I led SOS Pool's campaign to reopen Silver Lake Pool for the 2004 summer season. Of the hundreds of people I talked with, only one was opposed to public swimming pools. This was a popular cause and a personally rewarding success.
However, this achievement belongs to our entire community. From elementary students with pennies to the pooled resources of service, labor and law enforcement organizations. From spare change to carefully planned larger gifts from individuals and businesses.
The Rochester City Council unanimously expressed chagrin over the pool's threatened closure, which brought home to many the reality of threats to our quality of life brought on by budget cutting. No single council member stands out as being more or less supportive of Silver Lake Pool.
Citizens should know that the threat of pool closure occurred because of state budget cuts and subsequent Local Government Aid cuts to Rochester.
Such budget crises aren't inevitable but result from recent Republican tax initiatives that direct majority benefits to the top few percent. So, while it's tempting to blame local officials, the cause and fairest solutions don't rest on our local government. For all of these reasons, using the pool in our city council election is misleading.
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Heidi; Granstrom
Rochester;
