jacoblund
I felt sorry for my city councilor, Dennis Bidwell, and Mayor David Narkewicz on Thursday as two letter writers lambasted them for their ideas and opinions.
All Councilor Bidwell was trying to do is explain his feelings about the issue. And the mayor was trying to bring together citizens with differing opinions.
Unfortunately, the letter writers treated them as the opposing side rather than people discussing important issues. The letters railed about all the things that were wrong — as is all too common in the current environment — without admitting that there are positive or, at least, reasonable, arguments on both sides.
When I’ve spoken these past weeks with Northampton residents, what I’ve heard is citizens who are either not yet very engaged in the subject or who are intimidated into not speaking, or those who cannot decide because both sides have valid points.
I love reading Bill Newman’s columns and listening to him on the radio and agree with much of what he clearly outlined as the risks of more cameras.
I also agree with those people who respect Police Chief Jody Kasper and the expertise in the Police Department and appreciate her trying to have the police do their job well and in our interest. I acknowledge that the world is a more dangerous place and we don’t have all the answers on what to do about it.
The real question is which piece of legislation most serves the citizens of Northampton? Is it the original ordinance the City Council passed or the revised version suggested by Mayor Narkewicz? I feel Narkewicz has proven that he has a broad sense of the city and its citizens. His revised ordinance softens the original, in addition to making it more comprehensive. And more importantly, it acknowledges that both sides are right, not which side is wrong.
I would also suggest that the view of the letter writers and, unfortunately, some of the councilors, is more narrow.
Robert Rechtschaffen
Northampton
