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July 8, 2004
Cate Hartzell
881 East Main Street
Ashland, Oregon 97520
Ashland Charter Review Committee
Dear Committee members,
I would like to clarify any misunderstanding about my involvement as an initial proponent
or supporter of the Charter Review process. I have not been an advocate of the Council
initiating a Charter review based on suggested changes that some citizens have brought
forward.
Several years ago at a Council goal setting session, Don Laws convinced me that doing
so to make specific changes should be completely citizen-driven. I formally opposed the
last Charter change (loosening ethics standards to State levels). I believe that opening up
the Charter to review is something that, while important to do periodically, should be done
with the utmost and sensitivity.
The Charter Review process is something that has been advocated for by our Mayor and
by a number of citizens (some of them on the Ashland Budget Committee) for the past
several years.
I hope that the Committee decides to invest its time learning from those who last reviewed
the Charter before accepting input from anyone on the pros and cons of any particular
change. I sent staff a list of people who participated in the last process and are still able to
tell us stories!
Thank you for your time on this important committee.
Respectfully,
Cate Hartzell