Talking Kelso

The Longview City Council has reversed itself, and will now join Kelso in supporting the use of an advisory ballot to gauge citizen interest in exploring a city merger. They had narrowly decided against sending the issue to voters two weeks ago, but with all members present, the resolution passed 5-2.

The ballot will not decide whether we merge, but will simply poll the voters for their interest in considering the issue. For years, I’ve heard some people tell me a merge would never be supported, and others that a silent majority want it to happen. My thought is, the only way to really know what our citizens want is to ask them. Incredible thought, huh?

Once we have the answer, we can either move forward with the merge talks or leave it alone for another decade or more. I’m not as concerned with which way it goes; I’m more interested in just having the answer.

The Longview City Council voted 3-2 against a resolution that would have authorized an advisory vote gauging voter interest in a merger of Kelso & Longview. Without support from both councils, I would have to assume no advisory vote will be taken in November.

It puzzles me that they chose not to take this opportunity to poll voters on what is a polarizing, but relevant topic. Whether you completely hate the idea of municipal consolidation or think it’s the greatest thing ever, it would seem a council member would want to hear what the constituents think. Perhaps they may reconsider the idea when the two missing members are present, but, for now, it seems like the Longview council is unwilling to consider any opinion but their own.

Update: The Longview city council will meet on August 6 to reconsider the advisory vote with all members present.

The council decided this week to support polling the voters to find out your stance on consolidation. While we’re not sure what the exact ballot title will be, the goal will be to get a firm grip on exactly where voters stand on considering a merger of Kelso and Longview.

In the nearly five years I’ve been involved on the council, the issue of consolidation has come up repeatedly. Some people tell me we’re crazy for not merging, and others that we’re crazy for even considering it. My hope is that with this advisory vote, we can settle the issue for a while, at least. The results hopefully can help us “either [defecate] or get off the pot,” in the edited words of several constituents.

By authorizing this advisory ballot, the council wasn’t taking a position on the issue. I would suspect that just as the community has different opinions on the topic, the council does, too. The one thing it was easy to agree on is that input from the community is invaluable in determining the right path for this process.