Letters to the Editor

Wood questions jury 

To The Editor,

In response to Paul Rudder, regarding your op/ed about single family nightly rentals (Sheet, Sept. 20), you are incorrect in asserting that the current council is simply pursuing the democratic process. In fact, what some members of the council are doing is absolutely un-democratic. Let me explain:

In politics and democracy, mandates matter. And this council has zero mandate to pursue the legalization of nightly rentals into residential neighborhoods. Just read the public statements made by Colin Fernie, Shields Richardson and John Wentworth during the campaign. None of them stated publicly that they would be open to expanding nightly rentals when elected. The only candidate who publicly came out in favor of nightly rentals went from an early favorite in the election to a big loss. Furthermore, it seems pretty clear that because of his dogged pursuit of the the nightly rental issue, Councilmember Raimondo now has a better chance of being recalled than reelected. That, Mr. Rudder, is the very essence of democracy.

As for Messrs. Fernie and Richardson, it stretches the imagination to believe that they could go from expressing zero interest in legalizing nightly rentals during the campaign, to being a driving force behind their legalization only a few months later.

Like I said, mandates matter — and the town of Mammoth provided the new council with no mandate to legalize nightly rentals in residential neighborhoods. The council’s actions to move forward with nightly rentals is in direct opposition with this negative mandate from the voters, and coupled with this council’s indifference to the past council’s decision to reject nightly rentals only five years ago, indicates a complete disregard and disrespect of the democratic process. In your words Mr. Rudder, the council’s actions on nightly rentals are nothing short of “anti-democratic, exclusionary, and [are] phenomenally short-sighted.”

Mr. Rudder, let’s be honest, what is really more democratic — a couple of local politicians apparently concealing their true position on a key issue during an election so they could get elected, or the citizenry of that town rising up to reject this type of backroom funny business?

The truth of the matter is, there is no purer exercise of democracy than when the people mobilize to remove an unaccountable politician from office with a recall or to take the legislative process into their own hands with a referendum. That, Mr. Rudder, is true democracy.

AJ Dickinson 

Mammoth Lakes/San Diego