Koenninger Blows it: Opinion - New Hilton victory for mayor, city

There are few people in Southwest Washington so out of touch with reality as Tom Koenninger… and this puff-piece extolling the Taliban City Council of Vancouver and their Mayor, Mullah Pollard’s crushing of democracy in their march towards progress serves to cement that perspective.

The conduct of Pollard and his cronies has been nothing less than despicable in this drive to ignore the will of the people because they falsely believe their judgment is superior to the judgment of those they would govern.

Other political leaders have had that perspective in the past. Everyone from Genghis Kahn through Idy Amin of Ugandan fame has had the exact, same perspective.

Other, more sinister types have been the head cheerleaders for despots in world history.

The role played by Mr. Koenninger, however, is a little subtler. He has advocated that the Taliban City Government of Vancouver crush opposition to their efforts, and supported their contemptible plans to not only ignore, but also belittle and attack those wise enough to see this for the financial disaster it will certainly become.

And in the end, history has not been kind… either to the despots in question… or their cheerleaders.

Were it in my power, I would lead a committee of the outraged in protest of this gargantuan, unwanted and unneeded money pit… and do everything I could to get those responsible out of any position of authority as a result. This culmination of the sorriest episode in local political history is nothing to celebrate. It is, instead, something to feel ashamed over.




Opinion - New Hilton victory for mayor, city

Wednesday, June 15, 2005
TOM KOENNINGER editor emeritus of The Columbian

Although just outside its boundaries, dedication ceremonies for the adjacent Hilton Vancouver Washington hotel and convention center at 10:30 this morning will mark yet another milestone in a multitude of milestones for Vancouver's downtown core: Esther Short Park.

The park, established in 1853 and the Northwest's oldest, has emerged from the shadows to become a shining example of how a city can rebuild and refresh its heart.

Dignitaries former Gov. Gary Locke and Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard will undoubtedly wax eloquently about the "ugly chick-to-swan" metamorphosis of the park. They will extol its virtues and venues for the public good. They will praise its benefactors and workers and ordinary citizens for the role they played in the park's transformation.

More...