Leach Statement
Dear Editor: I am a service-connected disabled U.S. Army veteran. When I was commissioned as an Army officer, I took a solemn oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. I did not abandon that oath when I was honorably discharged. The Sitka city manager, John Leach, took a similar oath when he was commissioned in the U.S. Coast Guard as did each of our Assembly members. Yet, in the Sitka Sentinel, on September 15, 2023, John Leach, used the local newspaper as a bully pulpit in an attempt to convince Sitkans to voluntarily give up our rights under the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. In so doing, he attacked one of the pillars of our democratic republic.
First Amendment:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Since his “public statement” was not published via a Letter to the Editor, and doesn’t appear to be a political ad, I would like to know if this was an official city Assembly authorized policy statement. Or, did Mr. Leach use his position as Sitka city manager to lend credibility to his personal opinion?
In any event, Mr. Leach wants us to leave it to him and city government to fix the external diseconomies associated with crowding and cruise ships (e.g., interstate buses driving on the roundabout and dominating intersections while turning, restricted access to public facilities, air, noise and water pollution, traffic jams and public safety (it took over 30 minutes last September 2022 for my wife to break through the downtown blockade to get me to the Emergency Room at SEARHC). Thank goodness my injuries (concussion, abrasions, neck, shoulder and knee strains) turned out not to be life threatening. But, what if I had been having a bleeding concussion, stroke or heart attack?
So, I’m not convinced that Mr. Leach, and the city government, are capable of fixing problems that they blithely sat back and let happen. I fear that failed 18th century laisez faire economics has reared it’s ugly head again in Sitka.
Furthermore, America citizens tell the government what to do, instead of the government dictating to the citizens. I urge you to sign the petition to have a special election addressing the regulation of cruise ship tourism in Sitka, and then vote, yea or nay, in the election. Exercise your right to have a say on the future of Sitka and tourism. Or, submit to John Leach’s authority and follow orders from on high.
Dr. Ronald E. Dick, Sitka
