Where's Bob?

Ketchikan Daily News
In Our Opinion

Where's Bob?

... on CNN (twice) and in the Los Angeles Times, Anchorage Daily News and many other national media and blog venues.

In fact, it's been hard not to find our City of Ketchikan mayor enjoying the national spotlight.
Ever since Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced his selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, the national media have beaten a path to Mayor Bob Weinstein's cell phone.

They want to know, of course, how Ketchikan views Palin in light of her positions and eventual quashing of the state's preferred alternative for the Gravina Access project.

As one of Ketchikan's two elected mayors, Weinstein is an appropriate spokesperson to provide an accurate, nuanced perspective that represents the Ketchikan community on the subject.
But that's not what Weinstein has delivered.

Instead, the mayor is leading a partisan attack for the National Democratic Party against Palin over the "Bridge to Nowhere" and now the "Road to Nowhere" on Gravina Island.

The mayor, a long-standing Democrat and a campaign operative for former Gov. Tony Knowles during Knowles' 2006 run against Palin, is working with Knowles directly in a Barack Obama campaign group called "Alaska Mythbusters" to damage the credibility of Gov. Palin.

As a citizen, Weinstein has the right to express his opinions. However, carrying the title of mayor to CNN or the L.A. Times is harmful if his purpose is partisan hackery instead of representing the community.

The media are contacting Weinstein because he's the mayor. He's certainly identified as the mayor in the resulting stories. Who, then, does the average reader or viewer believe Weinstein speaks for?

The "Bridge to Nowhere" portrayal as national laughingstock is being re-enforced by our mayor's effort to destroy Palin in large part through discrediting federal earmarks that would have built the project.

His jabs at Palin over the Gravina bridge and road claim she's been disingenuous on those issues. We feel the mayor is guilty of the same offense, since he continues to serve on a local community government that promotes support for both projects.
I
n that regard, pardon us if we don't thank Mayor Weinstein for joining the rest of the country in deriding Ketchikan as a national joke.

Mayor Weinstein should take this high-profile opportunity to defend Ketchikan, the town that's elected him mayor four times and placed confidence and trust in him.

Step up, Mayor Weinstein, and say it's not a "Bridge to Nowhere." Explain to CNN and the L.A. Times why a bridge is necessary. That's something we believe every past Ketchikan political and civic leader who began the bridge push more than 30 years ago would be doing right now.

Mayor Weinstein should remember he represents the City of Ketchikan whenever he's referred to by his title.

We hope he comes back to represent us soon.