High interest in Oak Harbor city government was revealed in February when an astounding nine individuals applied for an open City Council position. Most towns with council vacancies are lucky to have one or two candidates willing to spend hours working on public issues with only token compensation. The fact that Oak Harbor had nine applicants is a testament to its population’s civic leanings.

Unfortunately, the nine were not treated well by the city. They weren’t even formally introduced to the public. A standing committee of three council members considered the merits of the applicants, and then forwarded a recommendation for the top three to the council. The council adjourned to executive session as soon as was practicable to mull over all the applicants, and then came out with the names of three finalists: Bob Severns, Walter Caravan and Scott Dudley.

The citizens of Oak Harbor had no chance to see all nine candidates, learn their backgrounds, listen to their ideas, and size them up visually. Even 10 minutes apiece before the council and the TV audience would have helped immensely. The council could have spared 90 minutes for this task; it has devoted more time to less important matters in the past.

Such an unnecessarily secretive process did not serve the city well. The public has no idea if the best three were selected as finalists and was cheated out of hearing fresh ideas from the candidates.

Next Tuesday, March 18, the City Council will make its selection, presumably after interviewing the three finalists in public. It’s better than nothing, but overall it amounts to a bone thrown to the public after the meat was peeled off in private.

To the six applicants who applied but were passed over, we can only say thank you and express regret that we never got a chance to hear from you. We appreciate the public spirit exhibited by Ron Apgar, Paul Brewer, Gary Gallaway, Carol Goeth, Pat Harman and Peter Schott.