A young man strolled by my home last weekend and commented to his family, "See all of those 'Decline to Sign' signs in the yards?" They looked up and down our street where almost every lawn held a sign. "That's because," he told them, "all of these folks support the developers who are taking over."

He is the tip of the misinformation iceberg smothering the future of our city.

As a third-generation native, I have a perspective on the recall based on my 70 years and on my experiences in McEuen Park. My parents, John and Thelma Finney, leased the docks at the foot of Third Street for the "Seeweewanna" and "Danceawana" excursion/charter boats and mooring business for more than 30 years. I spent much of my youth on those docks and on the boats. I have seen the area change from a swamp of mud, logging debris, railroad trestles, industrial manufacturing and floathouses to hydroplane "pits" to the current boat launch.

I have walked among the boat trailers in the launch’s waterside parking spaces. The majority of license plates are consistently from out of state. As a registered boater on the lake, I do not support taxpayers’ money used to maintain a boat launch for those who do not pay taxes here. Many have not purchased an Idaho boat license, even though they risk ticketing.

Site of a former lumber mill, the area known as McEuen Park was temporary housing for Camp Farragut during World War II. Demolished after the war, one structure remained in the middle of the park as the city's Park Department with spaces for civic use. I went to the County Fair where the City Hall stands and attended several performances of the Clyde Beatty Circus where the softball fields are. In the northwest corner stood the brick train station. I still have some of the ceramic figures I painted under the guidance of Mrs. Kapel when it was used as a recreation center.

I support the underground parking the mayor and city council have approved. It is unconscionable to use such a land treasure as a surface parking lot. Isn't it great that most of the money for this underground parking is "in the bank" and that no taxes will be raised to pay for it?

Read the postcards sent out by the recall. None of them are signed. Not one of them states who sent the card. Any high school student who has studied political science or speech can explain what is meant by straw man, the big lie, the bandwagon. These cards and Mary Souza's Internet newsletter are filled with such things.

For example from one postcard: "The High City Salaries...1. Mike Gridley, City Attny: $125,000." His salary is later compared to a Boise City Attorney who makes $115,748. The recall information neglects to point out that Boise employs over 22 city attorneys for a total of more than $1,623,021. Coeur d'Alene has three city attorneys for a total of $543,347 per year.

Another: The city promised open meetings but kept their agenda behind closed doors. The truth is that there were 38 public presentation and nearly 50 City Council meetings over two years with ample opportunity for public input. Almost 25 features of the original proposal were modified, changed, postponed or dropped as a result of your and my comments at the public meetings.

Many of you signed believing your taxes were paying for McEuen Park. Others of you believe that you are a "have not" and that this is a project for the "haves." Come to any city park and see the families and children using the Park FREE. McEuen is a city park. It is free. It should not be used only seasonally and by the few.

The basis for the recall effort started as personal vendettas against people who happened to be elected officials. By tying the recall to McEuen Park, a small group of people who have historically been against virtually every improvement in the past 10 years have been able to attack the future of our city.

I encourage each of you who have signed to look closely at the names on the first page of the petition. Many of those names are people I know personally. I challenge you to go to Jim Doty, Kathy Sims, Sharon Culbreth, Susie Snedaker and Mary Souza and ask them point blank, “What are your real reasons for promoting the recall?” If each answers truthfully, you will hear stories of personal anger directed towards the mayor and two members of the City Council, not for political or civic reasons, but personal.

Ask City Councilman Dan Gookin where he stands and whom he believes is behind the recall action and why. He has been at the core of many objections to the city shared by those above. Many citizens believe that he is now behind the scenes orchestrating the recall.

I have known Sandi Bloem since junior high. Deanna Goodlander's parents and mine were friends. I hold both in high esteem. I admire the great work Mike Kennedy has done, especially in improving the lives of low-income families. If ever there were a council member who supported "the little people" (to quote a recall supporter in a previous letter to the editor printed in this paper) and who has looked out for the taxpayer, it is Woody McEvers. They had to name him in this action because he believes in McEuen Park and voted for it.

If you believe they should not be in office, vote in the next election, November 2013, for someone else, or step up to the plate and run yourself. Fight for our city in a democratic manner, at the election polls… not with unsigned postcards and insinuation. Spreading half-truths and innuendo is beneath every citizen.

"Save our City" is not an idle slogan. We are a democracy. Recall is a process. This is not the time, the place, nor the reason for a recall action.

Marlo Faulkner is a Coeur d’Alene resident.