By Pauline Masson – In a nutshell, city government should be guided by what the citizens want, says one candidate who is certain to be seated on the board of aldermen after the April 5 election.
Rick Presley, the unopposed candidate for the Ward One seat is a 56-year-old businessman who says aldermen should be guided by what the citizens want and, just as important, should tell the citizens what they plan to do before they do it, and why.
Presley is one of two aldermanic candidates who are unopposed on the April 5 ballot. Scott Lesh, unopposed Ward Three candidate will also be seated. And from this reporter’s view the upcoming election has the potential to bring more change to city government than any election in recent memory.
Presley is an affable guy who has served on the city tourism commission and the planning and zoning commission. He has no axes to grind and makes no promises of support on any issue. But he does promise to be guided by what the majority of citizens want in every vote on every issue.
In the end, he said, “elected officials should listen to what citizens are saying they want,” Presley. “I realize I will be only one vote and can be voted down on an issue but as an alderman I want to know what the citizens want. And I don’t mean just my ward one citizens, I want to know what citizens all over the city want.”
Presley said he recognizes that ward politics is the structure of city government and says he plans to get to know as many of his ward one constituents as possible.
“I’m going to be saying to them, ‘How do you feel about this?’” he said. “I want my constituents to know that I am working toward their goals.”
At the same time, he wants to know what citizens in there other wards are looking for from city government.
The new ward one alderman does not see himself an expert on any issue that has faced aldermen in recent months, or that is still in progress. He decided to run for office at this time, he said, because his family owned and operated business has matured to the point that he has more time to devote to the city that has been his home for the past 15 years and that he has come to love.
As a member of the Pacific Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors for the past eight years, Presley said he has become acutely aware of the need for more business in downtown, which is the core of his ward.
“The recent changes in downtown bode well for the future,” he said. “I believe Pacific is ripe for expansion, and needs to expand, and I want to help manage the expansion.”
New business in the city will help generate more taxes, which is what is needed for things like a recreation center, which citizens have been saying for years that they want.
New taxes have brought funding for streets, parks and stormwater improvements. Because of the geology of the city storm water problems are probably the highest need.
“We probably need to tackle the stormwater problems first. And when we fix the stormwater problems, we need to do it in a way that we don’t have to go back and fix what we do,” Presley said. “When that is completed, we can focus on the other.”
Above all, the new Ward One alderman is hoping that his first year in office will be seen as a year of unity.
“We could use a dose of unity in the city,” he said. “I think all the aldermen have good thoughts about the city and see a bright future for Pacific. We all want the city to remain viable. We won’t always agree on everything and we shouldn’t always agree, but we can remain flexible in our dealings with each other and we can keep moving the city forward.”
Presley said that working with six members of his family, has served as training ground for making sound decisions and remaining on good terms with co-workers. He is a managing partner a Presley’s Glass, where his brother is his partner and his mother is president.
Although family business and city government are not the same, the mechanism for making good decisions is present in both.
“We (family members) have some disagreements but we navigate the discussion pretty well,” he said.
But he said his action, and his discussions with fellow aldermen, will always be guided by what the citizens want the city to do.
“I’ll listen to the other aldermen,” he said. “But in the end I’ll be on the side of what the citizens want.”
Once a decision is made, aldermen can do a lot to generate the support of the citizens, simply by telling them what they plan to do and why.
“The city can do a better job of communicating with residents,” Presley said. “We should explain clearly what we’re planning to do. Government should not work in a bubble. We need to explain ahead of time what we’re planning to do.”
I have to tell you . . . Rick Presley is the fourth candidate for the upcoming election who has has focused on listening to what citizens want. Ward two candidate Jim Cleeve, ward three candidate (unopposed) Scott Lesh and mayoral candidate Heather Filley have all made public comments to that effect. This could be a defining moment in city government.
I have to tell you . . . Two things outside the control of city government have impaired the ability of aldermen to communicate with citizens in the past two years. COVID-19 halted public attendance at city meetings and prevented face to face contact between aldermen and the citizens. And the absence of a community newspaper limited objective reports to the public.
For upfront information, the public was left to rely on the city web page, which reports the city line on issues, or simply does not mention important actions.
And the creeping habit of completing two readings on new bills in one meeting, removed any heads up notice on upcoming city action removing the opportunity for citizens to weigh in prior to a final vote.
For these reasons, I wanted the public to know what could change – and may change – after the April election.
Rick Presley’s thought on his future role at city hall resonates because he didn’t have to say anything. He is unopposed in the election, and in the realm of city government largely unknown. His promise to open up city government is, to say the least, promising. Let’s pay attention.
A Good Man who brings much business experience that I hope will assist Pacific to finally move forward rather than the stagnant state it has been in for quite sometime
The community has so much potential but has never had grass root support
Alderman who listen to the citizens needs instead of telling the citizens what they want or need would be a staggering change in local government in Pacific, or most other towns for that matter.
For the matter of COVID limiting contact, I have found that alderman who won’t return phone messages or e-mails that don’t fit their already made up minds is a more limiting factor.
The new taxes he talked about they are using part of them for the pay raises they gave everyone. And to pay wages for a couple of Park Employees.
Herbie skimmed the cream off the top of several budget sources, to give raises and , to a few an extra dollar an hour bonus, to be able to give raises earlier . the “new parks and storm water tax” turned out to be another P-town misleading scam deal which Herbie turned into his own personal slush fund.
In today’s political climate, it is refreshing to hear that an elected official would actually listen to their constituents and act on them instead of telling the citizens what is good for them.
Government works FOR the citizens not the other way around.
My wife and I moved here 17 years ago thinking the Pacific was going to be the next big thing. Eureka was growing, Washington which is 14 miles off the Interstate is booming and Pacific basically just sat here.
We hear that we need rooftops, but a lot of citizens were irate over the recent addition of a sardine can subdivision in an area with spacious lots. You get the feeling from Washington DC on down to local government that “we know what’s best for you and don’t confuse us with facts or your opinion.
Very disappointing and hopefully some fresh faces at City Hall will alter that course.