Letter: Tom McCall is watching

Published 12:15 am Thursday, July 25, 2024

Thank you for sharing the great guest column, “The little village that could?” July 11, about the Cannon Beach City Council’s attempt to create a $33.6 million debt-spending package without seeking voter approval.

Watt Childress writes about it eloquently and thoroughly. He quotes Gov. Tom McCall’s famous speech from more than 50 years ago about conservation of limited natural resources and taxpayer dollars, and that bears repeating:

“The interests of Oregon for today and in the future must be protected from the grasping wastrels of the land. We must respect another truism — that unlimited and unregulated growth leads inexorably to a lowered quality of life.”

I could hear Gov. McCall’s voice reading Childress’s guest column to me.

And I know that Governor Tom was speaking loud enough for Cannon Beach City Hall to hear.

DAVID FREI

Seattle