Dear Fire Department Employees (every single one of you including the Chief),

Some of you have had the extreme misfortune of innocently walking into political cross-fire between the Mayor and the Highlands Community Association. Because of the lingering distrust between these parties, every email, invitation, interaction, RSVP, etc is viewed with extreme suspicion right now.

I, and the other members of the City Council that attended the HCA Picnic, are absolutely confident that you had the very best intentions for the Highlands Community, the city overall, and to your employer as you managed your events calendars on September 23, the day of the HCA picnic. I feel that any further review of your actions is a waste of money, as it seems painfully obvious to me that there were conflicting directions and expectations being transmitted down to you from elsewhere in city hall. I am also confident that Sandel Demastus of HCA acted in good faith and with due-diligence as she scheduled the firefighters visit to HCA’s wonderful picnic.

Thanks for your continued excellent service to our community.

Randy Corman

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Dear Community-

At this point, there is only one simple thing missing, and that needs to come directly from the Mayor, not from the firefighters.

If the Mayor is not surprised that Renton firefighters missed the picnic, she should be honest about that, and accept responsibility for any role she had.

If she regrets that Renton Firefighters missed the picnic, she should say so, and apologize to the citizens of HCA.

Regardless of how people felt about our former Mayor Jesse Tanner (a personal friend of mine), you could count on honesty and candor from him. He would have said something like…”you bet I cancelled the firefighters visit to your picnic…I don’t recognize your association and I don’t even like you that much…” or he may have said…”Nope, it was not me, but I can’t say I really care” …or “No, I didn’t cancel it. While I disagree on our politics, I won’t micro-manage my department and I won’t disappoint kids.” And everyone would have believed him.

By comparison, Mayor Keolker’s management approach shifts the blame, questions, and hurt feelings to members of her staff who do not need or deserve it. While Jesse could be a bit loud sometimes, Mayor Keolker’s silence feels deafening by comparison.