Lee Pevsner: Community group’s pressure tactics have backfired

Re “Changing Merced through collaborative partnerships” (Page 8A, June 22): Steven Gomes was 100 percent on-target with his criticism of the community organizing tactics of Building Healthy Communities. I have spoken directly to people in the organization about this, but obviously it had no effect.

They have made themselves a pariah in the halls of local government and accomplished little. Their efforts to obtain more funding for youth from the City of Merced has actually been hurt because of the antipathy some city council members now hold for the organization. It is time to understand, as Superintendent Gomes accurately stated, that collaboration is the key to success.

When we talk with people openly about accomplishing goals, and are willing to hold hands, much can be accomplished. People only do things for one of two reasons: they want to or they have to. If you make someone do something through pressure, you might win the battle but you lose the war. Whoever is being pressured will find a way to escape and turn it back on you.

These are exciting and important times. It saddens me that an organization established to do good in our community has chosen such a ham-handed and ineffective approach that has actually hurt the cause they support.

This story was originally published June 28, 2016 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Lee Pevsner: Community group’s pressure tactics have backfired."