[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written by a verified resident. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The SeaTac Blog, nor its staff:]

I am disappointed with our SeaTac Mayor

Council Member Simpson ~

I am writing this email to you, but I am also forwarding a copy to The SeaTac Blog as a ‘Letter To The Editor’ so that the people who elected you are aware of your recent ‘faux pas’ while performing your duties as our appointed Mayor (which, by the way you are an appointed Mayor…you are NOT an elected Mayor and you must stop introducing yourself as any version of an elected mayor, i.e. when you say you are the youngest elected mayor…there is a huge difference between an appointed Mayor and an elected Mayor and you need to understand the differences):

Flag Salute
At our Feb. 8th Council Meeting, when you led our Council in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag, your microphone was muted. When you returned back on camera and were informed of the technological mistake you commented ‘It’s a good thing we all know the words’. At that moment, I agreed with your comment and accepted that this was nothing more than an oversight on your part.  But then at our next Council Meeting on Feb. 22nd, when you recited the Flag Salute and your mic was not muted, you left out the word ‘indivisible’ from the salute. I don’t know if this was intentional or not.

If it was unintentional, you owe the citizens of SeaTac an open apology, which you should give at our next upcoming Council Meeting. In addition, you should assure us that you have refreshed your memory and that you now do, in fact, know the words. To assist with your memory refreshment, here are the words:

If your omission was purposeful, then you have desecrated our Pledge of Allegiance. You do not have the right to do this when you are acting in the capacity of our Mayor, and you owe not only the citizens of SeaTac but the citizens of our entire nation an apology.  The word ‘indivisible’ is included because it means something. Thousands and thousands of people have given a portion of their lives to defend this allegiance, and every single one of us alive today living within the borders of the United States of America benefit from the freedoms this allegiance honors. Do not spit on the graves of those who lost their lives defending our nation, do not spit on the feet of those who were maimed or injured doing so, and do not spit in the faces of those who spent time out of their lives to insure our democracy and freedoms. If this allegiance doesn’t mean anything to you, then you do not deserve to represent the citizens that it does mean something to.

Closing Comments
At our Feb.  22nd Council Meeting, during your closing comments, you stated:

As a Mayor, and as a worker, and as a human being, I will unequivocally and unapologetically stand with any workers organizing …

In the United States of America, as a worker and as a human being, you have the right to express your support for any group of people doing anything you choose to support, but you do NOT have this right as our Mayor.  You could have easily made it very clear at the beginning of your statement that you were going to say something that you believe as a worker and as a human being, and then proceeded with your statement of support.

You must be cognizant of what authority you have as an elected Council Member who is also serving at this moment as an appointed Mayor ~ you have no more authority to speak for the citizens of SeaTac than any other elected Council Member has.

– Vicki Lockwood

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