Matt Driscoll, a reporter with the Volcano (a local weekly paper) has been talking to folks around town. The Volcano has been an arts and entertainment paper, but they are branching out into local politics. What better place to start than Ruston?
I spoke with Matt on Thursday. Two questions linger from the conversation, even though we only directly touched on one of them; can Ruston survive this current struggle and is it worth holding on? I’ll share my thoughts, and hope you will join in with yours.
Let’s start with the last question: Is it worth holding onto Ruston’s independence? Yes, Yes and Yes! At the candidate debate last fall, Bradley Huson said he would not ‘sell out Ruston’s soul to save the town’ – or words to that effect. I think he meant he was unwilling to sacrifice the residential character that we have evolved into for uncontrolled growth in the name of building a tax base. I understand that concern, but Ruston’s soul is our independence as a town. If all we want to be is a quiet neighborhood, then let’s give up and fade into Tacoma.
But there is so much more to our ‘soul’. Our history, our transition from an industrial-based culture to this new mixture is important – it has lessons for others besides just ourselves. We honor that struggle by keeping our independence.
We maintain local control – control that is out of balance right now – but it’s worth keeping even if the pendulum swings too far at times. We have a stronger sense of identity than Tacoma’s neighborhoods. Our own police and fire services add to our character and provide personal service that sometimes saves lives.
There are many more reasons than I have the energy to explore tonight. There was an interesting dialog when this same question was posed by Erik Emery Hanberg, a well-known local bloger. I hope you will add your reasons and stories about the value (or lack of it, if that is your opinion) in keeping Ruston alive.
As for the second question, can we survive the current struggle; again I say yes. That is based in part on how important I think it is – it is worth the challenge to hold on. It will be two years before we can hope to change our political direction. We have to stay diligent in very trying circumstances. We have no voice and will continue to be subject to vicious attacks. But if we can hold on – watch and wait – we can turn the tide and build the promising future this little town deserves.
What do you think?
Karen
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Karen, You are so right and there are many of us who want to demonstrate our desire to Keep Ruston and in particular, our Fire and Police. Ken suggested we get behind the Myrtle Johnson house that will be used to house fire fighters. I think that's a great idea. Don and company have already done a tremendous job in getting donations of furniture, household goods, etc. What ever else needs to be done, count me in.
I recall that during the debates hosted by the League of Women Voters and held at the Chinese Christian Church, one of the questions posed to the candidates was to tell us 3 goals each candidate had for the Town of Ruston. I don't recall anyone stating that it was their goal to annex us into Tacoma; to change our form of government to one of tyranny; to elect a king rather than a council member. I also don't recall that we ever referred to as crazed animals, rich crazy people, or filling our time because of the writers strike, just to name a few of the quotes. We should be working towards inclusion, not exclusion;for open participation, not executive sessions and/or ursurping the Open Meeting Law. Just look at our national politics. Did anyone ever dream in our life time we would see an African American and woman as the possible next President of the United States? Let us take the high road, and use our 2 minutes at each meeting. For those who wish to remain silent, have they allocate their 2 minutes to the next person, and so on. Let's pick a topic we want to discuss at the next meeting and use this 2 minutes of allocated time to get the best speaker to address the issue.
I'm not ready to give up on Ruston and absolutely don't want to become part of Tacoma.
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