An Open Letter To: Patti Peretto

Subject: Congratulations & Expectations

Dear Ms. Peretto:

Congratulations on winning the recent election to
become a member of the next Iron County Board.

As publisher and editor of Iron County Doings, I
read your newspaper advertisement and the letter I
received from “The Committee to Elect Patti
Peretto.[1]” In these public offerings I saw no
specifics promised to the electorate.

As you are aware, this nation is in a significant
state of change, primarily because of the national
and international economic crisis. Unfortunately
Iron County has been in that sort of economically
depressed state at least since the late 1970’s, and
while there never was a reasonable excuse for it,
there is certainly no excuse for Iron County to
remain permanently economically depressed. It
is in the spirit of seeing the county pull itself up
out of this state of depression by its own bootstraps
that I am presently writing to you. I’ve enclosed
some of our recently published articles relevant
to the topic.

This present day economic “faith of our fathers”
no longer suffices in Iron County. You are getting
a fresh new start on the Iron County Board, and
you’ve impressed the public with your leadership
skills as well as your personal popularity. In January
2013, that rubber will hit the road, and it needs
badly to have some traction to pull the county out
of the economic quagmire we find ourselves in.

Crivitz, with a population of only 984, (see attached
article,) a small town with some similarities to our
conditions, has managed to do so. In the meantime
Iron County and its other municipalities can’t get so
much as a police car or a pickup truck without a state
or federal grant assisting in the purchase. Any
purchases by our residents that go beyond the narrow
offerings of our relatively few local merchants
necessitates either a 50 (perhaps more) mile trip, or
ordering off the internet.

I don’t think there’s a single resident of Iron County
who would support a statement that goes, “I’m stupid
and I’m poor and I really enjoy it!” None of us enjoys
the need to go out of the county or to the internet to
purchase many necessities. So why do the county and
other municipalities continue on this well established
path to failure? Iron County has some natural features
that make us an excellent stopping point for travelers.
Why aren’t we welcoming them in ways that enhance
their lives while enriching ours while creating long
term jobs for our youth?

Merely being a caretaker of county government is not,
and will never again, be considered an adequate effort
by officials elected to positions here in Iron County.
Please help drive this county to become the economic
success that it can be. All that actually requires is a
change of heart, and the rest will follow naturally.

Bill Vajk

[1] The County Clerk’s office reports not finding an
assumed name certificate, required by MCL 445.1(1).