ELECTION: Tacoma needs more leaders like Ibsen

Last Tuesday, citizen after citizen approached the Tacoma City Council to voice their concerns about Tacoma Public Utilities Director Bill Gaines. The overwhelming majority called him dishonest, denounced his illegal attempt to sell off our Click Network and demanded his termination.

The council’s response was to ignore the people and reconfirm Gaines for another two years (TNT, 9-23). One lone dissenter stood his ground: Anders Ibsen.

Ibsen stands in stark contrast to most City Council members, and that’s a good thing. His positions, as his personality, are characterized by transparency and straight talk. He reaches out to the community, listens and acts on our behalf.

You may not agree with every one of his positions, but you know they’re his. He speaks his mind, and that can’t be bought. Ibsen is a much-needed voice on the City Council, and I urge all residents of District 1 to re-elect him Nov. 3.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 12:57 PM with the headline "ELECTION: Tacoma needs more leaders like Ibsen."