Cy Sun was my neighbor

If Pacific's Mayor Cy Sun has demonstrated anything, it is that we should have confidence in democracy.
Just imagine—What if he were king?

There. Now don't you feel better?

Without getting involved in the rumors that are flying,  What I'd like to tell you is about my personal experience with Mr. Sun.

Until moving to Seattle, I lived just a few doors away from him, and we got to know each other. I learned that his life has not been easy, and perhaps because of that he is tough and determined. And perhaps those hardships are also the reason that he is arbitrary, capricious and thick headed. Even if his hearing were excellent (which it is not), he does not listen to opposing points of view.

Here is what Mr. Sun told me about himself:

On August 6, 1945, he was a child, visiting a relative in the country, with  a clear view of the city where his family was situated that day: Hiroshima. He probably didn't see the package labeled "Little Boy" descend from the Enola Gay, but he couldn't miss the firestorm that arose from the blast. Sometime later, as a young man, he was starving, and stowed away on a boat that took him to Hawaii, where he lived on the streets. Somehow—the details have escaped me—he made it into the army, serving in Korea. (He has the medals to prove he served with valor.) That an individual who can't speak English can work himself into the military and end up a war hero is a testimony to his determination. On the other hand, perhaps enduring the trauma to earn those medals might raise questions about a person's fitness for the demands of public office.

Mr. Sun told me he operates farms in Oregon. He also told me about his attitude as a business operator—tough with bankers, and rough-talking with people he disagreed with. I learned early-on there is little room for diplomacy in his black-and-white world. Farmers are practical: They slaughter animals, thin crops, clear land; and they are not sentimental about it.

Mr. Sun shared that he had Mexicans who worked his farms seasonally and then returned home. He built houses for them to live in when they worked. And these Mexicans appreciated it, but had no respect for illegal immigrants, he stated.

Somehow Mr. Sun has forgotten that he had once been an undocumented immigrant living on the streets in Hawaii.

I believe it was before he was elected that Mr. Sun slammed his fist into the palm of his hand and said he was going to get all Pacific's public officials out of office. He told me that when he was in the military he had been an axe man for a top ranking officer. I concluded he thought he could do the same thing once he was elected. At the same time he talked about working for "the people" and following the Constitution, which he apparently has great reverence for.

Following the election in which he became mayor, I reminded the city council of the abuses that had occurred in the past, including  police misconduct, racial profiling, and allowing a mayor to demean and dominate people who came to speak to the council. (It wasn't just the mayors who would be high-handed. For example, when I served as a member, the city council outlawed skatebording in the core of the city, but decided they wouldn't notify the public of the prohibition or even post "no skateboarding" signs. And the public safety director admitted he didn't know the boundaries for the no-skateboarding area.) 

I told the council they now had a mayor who once had been an undocumented immigrant. I said this was a case of "chickens coming home to roost." I left them with a copy of my comments.

And afterward I told Mr. Sun what I had done.

He told me not to bring up how he had come to America. I told him I had already done so, and that I had handed a statement to the council in a public meeting.

He told me to get the document back. I told him that was impossible—it was a public record.

He ordered me to get it back.

I was surprised, because there is nothing demeaning or damaging in what I said. He earned his United States citizenship at great risk to his life, and I don't see what risk there is in telling a story that is 60 years old.

I tried to explain to Mr. Sun that he had been a candidate for public office and that he was a public official. It was of interest to the public. He said it was his personal information. I tried to explain to him that when you run for public office this type of information is fair game. He insisted it was nobody's business, ordered me to retrieve the document, and threatened to sue me if I didn't get the document back from the city.

At this point I turned and walked away and I have not spoken to Mr. Sun since.

Any why would I? What is the point of trying to make sense out of nonsense? While Mr. Sun loves the idea of the Constitution, he doesn't appear to care much for the document itself.

Mr. Sun hasn't destroyed the town. The government was corrupt and a lot of public and private individuals had their heads in the sand. Mr. Sun  holds office because he knocked over a shakey house of cards which Pacific's public officials had erected over the prior 12 years. He was correct that the system was corrupt. But he also is corrupt, because he has further vandalized the body politic and further corroded any possible faith Pacific citizens could have in self governance.  He has turned a neglected mess into a disaster.

In that sense, Mr. Sun has brought us together. We're all in agreement that it's past time for him to go.

But where are the leaders who will craft a government that can act intelligently and selflessly? Show me a group of people who not only can work together constructively, but who also have the gumption to stand up to the bad apples so that Pacific gets out of the morass it's been in for the past 12 years and stays out. As disgusted as people are with Mr. Sun, they overlook the fact that they allowed the deterioration that led to his election.


As Pogo is so famously quoted, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

In 2001, I ran for public office on the slogan, "We Can Do Better." I no longer believe that. There is no evidence that Pacific has what it takes.

It's up to the residents of Pacific to prove me wrong.