To the Editor:
I am having flashbacks to when my dad, Herb Johnson, was on the Cloquet City Council. It is the same thing today as it has been for years. Some Cloquet police always whining about something they don't like or don't want to do. They will not be happy until they get someone they can control as police chief. They now have a mayor who was once one of them and a council member who is a good friend to many.
Problems between the police union and city administration are nothing new.
We lost Wade Lamirande to retirement and Terry Hill, who should have replaced him, to retirement months later. Now we lost Brian Fritsinger, city administrator for 18 years. Who did they all have to deal with on a daily basis? The Cloquet police, basically the police union.
Some people think those who don't live in Cloquet have no right being concerned or expressing their opinions. These people shop, work, have friends and family and/or kids in schools in Cloquet. They certainly have a right to express their thoughts.
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I hope everyone who has the right to vote in Cloquet remembers what is happening now, as the mayor and some council positions are up for re-election in November 2018. We need to have our mayor and council able to work together for a better Cloquet and not the divisiveness we are experiencing now. We need elected officials who can't be bullied and don't have an agenda.
It was wise of the city to make the change to no city employees on the city council. This eliminates the possibility of a conflict of interest between their employment and the community.
I think the city council should develop a policy requiring any city councilor and the mayor to recuse themselves from any discussion and votes involving past or present employers or business acquaintances plus friends and family.
Lea Ann Walsh
Cloquet
