Tara Hizon is the most qualified candidate for Oak Harbor City Council position one. During the public comment period at a recent city council meeting, her opponent, Paul Brewer, said that he was “concerned” about some planned improvements to the Oak Harbor Marina.

Mr. Brewer contended that public access to the marina was threatened and “a lot of tax dollars have gone into that marina.” I agree that public access is important but Mr. Brewer was on the city council for 12 years and he still doesn’t know or understand that the marina, from its beginning over 30 years ago, has been and continues to be funded exclusively by revenue generated by the tenant leases on boat slips, storage units and other leasehold income. The marina is not funded by taxpayers! The recent dredging work is also being paid from the same tenant income, not taxpayer funds.

I support the idea of citizen watchdogs but Mr. Brewer’s irresponsible public comments, lack of information and general disregard for the facts are an example of the worst kind of politics. Didn’t we learn from Mr. Brewer’s previous tenure on the council that he does not prepare for council meetings so that he might actually understand the facts? Didn’t we learn that Mr. Brewer’s frequent outbursts of temper and bullying behavior toward other council members often took place because of his limited command of the issues before the council?

Four years ago when Mr. Brewer ran unsuccessfully for mayor, I was at a meeting where he was asked if he’d have time in his schedule to handle the duties of mayor. His reply was that he didn’t spend any time preparing for council meetings so it’s “no problem.” We’ve seen Paul Brewer in action and our city and council can do better, much better.

His opponent, Tara Hizon, is intelligent, well-prepared, energetic and up to the job. She deserves our support. Let’s not make the mistake of putting Mr. Brewer back on the council.

Kenneth G. Hulett

Oak Harbor