Grimm would accelerate end of city's uniqueness

When I played high school football here back in the 1980s, Cotton Barlow’s legacy was still a big part of Bulldog sports. Along with Jerry Kramer, Sandpoint’s only NFL Hall of Famer, he expanded every local’s sense of potential. If you read his story, you’ll soon learn that he spent summers growing his shoulders and work ethic of buckin’ bales in Bonner County hayfields. I was lucky to get in on that before round bales and autoloaders made such work obsolete.

If you live out on Colburn-Culver, Selle, Sunnyside, or Shingle Mill, your house could be in a field that Mr. Barlow once hayed. Some of the new developments out there are housing people who live and work here and who may be raising kids here, and I think it’s great. On the other hand, there’s a fair amount of what was once nice land that’s been sold as vacation homes or short-term rentals. I’ve never talked to anyone who grew up here who likes that.

I do know of three local kids who grew up to become real estate developers and who are actively involved in buying fields, subdividing them, and building them out. I don’t need to mention names, only that they’re not as shiny as they could be.

This brings me to Jeremy Grimm, Sandpoint mayoral candidate and shill for high-end developers. He may not be a fascist troglodyte, but his sort of politics is how we ended up with so many of those here. Anyone who hasn’t read Rebecca Solnit’s essay on centrism would be well served to do so. (tinyurl.com/4p69mknt)

Mr. Grimm may manage to become mayor of Sandpoint, and I am certain that he would accelerate the devastation of its unique feel. Eventually, we’ll end up as just another generic “mountain town,” the same as Whitefish, Park City, Vail, etc. But there’s no need to hurry that up. Someone who is concerned about our growth, rather than a cheerleader for the worst parts of it, is who we need.

JON WALDRUP

Sandpoint