Last November the people of Black Diamond spoke loudly and clearly about what they wanted for the future of their city.

They voted in an overwhelming majority to oust the City Council members who supported developer Yarrow Bay’s plans for the city, and voted instead for Joe May, Ron Taylor, and Tamie Boxx-Deady.

Joe, Ron, and Tamie were elected by 75 percent, an historical margin. Approximately 66 percent of registered voters voted, which is a number equivalent to voting in a presidential election.

The vision of the Black Diamond citizens has not changed since last November. They still see the mega development planned by YarrowBay as a blight on our city. They do not want the environmental, traffic and many other negative impacts.

Simply put, the people do not want Yarrow Bay in Black Diamond. How much plainer must they be?

The citizens recognize that the mayor of Black Diamond, Rebecca Ollness, has not gotten their message about YarrowBay. The mayor of Black Diamond is blocking the will of the Black Diamond people by pushing forward YarrowBay’s agenda and thwarting the City Council.

The talk in the city is that the people would like to see the strong-mayor system replaced by a weak mayor-city manager form of government.

Yet, when Council member Carol Benson attempted to pass a resolution on this issue, she was strongly criticized in this paper by Kristine Hanson, who just happens to be one of the City Council members ousted last November due to her strong support of YarrowBay. Ms. Hanson is not unbiased.

The people of Black Diamond will continue to make their voices heard. We support our City Council members. Democracy in Black Diamond will not be suppressed.

Theresa Roberts

Black Diamond