Am I the only one murmuring the "R" word? If so, then an obvious question would be: What WOULD it take for a reasonable person to begin thinking "Recall"?

Even if we offered Mayor Rowe the benefit of the doubt and assume that many small towns run their governments in a similar and "cavalier" fashion, we believe Mayor Rowe & Company have exceeded the boundary of merely gross incompetence. Recent events indicate a natural proclivity, even a talent, for pushing the envelope to seam-ripping proportions.

Events within the last 18 months give ample reasons for a recall, not only of Mayor C. H. Rowe, but of Councilmember Jim Porter as well:

Wagley's Creek Debacle:
The $2.5 million originally-priced LID project has surely doubled because of last year's fiasco in mindlessly trampling the conditions of the EDA grant, every federal, and state permit and countless environmental laws, during its construction. This additional expense is forcing the city to recommend squeezing as much economic development density as possible into what they euphemistically refer to as the "Industrial Park" in order to try to gain a profit out of a lost cause. It has become the equivalent of the Cinderella ugly Stepsister routine, "I'll just make it fit."

Conflicts of Interest:
Let's not overlook the special interests being served by the construction of this LID in the middle of a wetland and other environmentally-sensitive areas better suited to a nature preserve than a shopping center. Who in town is naïve enough to believe the mayor and other councilmembers have no financial interests at stake?

Environmental Violations:
Literally countless violations of federal, state, county and local codes and laws regarding stream and wetland buffers have been scorned, too numerous to detail. The Mayor and Councilmember Porter are both on record against the new salmon regulations and other environmental issues. They then have proceeded to flaunt them by selective perception of non-enforcement.

Selection Process of Cindy Broughton:
One of the first items on Mayor Rowe's agenda was to elect Cindy Broughton as a Councilmember, behind closed doors during an executive session.

Facilitator Choice for 2000 Retreat:
Rowe's questionable selection of a facilitator with a shady past to run the 2000 council retreat caused headlines and more tongue-wagging.

Placement of Tourist Center/Waterfall Park:
Campaign contributions to Mayor Rowe's election by Wendell Smith throws some light on the placement and location issues of this park.

Willows Trace and Eagle Ridge Code "Irregularities":
There were countless code "accommodations" during the design and construction phase of each of these projects, which gave the impression the City was "winging" it without benefit of a unified development code.

City Hall:
Although the design and construction of this "Taj Mahal" building, doggedly pursued over residents' outcries, was not supported by Mayor Rowe, it smacks of the "Let-them-eat-cake" government mentality that has carried through, and amplified by his administration. A government not just hooked on welfare (as evidenced by its endless requests for grants), but proud of it. This city should die of shame for spending $2.0 million-plus on a building with more style than substance, reminiscent more of Rome than of Concord, in a town using residents' lower economic status to beg for federal table scraps.

Bill Trippett Resignation and State Auditor's "Report":
Rowe and Porter's conflicts of interest were at the heart of the misdirection of a routine state audit already in progress during Mayor Rowe's election. Mr. Trippett incurred the wrath of certain individuals when he attempted to bring to light questionable activities by city officials, among them: Jim Porter's impending removal from the city council for failure to attend meetings of the council; that Mayor Broughton had moved out of the city and thus was not entitled to remain as its mayor; that then-Councilmember Rowe had illegally subdivided certain property in Sultan and structured a transaction in such a way as to defraud the state and county out of property taxes, etc. An independent accounting firm has issued a report on the state auditor's report, the results of which do not reflect well on the Auditor's "conclusions."

Eagle Ridge Business Center:
Three residential lots in Eagle Ridge magically transformed themselves into a retail and commercial "business center" in the middle of a rural environment in early summer, supporting the City's "rule by decree" and stating that a public hearing unnecessary. At the urging of a unanimous decision by the Planning Commission, assisted by public outcry for a public hearing on this issue, the city attorney's decision contradicted the City's and Mayor Rowe's plans for this facility, which many believe was a cornerstone for commercial use "pollution" into a heretofore pastoral environment.

Roy Bysegger:
Mayor Rowe hired Mr. Bysegger even though he was aware of the future City Administrator's unsavory and questionable background, without giving councilmembers even the simple courtesy of communicating the details of his past.

Selection of Planning Commission Members:
The Mayor's choice of two recently-appointed members of the PC, one a developer, one a realtor, in favor of two eminently qualified individuals, is suspect, at the least. The current aggressively pro-development make-up of the Mayor, certain members on the Council and now the Planning Commission, sets up a slam-dunk for development that would be the envy of any basketball aficionado.

Acceptance of Garth York's Intent to Annex:
The Council's acceptance of Mr. York's intent to annex 40 acres south of 124^th Street SE, even though they voted it down resoundingly in mid-July, 2000, is nothing short of astounding. While the decision to accept the intent to annex was a council decision, the item was accepted for inclusion on the council agenda as a result of the Mayor's overall development strategy.

Scope of Authority of City Attorney:
The City currently appears to be operating defacto under the advice and counsel of the city attorney, at the pleasure and behest of Mayor Rowe. This is not difficult to understand, given the current litigious environment created by the Mayor's leadership by personal desire, rather than by existing law?

Most condemning of all, of course, is that Mayor Rowe, Councilmember Porter and others on the Council have designed and implemented a "scorched earth" policy of unrestrained development within the City of Sultan under the Mayor's questionable leadership, which has resulted, at the least, in:

• Exceeding the GMA target city-wide population for the year 2012;
• An intent and plan to transform the wetlands, the stream buffer of Wagley's Creek and steep slopes north of Route 2 into a concrete jungle;
• Exacerbating and encouraging further development by accepting a proposal by a developer (Shockey-Brent, Inc.) to extend Sultan's UGA further north. This would position 20 acres to be incorporated into the City, while simultaneously rezoning this land from its current RU-5 zone to a low-density, paving the way for more destructive development. (We understand that at the present time the County is even considering halting further UGA land incorporations.)

We suggest that if Mayor Rowe and Councilmember Porter are not recalled NOW, our town will have little quality of life left to save by the time they are voted out of office in 2003. We need to move quickly and decisively. "Doing nothing is NOT an option."