Just now I finally got caught up with yesterday’s e-mail, and found this message:
Dear Sirs and Madam:Your editorial today endorsed Runyon, and your
comments are not fair to me, nor to the city. My international background will
bring unique and broader vision and solutions to our City. I’m not motivated by
the zoning issue, but by my urge to contribute and get involved. The city
council should be diversified/open-minded, and not to be self-absorbed and not
to treat the minorities as invisibles.The most important issues for this campaign
should get our city council think out of the box, but not just to get another
one who thinks alike. To me, all the other candidates talked about the same
issues, and suggested the same remedies.Lea Walker, President
(US) Chinese Culture Center
Ms. Walker (pictured above) is one of the four candidates running for the at-large seat on Columbia City Council. I still hope to get around to posting something from our meeting with her before this thing’s over. If you’ll notice, I haven’t posted anything on our meeting with the guy we endorsed, either. I did put up something from our meeting with Daniel Rickenmann, but it wasn’t nearly as complete as what I’ve done on Brian Boyer and Belinda Gergel.
Unfortunately, those kinds of posts are very time-consuming (I stayed very late doing the Rickenmann and Gergel ones), and when things get busy around here, putting out the editorial pages comes first.
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Does Ms. Walker honestly think that getting out council to “think outside of the box” is the “most important” issue facing City Council? To me that demonstrates a lack of understanding about the problems facing Columbia. I think our city’s financial problems, problems with crime, and even the issue with the homeless are all much more important.
I would also say that getting our council to think outside of the box is not an “issue” but a way to respond to issues. But it’s also possible that I misread the meaning behind the comment given the horrible syntax.
As for her comment about treating the “minorities as invisibles,” I am not sure what she is referring to since she didn’t follow it up with more detail (is she talking about the current minority members of city council, the minority candidates, or minorities in Columbia?). If she is referring to herself as a minority candidate, I would say that being treated as an invisible is warranted when you practically are one. Until today I have never even heard of her or knew she was running. I have not seen one yard sign for her and could not find a campaign web site so I could see what her stance on the issues is, so she might as well be invisible. I know some candidates don’t have $100,000 to spend on a campaign, but if you can’t represent yourself to the bare minimum, how are you supposed to represent an entire city? A web site could be thrown up for as little as $300.
Lastly, I read a campaign statement by you at columbia-chinese.com where you stated “Currently Daniel Rickenmann’s (White male, restaurant owner) term will be over.” Why the need to refer to Rickenmann as “white male?” Based on the rest of the article, it seems to imply that Rickenmann’s race had something to do with your zoning problems. What if he referred to you in a statement as “Chinese lady?”
Overall, I do not want to elect someone to City Council who is motivated by an agenda, but rather someone who is motivated by a desire for public service. You do not seem like you could effectively represent our city or serve without bias.
Someone should investigate Mrs Walkers Scandelous business practices. Last summer she scammed thousands of dollars from young students aspiring to teach in China. Then when she could not place them at schools, she came up with the excuse that it was the swine flu. These students found positions with another organization at which time Ms. Walker refused to return their passports and their money. I believe that Ms. Walker intends to use her position to promote her own personal agenda and I also believe that she is a racist.