The Editor,
Re: "Watts' dictatorship finally over," the Now letters, May 1.
I also want to express my dissatisfaction of the negative comments sent towards Mayor Dianne Watts, written by Sandip Sandhu. Though a previous writer (Bob Maher) already countered those negative comments, there was some important elements not mentioned.
Sandhu described Watts' terms in office as a "dictatorship" and an "autocracy." I find these political labels very misused. I'm not sure if this critic knows what these terms really mean. It's like calling your teacher a fascist because he/she didn't give you a very good mark on your book report, or an employee a communist, simply because he/she thinks that all the employees need some sort of a company-sponsored health plan.Watts is definitely not a dictator, nor does she has an autocratic style of rule. I'm not a major supporter of Watts, but I do respect her political career as mayor of Surrey, and while she had positive and negative moments in her career, she will still have a positive legacy that she deserves to have. Being mayor of a rapidly-expanding city is not as easy as you think.No matter how you express your political opinion, try to choose the right words.
Harman Dhaliwal, Surrey