After less than two years on the job, White Salmon Mayor Linda Jones has decided to call it quits. On Aug. 17, she resigned from the position she was elected to in November 2003.
Jones' tenure as mayor, unfortunately for all concerned, will not be regarded as a positive one. Her management style and her communication skills often created unnecessary conflict. In addition, she was entangled in several controversies, largely of her own making. No point would be served by recapping the fairly long list here.
There have been rumors for months that Jones would resign. In fact, even before the election, Jones revealed that she was considering withdrawing from the race. That does not build a lot of confidence that there will be stability in the mayor's office.
There is a lesson to be taken from this episode in the political history of White Salmon. In the future, voters in the city need to be much more careful about choosing someone who had lived in the community only for about a year before deciding to run for the mayor's seat. This is a position that requires a stable hand, and the city deserves a mayor who knows the community well and is invested here, personally and/or professionally. In 2003, former Mayor Roger Holen, a longtime business owner in White Salmon, was seeking a third four-year term as mayor. Holen had proven himself to be steady and capable, if not always popular, but the city's voters narrowly opted to vote for change.
Although we have reported on the many controversies that have dogged Mayor Jones, we have also tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Although we took her to task now and then for specific missteps, we hoped she would gain experience and grow into the position -- and also learn to work through the friction she encountered with some members of the White Salmon City Council. That never happened.
Perhaps the final critical misstep by Jones came recently, when several council members began to believe -- legitimately, in our view -- they were being bypassed in the city's decision-making processes. A recall campaign had been gathering momentum before Jones stepped aside on her own.
Even the manner in which Jones resigned was controversial: She did not bother to show up for the meeting in which her resignation was revealed. That in itself was unfair to the city and its residents, who deserved to hear from Jones herself that she was resigning. And she should have been there to answer questions from the public.
That is now the past, however. From here, the city has to move forward and quickly go beyond this period of instability. The first important decision that has to be made is to choose a new mayor. The smoothest and quickest path to fill that position may be to select one of the five current members of the City Council. They are experienced and know the issues, and have already shown their dedication to the city by standing up to serve on the council, some for many years.
Of the five members, three -- Penny White Morris, Francis Gaddis, and Susan Gookin -- have expressed an interest in serving as mayor until an election to fill the vacancy can be held in November. If the council cannot reach a consensus, the Klickitat County Board of Commissioners would be called on to choose a new mayor for White Salmon. That would be absurd and unacceptable. The councilors need to swiftly find a way to agree on a mayor, so the city can get back on track.
It's going to take a lot of work to repair the serious problems the city is facing. Topping the list are concerns about the budget, the ban on water hookups, union contract negotiations, proposed annexations, and more.
Whoever takes over as mayor now, they will be in for a rough challenges, but there is no time to delay getting started.
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