At the Oct. 14 Pizza and Politics forum, Martha Burke alluded to outside parties trying to influence Hailey politics. I believe I understand what she was referring to and feel that Hailey voters should be aware of this as well.
In early September, a few days before the deadline to file for city council election, I attended a meeting in Hailey organized by non-resident commercial real estate interests, the main organizer being an associate of Tony St. George in the firm of John Alan Partners. The purpose of this meeting was to find a candidate that agreed with their agenda to run for Hailey City Council. In exchange, this candidate was promised full campaign support.
It was also mentioned that they were already running candidates in Ketchum and Sun Valley. Mr. St. George was not at this particular meeting, but it is clear he is the candidate backed by this group.
Although it is not uncommon for outside groups to support local candidates, this is the first time that I've witnessed such blatant outside political manipulation in Hailey. Although I have no reason to question Mr. St. George's integrity or character, I do question his judgment in accepting this role.
Having attended 80 to 90 percenmt of Hailey's City Council meetings in the last three years, I believe the current council is doing it's best to look out for the interest of Hailey residents. Although I don't always agree with them, I have never seen any evidence that our current members hold any hidden agendas.
Personally, I feel that Martha Burke's long history of public service, strong involvement with airport relocation and in depth knowledge of local issues makes her the best candidate at this time. I also feel this is a good opportunity to send a message to future groups from outside the city who would like to influence Hailey government.
What Hailey voters need to ask themselves is: Will Mr. St. George look after the interest of Hailey citizens or will he represent a small group of outside commercial real estate individuals pushing their agenda?
Peter Lobb
Hailey
