I'd like to thank you and the others who organized last night's summit. As
a citizen who cares very much about the region, I appreciate the chance to
learn about such diverse aspects of its development. The meeting in Pullman
was on-time, on-track, and professional.
To make the Moscow meeting even better, I have one suggestion. Lynn
Cameron wrote in a letter to the editor, "If there ever was a time to speak
up and contribute your viewpoint to a vital dialog that will affect us all,
this is it . . . Each opinion counts." In contrast, one of the Pullman
meeting organizers said to a colleague and me afterwards, "We went with the
card format [whereby people with questions had to write them down and pass
them forward,] to keep things from getting too fiesty." But fiesty is
good, just as democracy is messy! And I hope that's what Lynn meant in his
letter to the editor. You allocated a healthy 45 minutes to questions last
night. Can you do the same in Moscow but allow citizens to truly speak up?
I'm sure such a format would invite a much fiestier -- and democratic --
public contribution!
Thanks again for your good work. I look forward to Thursday's summit in
Moscow.
Sincerely,
Priscilla Salant
812 E. 7th Street
Moscow