The link below is the letter that was edited and published in The Daily Astorian May 10, 2013.
Walmart Welcomed
 |
| Clatsop County Residents Against Walmart, a useless organization. |
I’m certain the unheard majority of Northwest Oregonians
hope Walmart doesn’t give up on the idea of moving here, but you wonder how
long they’ll endure the hate groups who want to stop them. Liquefied natural
gas, the coal facility in Longview, Wash., the chance to level the old and ugly
outdated hotel at the Port of Astoria and build a brand new motel with a
beautifully landscaped green belt walk way, have been derailed – now Walmart.
It’s unbelievable how these small groups of local/state
bureaucrats, and a very loud, vocal minority of Walmart haters jumping up and
down, with the help of groups with names like the Oregon Land Use Board of
Appeals and
Clatsop Residents Against Walmart (CRAW), keep from improving our
community. Their primary goal is always to halt businesses and jobs, and thus
much needed tax revenue from coming to our area.
The wetlands permitting process is a complete joke. They let
Home Depot, Costco, Taco Bell, Lum’s Auto Center, two auto parts stores, and a
strip mall be built in wetland areas near Warrenton. But Walmart? Oh no, they
have to have this kind of store front and have this many bicycle racks, and on
and on.
They invent anything – any ridiculous attempt to stop them –
not because they’re worried about wetlands, but because they want us to
continue to be held hostage by Fred Meyer and Safeway and their outrageously
high prices. Small towns and small businesses in cities like Astoria must
evolve. The mom and pop stores don’t offer the choices or the prices low-income
earners need to support their families.
The Daily Astorian’s bleeding heart editorial pieces, and
the letters to the editor by many readers, are always quick to point how the
school district, the college, the public transportation system, the “this
program” and “that program” need taxpayer funding – but they, along with this
small loud minority, continue to stop any attempts of business from taking
root.
Instead, the answer is always to swamp us working people
with higher taxes, not to solicit business and the jobs and tax revenue they
would generate. The Warrenton City Planning Commission needs to be replaced
with members who understand that courting business, not bending to these
groups, is what’s needed. If not, the store that will turn the highest profit
may be Goodwill, another brand-new structure built near the same wetlands these
Walmart haters are crying about.
I guess I’ll continue to take the one-hour car ride every
two or three weeks, and take my money to Longview or to Vancouver, Wash.,
Walmart to save money on toiletries, clothes and groceries, like I’ve been
doing since I moved here in 2007. Thanks, Oregon.
