The county council should rethink a relatively minor decision. A little review might prove big dividends, including a growth opportunity for the council.
On Wednesday, the county council took the unusual step of rejecting a nominee from the county executive for a parks board post. While approving two other nominations to the Lake Stevens Parks and Recreation Service Area, the council turned down an appointment for Therese Quinn on a 3-to-2 vote.
The action was based on the concerns of council member Jeff Sax, who said Quinn hadn’t shown the type of leadership he thought necessary in a part of the county that has seen protracted battles over various issues.
Sax voiced appropriate words about the need for drawing people together in Lake Stevens. And his oversight of the nomination is reasonable, since much of the area is in his council district.
Nevertheless, we think that there is plenty of reason for the council, with Sax providing the initiative, to be generous and have a change of heart.
Quinn has been a prominent advocate for growth management and for energy policies that many would view as too green. Last year, inspired by reading a widely circulated e-mail, she promoted a June 21 "blackout" for conservation. To our ears, the e-mail might have been more chi-chi and partisan than inspiring. It suggested that turning out the lights for the evening would be "an alternative to George W. Bush’s energy policies." As recounted in a Herald news story at the time, the message also suggested, "Light a candle to the Sungoddess, kiss and tell or not, take a stroll in the dark…" Please.
A check of our own letters to the editor files shows, however, something else. Since Sept. 11, Quinn has been an example of just what Sax is seeking in a very special way. In a letter published on Oct. 3, Quinn said, "I may not have campaigned or voted for Mr. Bush, but he is my president. I support him, as do all the members of Congress. Now is the time for all of us — Americans of all political parties, ethnicities and religions — to come together as one." She has been working to create ties between immigrant women and long-time residents. And she has tried to create a way for New York City firefighters and their families to Lake Stevens for a vacation.
She’s also a former YMCA volunteer of the year. That counts much more than her attitude toward some New Age rhetoric in an e-mail.
One of Quinn’s supporters made a suggestion that there was "political bias" in Sax’s vote. That charge doesn’t add up. Sax (a Republican) was clearly high on the nomination of prominent Democrat Kevin Quigley.
We think that Sax (or, if necessary, another council member) can employ such fairness to reach a positive conclusion about Quinn. It would be a louder statement for open-minded, inclusive leadership than the first-term council member ever imagined.
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