Councilor Messer, enough is enough

Editor:
    I was appalled at Councilor Messer’s vitriolic response to Allison Bertsch’s recent letter.
    Is it not enough that we have to listen to him expound his personal opinion on every single subject at council meetings? And then his near weekly editorial columns? Now, even after the fact, we are subject to his personal tirades against someone who just happens to disagree with him.
    Is Councilor Messer so obsessed about being “right” and winning every issue that he cannot accept one other person’s diverse opinion? Even after the election…come on, enough’s enough.
    I suppose in “Messerville” only one person’s opinion matters. (“The mighty Oz has spoken.”) No alternative thoughts are entertained or even considered. All citizens are equal – however, in true Orwellian spirit – those that agree with Oz are obviously quite a bit more equal than others.
    Whether Allison pays taxes or not is irrelevant. Does that make her one of the less equal? You can be sure her parents have paid their property taxes in Scarborough for many years. Or, perhaps this means that Councilor Messer’s children will be forbidden to vote or express their opinion until they pay taxes.
    Thankfully, for the time being anyway, this is still Scarborough.
    All residents should have the right to express any opinion without being berated by one of their elected officials. Allison is a resident of this community and should not be subjected to Councilor Messer’s venom. His response was completely uncalled for and in extremely bad taste.
    One thing can be said about Councilor Messer though – he may sometimes be wrong, however, he is never, ever in doubt!

Linwood M. Higgins
Scarborough

Thank you, Jeff Messer, for being ‘straightforward’ and ‘candid’

Editor:
     A letter to the editor last week criticized Jeff Messer for both the tone and the frequency of his submissions to the Scarborough Leader.
    I would like to thank Jeff Messer for his straightforward and candid commentary that often appears in your paper. His factual explanation of the school construction proposals helped me make a decision on Election Day. 
    It’s not easy to lay out facts in such a clear and concise manner, and Jeff consistently does just that. In fact, that’s what leaders should do, and I am glad he is representing the taxpayers of Scarborough.
     While that may offend some folks, I find it to be a refreshing change to the double speak and political jargon that we are subjected to on a daily basis.

Roy Lenardson
Scarborough