Next Tuesday, October 28, three new Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members will participate in their first assembly meeting.
Outgoing members Charlie Pierce, Hal Smalley, and Bill Smith offered advice to incoming members.
Pierce: “I think all too often folks are so worried about being politically correct but I think politically correct is a problem, there’s nothing wrong with being polite and courteous with folks but I think in America what we need to do is start standing up for our core values and core beliefs and let that be the guide.”
Smalley: “Come with an open mind and be ready and willing to listen, compromise is not a bad word, you may find that in the details of an issue there are some things that you can support and some things you can’t support.”
Smith: “You really listen to what people have to say. A lot of times people may say you’re not listening to us, but the reality is that when they say that they are giving us the definition they use with their children, listen to me in other words obey me. But the assembly does listen.”
Homer seat Kelly Cooper, Sterling seat Stan Welles, and Kenai seat Blaine Gilman were sworn in on October 14.