration of what it really means for all involved. For Corvallis, economic vitality and all the various projects and efforts directed towards sustainability are inseparable. Which candidate truly understands this? Rick Schroff.

Furthermore, City Council members must be representative, not divisive. Rick’s views are well-reasoned and balanced. When presented with a compelling alternate viewpoint he truly gives it due consideration. This is more than can be said about many of us, and is an admirable trait. Because of his business Rick has to deal with people in a constructive manner virtually every day, regardless of his or their personal views on any particular subject. This too is a necessary skill in representing the diverse community which is Ward 7.

His impressive endorsement list is clear evidence many people agree with this assessment.

Mr. Schroff is the candidate best equipped to effectively serve Ward 7. Please join me and vote for Rick Schroff.

John Turman, Corvallis

Business license fee: Time for a tea party

In reference to the business license fee:

As different councils come and go, changes will happen. Who can do business? What type of business? Will license fees go up?

The way they propose to license business, the little guy will pay the most. A business with one employee pays $50. One with 1,000 employees pays $500. Big business pays 5 cents per employee. This is fair?

How will companies selling on-line be licensed?

This tax includes, besides store-front business, Avon sales, Mary Kay, farmers market, fairs and any other kind of business to the public from home will be included. I did not even see exclusion for a child’s lemonade stand.

Then there is the problem of enforcement. Do we shut the business down if they don’t pay?

Sounds like King George is back. Maybe we can have a tea party in Newport.

This town has thrived for 150 years without this and will continue to do so. As I look around this town, I see very little shopping advantages to the consumer compared to Albany, Eugene and Salem, where many people are now forced to go shopping as items not available here.

Fuel cost, medical insurance, insurance property values, delivery costs have soared in the past three years and now the city wants more.

The sad thing is this all gets passed on to the consumer. If businesses are for it let this be a voluntary tax. I prefer to support the vocational programs at the high schools.

Malcolm Rose, Corvallis

Schroff would offer balance to council

Ward 7 voters have an opportunity to continue a tradition of providing a balance to City Council.

From where I sit, representing Ward 3, I see that it is crucial that all constituencies are represented.

In the race for Ward 7, Rick Schroff offers the most balanced approach to decision making.

I have known Rick personally and professionally for the past several years and have always found him to be open, forthright and respectful in his approach.

While Rick and I often see things from a different perspective we are always able to find middle ground and compromise.

That ability will serve Rick well on the council.

It is critical that Corvallis continue to foster the type of economic development that is outlined in our Prosperity That Fits agenda.

Rick Schroff is intelligent, thoughtful, and dedicated, and he has the perspective necessary to participate effectively in making the decisions that will determine our future.

That is why I hope voters in Ward 7 will support Rick Schroff on May 20.

George Grosch, Corvallis

Unopposed judge won’t get this vote

I didn’t know what “contempt of court” was until I stood before Judge Locke Williams.

As I begged for a restraining order, the judge smirked and even chuckled.

So I was stalked for a year by a local con man who had date raped and robbed me in 2004. At least his crimes had a motive.

Contempt of court should apply to judges, too.

Williams is incumbent unopposed on our ballots. I will write in “Anyone Else.”

Veronica Christie, Corvallis

Raymond supports local sustainability

Both Ward 7 City Council candidates, Jeanne Raymond and Rick Schroff, have stated that they support and encourage a vibrant economy and continued prosperity for our community.

However, Jeanne Raymond also has expressed the importance of sustainability and protecting our environment that makes her a logical choice for Ward 7.

I am concerned about Mr. Schroff’s position on the environment since I read his opinion piece in the Oct. 17, 2005, Gazette-Times. In his own words he supported oil exploration off the Oregon coast.

A rather dangerous activity in light of the fragile ecosystem in our near-shore waters and the predicted seismic events that are inevitable.

He also mocked the Endangered Species Act in his statements when he stated that he has a stuffed spotted owl and keeps snail darter fish in an aquarium.

Both of these actions are federal crimes according to the Endangered Species Act.

I assume Mr. Schroff was joking when he made this statement. But our environment is no joking matter.

We need a person who is serious about protecting our environment both locally and globally, as well supporting our Corvallis business community.

I am a Ward 7 resident and I am voting for Jeanne Raymond.

Dennis Marquering, Corvallis

Immigrants without proper status illegal

David Bacon, in his May 1 opinion piece (“Labeling workers ‘illegals’ is wrong”) argues that “undocumented” workers “have come to this country to work, not to break its laws.”

But he undermines his own argument when he speaks of “12 million people living in the United States without legal immigration status.”

If they do not have legal immigration status, then they have broken the law. They may not be “illegals” but they have acted illegally.

By definition, “illegal” means “prohibited by law.”

Breaking the law, any law, invites legal sanctions.

Carleton W. Carroll, Corvallis

Where’s anger over Saudi brutality?

Thanks to Joel Brinkley for his timely piece on the Saudi kingdom (“Saudi king silent on threats to journalists,” May 5).

If the sins of Saddam merited the “shock and awe” of Bush’s armed might then, may we ask, where is the same righteous anger over the Saudi kingdom’s brutal treatment of its citizens?

Last year a reported 151 were publicly beheaded for innocuous “offenses” such as declaring that other religions are as valid as Islam, and we don’t even mention the unbelievable verdict of 200 lashes for the victim of a rape.

These human rights abuses apparently do not rise to the level so as to disturb the tender sensibilities of the current administration.

But I guess when a strategic ally commands the better part of the world’s oil reserves, such concerns become moot.

Little wonder that the respect for the “leader of the free world” is at an all-time low.

Leo de Vogel, Corvallis