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And for Lewiston, that’s a good thing. And for former Mayor Lee Rain it might be a good thing, too, although we don’t know because the often surly ex-mayor left the position with the same combative tone he championed while in office.
Acting mayor Richard Ahrens set a marvelous and different tone last week when he told the Daily News: “When a mayor resigns, there’s never a good time for that.”
That’s true. But rather than assigning blame or making excuses, Ahrens seemed to chart a new direction for the city, while not pooh-poohing the past.
“A lot of mistakes have been made in the past, and it’s going to take a long time to correct them,” he said. “We can’t look back, and we have to look forward.”
History can’t be rewritten in one meeting, but it sure is a hopeful start begun on the right tone. We hope the citizens who were so disillusioned with the local government give Ahrens a chance to rebuild trust and mend relationships. Ahrens should be given a shot at trying a new vision, and we hope residents have patience and participate in making some good changes with this new start.
Besides, Ahrens is right — looking back at the past isn’t helpful when the future of Lewiston has so much potential.
That doesn’t mean having a Pollyanna outlook — Lewiston still faces serious problems. And it doesn’t mean that residents will instantly forgive or forget. After all, Rain’s tenure at the helm, while painful, might indeed yield some good lessons.
His tenure saw Lewiston wrestle with budget deficits, a police department in turmoil and a city administrator who was ticketed for getting into another city employee’s personal car and who took out restraining orders against two other citizens.
That’s not even to mention the city council meeting where both the county sheriff and the state troopers had to be called in.
Yes, Rain was true to his name as he presided over one of the most stormy periods in Lewiston’s recent history.
Rain’s tenure as mayor serves as a good example of what can happen to a small community when you don’t listen to your constituents, even if you believe they’re wrong. Rain’s unwavering support of the controversial city administrator, plus his comments about a group of concerned citizens only served to deepen the mistrust in the community. That made his tenure ineffectual and inflammatory.
It also serves as a good reminder that the mayor sets the tone for the community. A mayor is more than a figurehead. Rain’s dismissive method of dealing with folks signaled to the community that it was OK not to listen to one another. Compromise was in short supply. Rain showed us again that good mayors are probably underappreciated, as communication deteriorated and suspicion seem to linger around every council decision. A more effective mayor might have been able to articulate the challenges the city faced and worked harder to build better communication and have less confrontation. Granted, not all of Lewiston’s problems could be laid at the feet of Rain, but he was, after all, the mayor; and, like it or not, the buck stopped with him.
Rain’s departure also means that Lewiston has the chance to reinvent itself. It reminds those who are so dissatisfied with the status quo that there are ways to change the system — and that’s by getting involved. Now is the chance to put this very dark, sometimes ridiculous, episode in Lewiston’s past.
By Darrell Ehrlick, editor, on behalf of the Winona Daily News editorial board, which also includes publisher Rusty Cunningham and online editor Jerome Christenson. To comment, call 453-3507 or send e-mail to letters@winonadailynews.com.
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