Editor.

In this divisive political environment, both nationally and locally, it bothers me when an individual acts properly and in the best interests of the community, yet the opposing side refuses to acknowledge or accept the merits of their action. I don’t want to be that type of person and I feel compelled to acknowledge Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain for her actions and give her a public “thank you” for her leadership.

Last week, there was significant discussion over a personal e-mail from Chamber President Bill Russell that was hacked and/or leaked to the press. That e-mail had some less-than-positive comments for the town leaders as he explained the situation of the Visit Lake Norman issue to his personal confidant. While some political leaders were very quick to jump on this issue, and in some cases, pile on to perpetuate the issue, Mayor Swain did not.

Mayor Swain recognized that further bickering between the towns and the Chamber would only further hurt the community at large. I wholeheartedly agree with her comments in the Horse’s Mouth section of this paper where she stated, ”… because I feel very strongly that my job is to support our area businesses. Making negative headlines, or creating negative headlines, hurts the very people we are charged with helping.”

The VLN issue has been a very divisive issue. The sooner we can all move forward and get about the business of attracting visitors and helping our businesses, the community as a whole will win. I only hope that the other political leaders will eventually come to the same conclusion. Thank you, Mayor Swain!

— John Hettwer, Cornelius