A 2016 Primary Candidate Forum Without A Cause, Pt. 1

[XLFD]

The City of Ludington Daily News (COLDNews) and the Ludington/Scottville Chamber of Commies (L/SCOC) hosted a candidate forum for the August 2nd primary election at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts (LACA) on Tuesday, July 19, 2016.  The emcee for the evening was retired and retreaded COLDNews managing editor Steve Begnoche, while the two person panel of his replacement, Patty Klevorn, and L/SCOC President Kathy MacLean asked the questions. 

As one might expect with the above moderating cast, the questions posed were of two basic types:  either over uncontroversial topics that most citizens would care less about or ones meant to bolster the status quo, ego, and/or orthodoxy of the elitist clique currently controlling the city council, the COLDNews and the L/SCOC.   

The Preliminaries

To spark interest, they led off with some words by Sheriff Kim Cole and Prosecutor Paul Spaniola, both running unopposed this election cycle.  Cole trumpeted building on school and highway safety, primarily focusing on his Boots for classroom doors in Mason County.  Being that nobody has ever been victimized by a school shooter in the county, I'm afraid that there has only been a whole lot of people victimized by the hysteria that led to the near $200,000 purchase.  Spaniola after a short biography at least only plugged the LACA.  The County Commissioners that were present and running unopposed also introduced themselves. 

Chuck Keller then took the podium to talk about the Rural Fire Authority proposals.  One is a renewal of the 1 mil (county) that supports the seven rural fire departments in the county, which should pass easily, but a new 'temporary' 1/2 mil proposal is being sought in order to supplement their rising costs.  It's unfortunate that when proposals are put forth, that these forums fail to seek out and present somebody with an opposing view, and only offer proponents.  The pleas made in this case seemed rather weak for people to voluntarily increase their taxes, so I would encourage our rural voters to weigh their ability to say no to the additional tax unless they honestly believe it will make a positive difference for the rural community.

State Election: 101st District

The forum then moved to the 101st District State Representative race, with Democrat Dan Scripps, the uncontested Democrat candidate getting on the stage and talking up his accomplishments.  He would tout his green jobs initiatives and his stand on shutting down the Soo pipeline, before the three Republicans took the stage and would decry those very things over their time. 

The first contested debate featured Mason County's Curt VanderWall, Leelanau County's Mark Walter, and simple farmer, Cary Urka.  They were asked lackluster questions about police officer safety, improving the business climate of Michigan, education and environmental issues, and lastly about whether they would support Donald Trump.   

The answers were fairly similar in most topics, Vanderwall came off as the most polished and the most knowledgeable about things, but he was closely followed by Walters.  Urka, looking like he had just come from the farm had the funniest line of the bunch, being disappointed that Trump didn't pick Ted Nugent as vice-president, then explaining why.  But the rest of the night, it looked as if he hadn't did much homework by the content of his answers, and was definitely the outsider candidate of the three.   Walter was solid in background and answers, but VanderWall had the better night in my opinion. 

The At-Large Councilor Candidates

Then the four candidates seeking the at-large councilor spot being vacated by Kaye Holman due to term limits took the stage.  Wally Cain, Brandy Henderson, David Buskirk, and Steve Von Pfahl were asked five questions regarding Ludington and then asked about the city proposals.  Unfortunately, the questions were not picked to spotlight the differences between the candidates.  Here's what they were, followed by my opinion as to who gave the best answer, and a short answer I would have given (tempered with my extra time to think of a proper answer):

1)  How do you feel about expanding the dog park at the beach?

Official timekeeper Spence Riggs who works at the L/SCOC Building at the airport, was definitely the progenitor of this question, having come before a reluctant council before.  Cain and Henderson wanted it, Buskirk said he could support it, while Von Pfahl said he needed to study it further.  Edge: Von Pfahl 

My Reply:  Stearn's Beach is part of Ludington's park system.  As such, a proposed change of public use should be voted on by the electorate, with both sides able to explain their case to the public.  Four people shouldn't have that kind of power.   

2)  What is the city's role in helping assure there is adequate housing in the community?

Cain said the City had an important role and supported the two recent proposed and controversial developments.  Henderson indicated the role was important, particularly in getting people downtown.  Buskirk was worried about various tax abatements, but indicated a need for housing.  Von Pfahl indicated he has worked with HUD and that costs need to be considered case-by-case.  Edge:  Buskirk and Von Pfahl

My Reply:  The City's role is to run as fairly, efficiently and accountably as possible.  This keeps the infrastructure up to date, the tax rates low, and the citizens confident that their public servants will not show favoritism to certain individuals and businesses or waste their money on foolish projects.  If City Hall allows the free market to work in the housing market with a minimum of interference from them, everybody's ship in the Ludington Harbor will rise.  Unfortunately, they keep lowering the water level by their policies, especially in enacting  the rental inspection ordinance.

3)  What is the city's role in dealing with blight?

Cain said the council is one part of the process, owners and neighbors must also be part of the process.  Henderson said communication was key.  Buskirk believed there was no need for more ordinances, owners should be told of loan options.  Von Pfahl said an environment must be created to make owners want to improve their property.  Edge:  Buskirk

My Reply:  Blight is a subjective term.  The city cannot fairly deal with blight if it cannot be adequately defined.  Blight is typically an end result when a city is not ran efficiently, fairly and accountably, and yet decides to try and cure a subjective problem like blight.  See Detroit. 

4)  Are we doing what we should be doing for safety at the beach?

Cain said it comes down to common sense, but doesn't know how to increase it.  Henderson advocated for more warning signs, more patrols, more communication.  Buskirk said he would have to look into the issue further, understanding they have patrols there now after not having lifeguards for awhile.  Von Pfahl wants more people to be educated about the dangers on the breakwater.  Edge:  Buskirk

My Reply:  There is nothing better for beach safety than rescue-trained lifeguards posted at the beach, rather than having beach patrols that often are vacant from the beach.  The amazing thing is that the lifeguard program costs less than the patrols while maintaining goodwill around the beach while not giving nuisance tickets to our visitors.

5)  What would make Ludington more vibrant?

Cain wanted more affordable housing for the workforce and more James Street development.  Henderson intimated she had vibrant ideas in the past and would be able to implement those and more as a councilor.  Buskirk said neighborliness was a key and citizen ingenuity.  Von Pfahl said people participating in events was key.  Edge:  Buskirk

My Reply:  A drawing down of city government involvement in all aspects of our lives.  Release the ever-growing tyrannical power and purse-strings of city hall back to the people and the citizens will glow and become more involved in their own life once again. 

Lastly they asked them a lightning round of questions about the three city proposals, whether they were for or against them.  All candidates were okay with pushing the budget back two weeks, but only Wally Cain was for either of the other two involving giving the city manager a longer contract and giving him more power to make emergency (whatever that is) purchases.  I would have said nyet to all.   Edge:  Henderson, Buskirk and Von Pfahl. 

The rest of the evening was devoted to contested county seats, which will be covered in part two. 

[AQUAMAN]

I WAS THERE TOO! It was Very HOT in that church, and the ONLY small fan was behind the stage where the candidates were at the podium. Also, the Begnoche questions were dull, and the candidates answers DULL! Not really worth attending, and I left early too, as a result. I guess they wanted people to stay 2 hours to get the local candidates' statements, and I SURE WASN'T into dying there to hear them.

[XLFD]

You missed the county surveyor questions then, the high point of controversy of the night.  Seriously.

I'm glad that I wasn't the only soul who thought the affair was dull and uninspiring.  If this is what the newspaper and chamber feel make for a good forum to broaden the appeal of local politics, then they are sadly mistaken.  I've had better visits to the dentist office.  Seriously.

[Willy]

Thanks for the information X. The questions were what can be expected from cronies of the current overseers of local Government agencies. Some questions that should have asked.

1. What is your opinion of the job performance of the City Manager, Council and City Attorney?

2. What should the City do to better comply with basic environmental issues such as the Waste Water Treatment Plant and P.M. Bayou sediment contamination?

3. Should the City disclose the relationship between the new downtown apartments, new fire station, and the land both are scheduled to be constructed upon as well as the  backdoor deals that involve  local politicians and their cronies?

4. Should Mr. Shay's contract be terminated?

5. Should the CIty cancel the current City Attorney's contract?.

6. Should the City Attorney and City Manager be prosecuted for their attempt to swindle the tax payers by over billing the City and paying the Attorney excessive fees?

7. What would you do to stop the City from allowing contracts to be signed without competitive bidding as required by ordinance?

8. Would you require more stringent requirements to stop the use of taxpayers dollars to fund private functions, displays and enterprises such as the Jaycees mini golf course reconstruction?

9. Should the strict requirements of the FOIA be eliminated so that the citizens can have better access to public information?

10.Should the Auxiliary [shadow] police division be eliminated until it is legitimized and should the Police Chief be prosecuted for operating it illegally?

11. Do you think the Residential Property Ordinance should give the City the power to violate the citizenry Constitutional Rights and should it be repealed?

12. Do you think the LDN is just an extension of local Government agencies, it's cronies and others who are trying to put Ludington and the County residents under their thumbs? 

Of course there are many more questions that need to be asked but these are a few that have have been brought to light by the next City Councilor Mr. Rotta, who, with his diligence and dedication to the welfare of the the citizens has enormously raised the awareness of the dirty and corrupt politics that is being practiced locally. Hats off to a true patriot.

[XLFD]

WMOM is hosting each of the four councilor at large candidates next week 8:30 AM Tuesday thru Friday.  Contact Steve Miller, Drew Rowley, or the WMOM website/Facebook page to submit these dozen doozies to them.  The objective of candidate questions is to find out how their views differ from each other and how those differences affect you the voter, but they can also be used to test their knowledge and loyalties. 

Thanks for your praise, Willy, even if I lose, I will still be in the awareness business.  if I win, I hope you and others can continue bringing awareness to the folks at the LT and elsewhere  if my public service takes me mostly out of the awareness business, and more into the getting things done business.

[Brad]

Well someone did do a great job at this candidate forum.  Thank you X.

I've always been discouraged by the city's decisions, and in the last 3-5yrs I guess I've been to discouraged by our national government to keep track of local gov. (plus I was paying attention to my young family)  But to see how bad our city is making such poor decisions, especially over the last couple years, I've felt the need to be more involved and try to mainly focus on what our city does.

Thanks again for your insight and investigative reporting.  You may not hear this much, but I wish you (we) could do more to get this news out.

[XLFD]

Thank you Brad for being an obviously vibrant young person with a desire to make the community better, even if it clashes with the ruling class' version.  Frankly, the decisions made over the last few years have increasingly made the area less resilient and sustainable (to borrow their terms), for it demands that each citizen gives up more of their rights and their money.  Meanwhile, they fail to competitively bid out projects (wasting your money), screw over the small business owners (landlords, private marina operators, Claire the Bookgirl, etc.), and work secretly to get most public projects done that affect you (such as the three party agreement with Michigan Power and PM Twp, where our water rates shoot up, PM Twp gets significant discounts, and MP almost immediately gets sold at a reportedly good price.  Nice deal.  The City blocks FOIA requests for relevant info citing attorney-client privilege and attorney work project-- whoa). 

It's a lot to assimilate even for a middle aged man.

[XLFD]

In a four person non-partisan primary, like the at-large Ludington council position, the 2014 Circuit Court judge or the mayor primary back in 2013, the field gets narrowed to the top two finishers who then face off against each other in November.  In the 2013 race, Taranko had more votes in the primary, but lost in November to Cox.  In 2014, Paul Spaniola won the primary, but lost in November to Sniegowski.  Both by significant margins.  Once the field gets narrowed, it's anybody's election.

I've been asked by others about my opinion on who would be best for the job.  If you looked at who I gave the edge at the forum, you may think I am leaning towards David Buskirk.  Buskirk seems a reasonable enough fellow to work with, and he does have a mostly positive experience at the job he had at the turn of the millenium.  If that means something to you, he wouldn't be a bad choice, but he's not someone I would categorically endorse above the rest at this point.

Cain and Henderson seem destined to vie for the votes of those who like the direction Ludington is going now, but even if they split the vote of that group between them, Henderson will get other votes of those who thought her father was OK, and some of the woman vote, so even though I would never endorse either, Henderson has the definite edge.

Steve Von Pfahl is the only one with an outsider edge.  His closing comments dealing with looking at alternatives in public policy showed he is not above doing the research and looking outside the box provided by the city manager.  His comments as a citizen during the RIP discussions showed he has some fire in the belly. 

So at this point, I am undecided but have narrowed it down to two. I will be listening in to WMOM, keep my ears open, and hope for some questions that help this indecision next week.