The root of division is the Sandpoint mayor

In 2012, my family chose Sandpoint as its new home. We found the people friendly, the town inviting and safe, and where we could express ourselves without repercussion.

Fast forward to 2020, where the seeds of division — planted early in his first term with labels like “Nazi” and “racist” for describing the good people of our region whose only sin is holding opposing views — are being further sown by Sandpoint’s mayor: in solidarity with the extremists who’ve forcefully commandeered several city blocks in Seattle, he’s hopped into lockstep with the stokers of the manufactured crises plaguing our country — including embracing the Marxist communist, anti-Semitic, authoritarian, “we want dead cops and we want them now”-chanting organization, “Black Lives Matter.” Like BLM, the mayor insists, even when presented with evidence from people of color and ethnicity who claim our town is the same inviting town I know, rejects it, electing instead to see racism where it doesn’t exist in an effort to divide.

I wouldn’t reside in a town filled with racists, or bigots, or a town disrespectful of anyone who calls it “home.” And what I see is a divisive weed that needs pulling: the Sandpoint mayor, who calls for “tolerance” and “inclusivity,” but slanders those with divergent viewpoints, and who has demonstrated an inability for self-reflection and personal growth.

Our precious town needs healing; and the root of the schism is Mayor Shelby Rognstad.

JODI GIDDINGS

Sagle