Fellow Residents of Silver Bay

As we are approaching election day, I want to say thanks again to those who have donated to my cam­paign and or requested a sign. I hope I didn’t miss anyone. To those of you who invited me into your home for a one-on-one chat, I want you to know how much I appreciate that. I really enjoyed listening to your thoughts/concerns and life long Silver Bay stories. It is also great to know that there are others out there who share in the same small town values as I do. It is re­assuring to know that you are passionate about Silver Bay and care about its fu­ture. So, once again, I say Thank You!

I would like to take a minute to talk about the importance of being able to vote. As you all know, voting is your way of making your voice heard. Every couple of years we get to vote for who we hope will represent us when they get to office and we hope we pick the right candidate that will get the job done. That being said, part of why I am running for office is to allow you to have a vote on any development that goes on in the city and any oth­er big decisions that need to be made. I believe that you know what you want and need and what it is you are willing to pay for. I am also sure that you can tell if you are being scammed and mis­led. The problem you have, is sometimes, by the time you realize this, you cannot do anything about it. This is the reason I believe you should be in charge of your destiny. Now keep in mind that we each have varying ideas about how something should be done, but I think if we work together to solve our city’s issues we can be successful and it will bring our community together at the same time. When ev­eryone has a say about how we should proceed and who is to benefit from making a particular decision, I feel we all win. I feel having 6 or 8 people making deci­sions that the rest of us have to pay for and live with is not the right way to go. While these people should have their say, it should not only be their say. I do not believe you should have to go to each city council meeting, EDA, or planning and zoning meeting to have your say. Most of us just don’t have time for that. I think if you would like to go to those meetings, that is great and you should prob­ably run for office. I think if you feel that you “have to go” to those meetings just to stay informed or try to keep things from going sideways, something else is wrong. This “something else” is what needs to be ad­dressed and by letting you have more control over how or what things are getting done, we should be able to stay on track. I believe this is the answer to how we should run our city. You live here and your opinion matters. Therefore, I feel you should have more of a say than you currently do. If the people in office are unable to, or unwilling to, relate to you and where you came from or what your life experiences are, then they probably will not be able to understand what is actually important to you. I under­stand this because I grew up the same way most of you did, with parents who were always wondering if they were going to be able to pay their bills. Heck, I still won­der that.

Anyway, I would like to see more focus on our res­idents’ needs as opposed to the tourist needs and, while I don’t have a problem with people coming to visit our small town, I do not feel that we need to hand them the keys to it. I also feel that an investor coming to town should bring a plan with him that does not in­clude asking the city for anything except a permit. If it is a good investment plan, nothing more from the city would be needed. I say bring your ideas and pres­ent them and we will let the people decide!

I would like to acknowl­edge the city council for all the hard work and energy that they have put into their positions. They truly have gotten a lot done. That tells me we can do great things. It does make me wonder though, what could have been accomplished if they were being led by some­one who was more focused on residents’ concerns than someone who is chasing the almighty dollar. I am sure if all the time that has been spent on the Boat House project had been spent on the residents’ concerns, that a lot of them could have been resolved by now. We need to refocus our efforts.

With that being said, I ask that you keep in mind the importance of your vote. By that I mean, make sure the people you pick for city council share your views. Your mayor, whoever it ends up being, will not be able to make the needed changes without at least 2 councilors who back your concerns. Please remember how we got here and who were involved. I personal­ly believe we need to start fresh.

One more thing I would like to ask of you. If you know of or are the neighbors to anyone who could use a ride to the polls, please reach out to them and offer them a ride. Their vote matters, as does yours. Oh ya, if you are wondering who I will be voting for, it’s Jensen and Burcum. They both have some great ideas and I think they can help us the most.

Thanks again for your time,
The Underdog, Dean Floen