[Grover Beach City] Councilman Lieberman assured himself of a second term as Grover mayor by voting to support Councilmen Ekbom and Versaw's motion changing the existing mayoral selection. The current system prevented favoritism and provided equal opportunity for all to serve as mayor.

It smacks of "cronyism" because the trio made their proposal retroactive, ensuring Lieberman's chance of a second term at the expense of Councilman Ashton, who placed third in a "photo finish" race separated by less than 100 votes. With more votes than anyone in the previous Grover elections, Ashton is denied the right to serve during his tenure, as will anyone else in years with three elected candidates.

Voters in the 2004 election had an expectation their candidate would serve a year as mayor. The essentially ceremonial mayor's post does not call for previous experience. In the past, most new mayors followed Robert's Rules of Order with great consideration for all. The citizens got "fair play," as each elected candidate was given a chance and an opportunity to gain further knowledge for doing their job.

Councilmen Ekbom, Versaw, and Lieberman's passing of this retroactive resolution takes us back to the Dark Ages of politics. What will we have to look forward to in future retroactive legislation by this less-than-honest threesome?

Ken Grose

Grover Beach