Increasingly it seems some City Councilors believe their role is to support their political beliefs and agenda rather than working for all the Citizens of Northampton. Voting against taking a donation of ammunition from Walmart because you don’t like the company, don’t like guns, don’t trust your own police when they’ve told you the ammunition will be used on the firing range to train police is ridiculous!
Whether you like it or not, Walmart is a major employer in our town providing jobs to your constituents. Many of them shop there regularly, in some cases, because it is one of the only stores in town at which they can afford to shop. Walmart is no doubt going to donate the ammunition somewhere or sell it at one of their other stores so your political stand is show rather than substance.
Do you really support Northampton taxpayers having to buy ammunition so we can have well trained officers at the same time that some taxpayers are struggling to pay their sewer tax and you folks are having trouble finding money to pave our roads!? And, at the same time, risking that the ammunition is sold elsewhere for who knows what purpose!
I avoid shopping at Walmart, don’t own a gun and support stronger gun laws. But as City Councilors your duty is to the city as well as your personal beliefs. This is something I know you need to weigh each time you take a vote and both should be part of your decision making. But it seems too often grandstanding takes precedence over reasonable decision making.
Robert Rechtschaffen
Northampton