Some thoughts on why we're voting NO in the effort to recall Mayor Porterfield.

The Mayor is willing and able to discuss with you each point listed on the recall petition, so we won't
address those things. More concerning is the message a recall effort sends to the community. People lead
busy lives and in a small town there are few people to draw from who can commit to being involved in
the community. Mayor Porterfield served for years on the City Council before becoming Mayor. In
addition to that he has lent his hand to many community projects; we worked alongside him into the wee
hours of the morning the day we reopened the library in its new building, as just one example of many.
He has given countless hours of his time to the community. A recall attempt sends the message that the
positive things he has done mean nothing. It tells others who might have considered holding an office or
serving on a committee to stay away, because why would you want to open you and your family up to the
stress of such public criticism.

A recall is to be used as a last resort for serious offenses in public office, and it unavoidably causes unrest
and negativity in the community. While citizens may or may not be happy with his performance, Mayor
Porterfield has done nothing worthy of a recall. What's more, he is up for re-election in November. The
regular election process is a great time for citizens to get involved and to exercise their right to vote. If
our mayor is recalled prior to election time, an interim mayor will be appointed by the City Council, with
no voter input at all.

The nuts and bolts of running a city, even one the size of Notus, are complicated to put together. Like
everyone else we want a safe and well-maintained town, but we saw from Tom's time as public works
director here and his work on the city council that there is much to be learned about the regulations, the
funding, and the processes of running a city. It's time-consuming and specialized work. We can extend
patience to Mayor Porterfield, who is in the trenches dealing with those things, particularly since we don't
feel able to do them ourselves at this time.

Most important to us is the opportunity to live in a strong, supportive, happy community. Trying to recall
a man who has given his time and his well-meaning effort to this town doesn't seem like the way to build
such a community. We would encourage concerned citizens to attend council meetings or to stop in and
speak to Mayor Porterfield at City Hall, to become accurately informed about all aspects of the points on
the recall petition. Then, if you are able, perhaps you can lend some productive ideas to move our
community forward instead of voting yes in a recall which places emphasis on the problems rather than
the potential solutions.

Tom & Ronda Krasowski