Nothing like a little malicious controversy to spice things up around ‘ol Amador County. I am referring to the “did too” “did not” spat between Jack Mitchell, representing the Amador Chamber Commerce, and Tom Bambert, former County Supervisor, representing local government.
Jack…you are so incensed, so outraged at the vicious, unfair charges leveled at you for letting the Buena Vista Rancheria folks get into the Chamber. And Tom, you are so pontifically livid that the Chamber is allowing these unwelcome gambling miscreants in.
Well let me add my soapbox speech to this little mess.
Mitchell, spare me the “nobler than thou” outrage. The Chamber - and you, in particular -are renowned for smiling, shaking the hand of a local businessperson and telling them how good their local business is for the County on your way out the door to meet with “Big Business X” - their dreaded competitor - to try and woo them into the County. Give me a break. The Chamber’s business decisons haven’t exactly been of the highest caliber. It seems that just about anything goes regardless of the consequences to other local businesses. This Chamber has shown little discernment in “recruiting” appropriate businesses to our area. Balance in the types of businesses that populate our area creates a healthier business environment for everyone.
Now, onto you Mr. Bambert. It’s easy to level criticism at the Chamber, but under your watch as Supervisor, this County had little vision for infrastructure goals or a General Plan to support its growth. Development was haphazard and without rhyme or reason and we are paying the price for this today. It did not seem that there was a great interest in the future of the County while you were in a position to do something about it. However, in looking into our County’s future now - and the possibility of yet another casino - I would agree that you are absolutely right to resign from the Chamber and send the message that you did. This Chamber and its leadership have no shame and no excuse for what they did. Instead of indignant self-righteousness, Mitchell should be rethinking what the heck he and the Chamber stand for, because as it is, it leaves a lot to be desired.
Which brings us to this issue: There has always been a squirming discomfort with the publisher of our one-newspaper town also being the head of the Chamber of Commerce. You know, conflict of interest, things like that. Mitchell only reinforced this concern by using the newspaper as a forum for his tirade against Bambert. This is wrong. If Mitchell wants to debate Bambert in the newspaper, then do it with equal footing. A Letter to the Editor from Bambert up against Mitchell’s 1/3 page Editorial hardly qualifies as "equal time". It is all to too easy for Mitchell’s inappropriate merging of duties to go in the wrong direction and he has very clearly shown why.
