Mayor Larkin is the quality of elected official that all citizens serving in that capacity should emulate. He is passing the baton of leadership to a very capable and caring Mayor-elect, Ron Jacobson, but all of us in North Idaho, Kootenai County in particular, should take a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of this very special mayor of Post Falls.

The position of mayor in Post Falls is a part-time position, and the compensation in salary reflects those part-time expectations. Mayor Larkin was available to anyone, almost anytime, and was/is a forward-thinking leader.

Besides the Mayor's Youth Awards and the Tree Giveaway that put 3000 trees in our town, the two most enduring things that Mayor Larkin accomplished were working diligently, patiently, and persistently with a myriad of other government agencies, not only to protect the quality of our water supply (the aquifer) but to protect North Idaho's right to use that water. This took a lot of time and energy.

Working with the state legislators from Post Falls, he was able to get a state law on the books that allowed the people who lived over the aquifer and in the recharge areas to vote to establish the Aquifer Protection District. For the $6.50 to $8.00 per parcel we are taxed, per year, by Kootenai County, we replaced funding that was first canceled at the federal level, then canceled at the state level to reinstate the Critical Materials Program, which is the envy of the Department of Ecology in Washington state. It is one of the best ways to protect our drinking water which is so vulnerable, and once contaminated, there is no capacity for remediation.

The other thing Mayor Larkin accomplished was to bring the Snake River

Water Adjudication Board, north to establish and re-establish, the water rights of individuals in the aquifer watershed. Municipalities are well protected, but individuals were not. This was met with a considerable amount of resistance from people who thought paying $25 to register the water rights they thought they already had was just "more **** government."

Washington state is, and will continue to, extract more water from the aquifer while at the same time, restricting Idaho's use. The Columbia Basin Water Treaty is up for renewal in 2014. Washington state is proposing diverting water from Lake Pend Oreille to the Idaho/ Washington state line and re-injecting it into the aquifer. Thank Mayor Larkin for your water rights. At Mayor Larkin's last State of City luncheon with the Post Falls chamber, he awarded me the Community Service Award for my years of volunteer work to protect our aquifer. Without his leadership, our water supply, and our access to it, would be in a much more precarious position.

Mayor Larkin should be the role model for "how to be effective in government." When government officials truly work for the community they serve, we have effective government. When they cater to the moneyed special interests that pay for their campaigns or have a narrow personal agenda that serves their own interest, we have dysfunctional government. However, it is our choice who we elect to serve.

Thank you Mayor Larkin for your service and the quality of your leadership.

Kristy Reed Johnson is a Post Falls resident.