Letter: City’s neglect of road in low-income area troubling

Editor,

Your Wednesday, Jan. 5 editorial on the city’s mismanagement of Oak Harbor’s road project was very good. We’ve lived over 16 years near Northeast Seventh Avenue and have often wondered if the city’s neglect at providing both sidewalks and lighting had anything to do with the lower incomes of folks living adjacent to this road. The developers who jockey for posts on the council also is troubling.

I’m a retired journalist who worked over 10 years on dailies in San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento and have seen this pattern of developers getting on councils at the expense of what citizens actually prefer. I hope too the council rethinks its proposed purchase of that abstract can opener artwork that would be better suited for Campbell Soup Company.

John McLain

Oak Harbor