[Vision2020] Tribune editorial skewers GMA

[Bill London]

This is the lead editorial from the Lewiston Tribune today, Sunday....BL
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Do alliance picks support Moscow school suit?
 Jim Fisher

Sunday, September 30, 2007

The Greater Moscow Alliance has endorsed three candidates for Moscow City Council, saying it wants to redirect a council that is "out of step with the community." That assertion and the alliance's endorsements oblige candidates Dan Carscallen, Wayne Krauss and Walter Steed to answer one big question about how in step with the community they are:

Do you support or oppose Jerry Weitz's lawsuit to reverse the community's March 27 vote to increase the Moscow School District's supplemental levy?

A 56 percent majority of voters approved adding $1.97 million to the district's $5.6 million permanent property tax levy, allowing continuation of school programs threatened by rising costs. The vote was hardly surprising, considering Moscow's history as one of the most education-friendly communities in the Northwest.

But it was illegal, says Weitz, a dentist and a member of the Greater Moscow Alliance's board. Weitz sued to have the voters' will thrown out, and if it is, the city's schools will be forced to make cuts in services that most Moscow voters have shown they do not want.

Does that mean the Greater Moscow Alliance, which was created to counter the influence of the Moscow Civic Association, also wants to cut support for Moscow schools? 

Not necessarily. Alliance President Stephen Busch says the organization has taken no position on Weitz's lawsuit. The Moscow Civic Association, on the other hand, says it "strongly supports" the levy Weitz seeks to undo.

But Weitz is not the only alliance board member backing the suit. Jim DeMeerler, the group's treasurer, expressed his favorable opinion of the it, and criticism of the school district, in a Sept. 22 letter to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. 

"The lawsuit is about philosophy and accountability - not about money," DeMeerler wrote, as if money is not what the district stands to lose should Weitz succeed.

And Thursday, another letter, from Moscow resident Varnel Williams, appeared in the paper. Williams, who identified himself as a Greater Moscow Alliance member, said he also supports Weitz's suit.

All this raises two questions:

First, why does a group that says its mission is "to actively participate in local decisions to ensure Moscow and Latah County remains a great place to live, work and do business" refuse to take a position on one of the most important local decisions facing Moscow and Latah County? 

Second, what are Carscallen's, Krauss' and Steed's positions on Weitz's lawsuit? Although they are running for seats on the Moscow City Council, and not on the Moscow School Board, they owe voters unequivocal statements of where they stand on such a vital issue to the community. It is, as DeMeerler says, about philosophy and accountability. - J.F.
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