Zita silenced by Downing and McGregor

I attended the recent five hour Port of Olympia meeting. The night before, I attended a prayer meeting at Percival Landing, led by local tribal members. It was in support of the water protectors at Standing Rock, North Dakota. Over 50 people listened to each other’s concerns with respect and patience. Our community standard is one of respect for the beliefs and opinions of all citizens.

At the Monday port meeting, Commissioners Joe Downing and Bill McGregor rejected an agenda item submitted by Commissioner EJ Zita and successfully tabled her discussion regarding importing fracking sand. Neither Bill nor Joe wanted to discuss the issue which was why many of us had come to this meeting. The item was removed from the agenda and not discussed.

Downing and McGregor’s votes silenced Zita by not allowing public discussion and public comment in response to her agenda item of Olympia’s anti-fracking resolutions. Bill and Joe need to acknowledge that the port is involved when a train hauling proppants moves through the city. Their silence on the issue is undemocratic and disrespectful of the beliefs and opinions of Thurston citizens.

The port should definitely meet with the city in a public meeting to discuss how the decisions made by our port impact our city and our city police. As said by a young woman at a previous port meeting, “We care about the world, and we care about the future. All we ask is that you care about our future too!”

This story was originally published December 20, 2016 at 6:29 PM with the headline "Zita silenced by Downing and McGregor."