I thought it would never happen, but it has. I’ve had it with the government of Mason City. I’ve lived in this town for 34 of my forty three years and thought I had seen it all. Sadly, I was wrong. I have seen mayors come and go. Some were extraordinary. Some left a bad taste in my mouth. They did their job and dealt with what came along as best they could. Some of them served multiple terms, and had to adjust to council members coming and going. A few of these members had their own agenda, and some seemed to just be there to fill a seat at the meetings. I followed along and had concerns with issues from time to time, but I let the council members do the job that we as citizens elected them to and was, for the most part, content, until recently. I have never seen so much bickering, back stabbing, finger pointing, trash talking and outright childishness in city government in my entire life. We have council members blaming each other for things not going right. Members have accused each other of going behind each other’s backs to get their own results, whined about not being asked to represent the city in meetings with State officials, and complained about why some were in attendance at other meetings. Are they in grade school? Do they need a time out? It’s time to get back to basics people. We need to regroup and focus on what is really important. We have several issues that need attention in Mason City, not the least of which is our government. COUNCIL MEMBERS: YOUR JOB IS TO WORK TOGETHER TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR MASON CITY! It’s time the citizens of this town joined together and tell our leaders what WE want. We elect them, we pay taxes, and we should feel confident that they are making decisions on our behalf and not working on their own agenda. Let’s join forces (and voices) and let our mayor and council know that we are tired of the playground antics and want to get on with the business of running a city.
Bill Okerstrom|
