Dear Mr. Hauke and Chamber Board of Directors,
At the end of August I wrote you an email to let you know how uncomfortable I was (and still am) about the Chamber's position on the current county commissioner recall. I told you that many members, including myself, do not share this view, and wondered why the membership was not polled or surveyed to find out whether this was in fact a position that the Chamber should take. Most of your members would prefer that you do not take political positions, as we are a diverse group. I never received any acknowledgement from you, if only to say you had received the note.
Now, adding further insult to many of your members, you have decided, in spite of our opposition to your taking any political position at all, to install a large "no recall" sign on Chamber property. As a long-time Chamber member, I respectfully ask that you remove this sign.
Or, perhaps you would consider posting a large anti-corporate-chainstore sign on your property, and taking an equally passionate position on the encroachment of these chains, including Wal-Mart, into our area, which will surely have a huge and direct negative impact on your members throughout the region. I have not heard a peep from the Chamber regarding this issue of import to your members. I would like to know what exactly your position is on the possible presence of Wal-Mart in our area. Wal-Mart is well documented as a predatory pricer whose stated business practice is to put all retailers and service providers selling anything that they also sell out of business. It is also well documented that when those pesky independent businesses do fail, Wal-Mart prices inevitably revert to the normal. So, I would hope that my Chamber would have something to say in support of their independent business members on this vital issue.
Laura Snyder
