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<P>The editorial from today's Lewiston Tribune (below) summarizes well the
problems with Gerry Weitz' recall fantasy. I do not not think it likely
that the petition will get enough signatures (if it even begins
circulating). Pathetic, really.
<P>BL</P></H1>
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<H1>J.F. - In Moscow, a tantrum masquerading as a
recall</H1><!--End Headline--><BR><!--Start Byline-->
<ADDRESS>Jim Fisher</ADDRESS>
<ADDRESS>Lewiston Tribune, January 2, 2005</ADDRESS><!--End Byline-->
<P><!--Start Story-->Moscow dentist Gerald Weitz is a known firebrand. The
question today is whether he is also a saboteur.
<P>Weitz, who earlier served a stormy tenure on the Moscow School Board, is
currently spearheading a campaign to recall three members of the Moscow City
Council. And he isn't shy in how he characterizes Linda Pall, John Dickinson and
Nancy Chaney.
<P>A sampling of his fulminations:
<P>"They are the kings and queens of despair."
<P>"We will crush them. They don't care about our community or our children."
<P>"These councilmen are elitists, educating the peasants. People are scared to
speak up, but I'm not. This council represents the dark ages, and we need a
renaissance."
<P>What has Weitz so exercised is apparently a conclusion that Pall, Dickinson
and Chaney are standing in the way of growth, of business and of education. He
objects to the questions they raise about the effects developments will have on
the community. He says their denial of a request by the Catholic St. Mary's
School to expand in a residential neighborhood represents intolerance and
antagonism to education. And although he once expressed support for Pall's
former congressional campaign, he accuses her of foisting an unwanted building,
the 1912 Center, on the city.
<P>"No tax revenue was supposed to go into that facility," Weitz says of the
former school. "But Linda Pall has shoved it down our throats. We pay millions
every year to maintain it and it's still not being used."
<P>Millions every year? Not being used? What's he talking about?
<P>Actually, recalls like this are almost always misguided. Dickinson, Chaney
and especially the veteran Pall did not present themselves as anything other
than what they are when they ran for office. And if voters decide that electing
them was a mistake, there is plenty of time to correct that, at the next regular
election.
<P>In the meantime, none of the three has done anything to bring disrepute to
the city, or dishonor to themselves. There is no reason to short-circuit the
election calendar by recalling them.
<P>Weitz, however, gives plenty of reasons not to sign his petitions: his own
intemperate words. -- J.F. </P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>