Gadfly’s actions don’t come cheap

Dear Editor:

Toni Kronberg advises that she is intent on fostering a referendum to oppose the Art Museum approved by City Council. She needs to revisit her middle school civics. This is a representative democracy, not a direct one.

We elect officials as our representatives to study public issues, inform themselves, receive public comment, deliberate in open forum, consider the matter and then make decisions. If we don’t like their decisions, we vote them out of office; we do not just single out specific decisions and make those the topic of costly elections.

It is a waste of our public money (which is tight these days), and of our time, to have these nonsensical ballot issues over matters decided by the very people we elect to decide them. Toni seems to miss that very basic point.

And, let’s be reminded of her track record:

• The unsightly recycle center near the skate board park was to have been a tasteful, enclosed recycling facility – paid for largely with developer funds – until Toni decided it was a “park.” A petition with election followed and we now have Toni’s Trash Dump – no “park.”

• The building next to US Bank, on Main Street, was offered in part – without cost – as a Visitors Center and ACRA offices. But Toni also decided that was a “park” (as it was simply undeveloped at the time). Her petition and an election followed. We lost all public benefit and now have an office/condo building with no public amenities – and no “park.”

Toni needs to let our elected leaders make the decisions, and run for election if she thinks she can do better. The rest of us need to be mindful of the consequences of her wasteful petitions and the public cost to all of us.

Enough is enough!

James DeFrancia

Aspen