A Time to Run, A Time to Walk

[XLFD]

I'm Running

On Thursday, March 24, 2016, I picked up a nominating petition in order to run for the position of city councilor for the third ward, a position I will run for in earnest against the incumbent, Les Johnson, should he run for re-election as expected (he has also picked up a nominating petition), and any other candidate whose position mirrors compliance with the current regime. 

I do not take this decision lightly; I have no great desire to become a public servant, in many ways I feel that I lack the aptitude for the position.  Yet we have to remember that those we remember as being the founding fathers of our country were essentially non-political outsiders that were pushed too far by the tyranny from afar. 

Another 'rebel' with the same Christian first name as mine, and a last name homonymous with 'pain' (that would be Thomas Payne, for all you Fourth Warders) stated in his preamble to "The Crisis": 

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."

Surely what is happening in Ludington, in mostly piecemeal fashion, is a crisis that affects each of our citizens and property owners.  Freedom is being taken away, money is being unfairly taken away, the spirit of our common citizenry is being drained away, and most alarmingly, our most precious resource, our safety and health, is being compromised by a city management team that would spend millions of public dollars on municipal marina improvements and other whimsical projects while ignoring threats to the public's well-being and keeping up with their duty to maintain basic utilities.  

My pledge is to work to restore freedoms recently taken away by tyrannical city officials, and restore more money back to the public, while sensibly coordinating our city to face the challenges of our until recently ignored infrastructure and stop the neglect, cronyism and corruption that is only getting worse.  Specifics will be provided and I will need your help to overcome inertia.

I'm Walking

Today I did something that was a spur of the moment decision, I joined a marathon walking exercise starting at the West End of Ludington all the way to the outskirts of Scottville, over 8 miles.  I had originally started walking down from the hospital to get a look at a planned walk by Ed Lombard, 60, who lives in the small village of Custer who set out about noon today, March 25, all the while dragging a large, wooden cross and wearing a believable period outfit.

I had walked from the Spectrum Hospital area going west and caught up with them going east at around the downtown Wesco.  Lombard had announced his walk roughly a week ago on the COLDNews, and he had a small contingent of folks traveling with him.  I decided I would walk with him at least back to where I started from, but I wound up traveling the eight miles with him. 

Why did I decide to do that?  I can't totally be sure, but I think there were two reasons involved as to why I wanted to do so, at great pain to my aching feet.  Like Ed Lombard, who normally drives a truck but is a devoutly pious figure who had once hoped to run for governor back in 2010, I thought it was a great way to commemorate Good Friday, a day we usually overlook but perhaps one of the main foundations as to why Christianity is so cherished by many.  What better way to celebrate than to endure a fraction of the pain suffered 2000 years ago.

My second motivation was to make sure he was able to fulfill his quest.  Eight miles carrying a cross is a major task for a stout 60 year old man with occasional joint problems, and the eight or so followers who went with him were teenage girls and older men and women.  I wanted to make sure he was successful, and I wasn't sure there was any others there that would easily bear this burden.  I was willing to emulate Simon of Cyrene and help him out if need be. 

 

Fortunately, he was blessed enough to make the trek without needing any such help.  We made it to Scottville and attracted news reporters from TV 9 & 10 and TV 7 & 4 on the way.  It was fun.

I'm not very pious myself, so someone who knows me pretty good figured out why I may have been encouraged to join this walk.  They said it was a cross between always being there to help when I can, and because of my own identity as a Christ-like figure in Ludington.  I definitely am not near the same level, so they weren't saying I had the ability to walk on water and cure the sick, but that our city officials have acted like imperial Rome in persecuting me through the years. 

Christians often claim that Jesus' message was not political, sticking to the gospel line that jealous Jewish leaders forced Pontius Pilate to execute him for the crime of sedition.  But politics was very much in the words and viewpoints of Jesus, and his words went against the ruling elite of the time.  He wound up being taken to task for it, which is the same thing that has happened to me over the years in Ludington, and will follow most anyone else who believes the words of our city leaders to be blasphemy or lies, of which many are. 

And I have to agree with some of my friend's psychoanalysis, I actually noticed the parallels in both of our fates while on the long walk, and look forward with faith and resolve for the long road ahead to making our city accountable once again to the people. 

[AQUAMAN]

Krauch is simply a bad Illinois Attorney. Couldn't cut the mustard in the big city, so he flew up to good old Ludington, and somehow, got "appointed, not elected, as a city councilman". His knowledge and history in Lud. is nothing short of a joke! Here a scant 1-1/2 years and acquiring more power and prestige than any other I know in just a very short stay. Now he's nothing but another city hall crony, and can't even afford to keep his phone connected as of recent. JOKE! NOT even a good LIAR, but then, most attorneys are anyhow, till you read their body language. I could read that over the phone in just a few minutes, blindfolded.

[XLFD]

That's why I pray that the Fourth Ward selects someone other than him this fall, for if both he and I get elected, then as Third Ward Councilor, I would be sitting between him and another failed attorney, Richard Wilson. 

I can't afford to have any of that poor attorney manna rub off on me from either side; I have FOIA and OMA lawsuits against public entities to win.

[XLFD]

Thanks for becoming involved and bringing others into the mix, jfc123.  The issues of the PM Bayou and the West End can be a great unifying factor for the general citizenry to get involved and ask about the level of city involvement in both-- and why they expend so much energy in trying to change the West End vs. a united public, and yet none in dealing with the very real contamination in the PM Bayou and beyond, despite our city and county being at the top, outliers in 2013, in lead contamination in our kids. 

Shay lying about our drinking water lead test results is many times worse than what Snyder is being recalled for in his part of the Flint crisis. 

[MED]

ARRRRRGH! There's that old Ludington attitude again. I've been going there for nearly 20 years now. I own property in the city. I pay TWICE AS MUCH property tax than my full time neighbors, and don't get a vote in the matter. I love the town more than where I live downstate, and feel it is my home away from home. I intend to retire there (unless the State of Michigan continues on this disastrous path to increase any/all taxes to pay for corrupt Detroit).

Yet town residents just LOVE to bad mouth the hands that feed them - those of us that still visit yet hope to live there someday. (Not you guys though - I love you!)

So I support you X, in your efforts. Let me know where I can pick up a sign to place in my condo building, to perhaps get the attention of my full time resident neighbors. I assume I cannot sign your petition, since I'm only an outsider. :-( 

[XLFD]

I appreciate any and all help from the numerous condo owners in the Third Ward, few of who are full time residents and capable of voting, but fully capable of influencing those who can.  Councilor Johnson hasn't ever voted to decrease your taxes or ever-mounting fees, I can't recall him ever publicly-acknowledging there is a problem, however, he fully supports most schemes by our management team to get more out of you for more projects outside what a local government should be planning on. 

I will let you know how to get a yard sign or two when they become available and employable, even if you have no yard and just a nice picture window or a side window of your car.  

[shinblind]

Is that close to being a direct quote from 4th Ward Commissioner Krauch? 

Will he  be  using that as a campaign slogan?

Will be putting this on his election material?  Handouts for the Freedom Festival?  Macker?

Maybe he can get Tye Signs to make him a big banner? Fly the banner across from Epworth

"Out of Town People Don't Matter"  

vote mikey krauch

Exactly for who is the West End Scheme being designed for?

The locals?

While I am no fan of running the city for the fudgies, they do provide a economic boost in the summer. Face it the only thing more lucrative around here is having an inside line to the city fraud grant money to line your nest with.

Krauch sounds like a real stooge and a complete lunatic even thinking that out of town petition signers don't matter.

[jfc123]

I wonder if Krauch wants to put up a banner by the PM bayou? Or near the business that can no longer function? LOL

[XLFD]

Don't forget that Michael Krauch, long term public servant working at MSU Extension gets appointed to the city council to represent the Fourth Ward (by seven people who rarely set foot in the territory), and then uses tax money to pay for his meet and greet.  Everything you want to know about Krauch's character, and the character of our other officials, can be learned from that incident.

[Willy]

I do believe that any person over 18 is qualified to sign the petition even if they are not a resident of Ludington because this project is being funded with public money. So every signature counts.

[XLFD]

Some clarifications since the topic of this thread has organically broadened in scope.

Anybody can sign the on-line petition, the unscrupulous can sign it often.  That's why unscrupulous John Shay and the equally 'unscrupeded' city council can justify their ignorance of the petition.  They shouldn't, however, because with a little follow up effort/investigation you would be able to verify the signees.

This differs from a city office nominating petition which is closer to the topic.  Any registered voter can help circulate the petition, but only voters within the city (or the ward for a city councilor) can sign it.  The councilor at large position, which will have Holman be term limited out, can have any ward person sign theirs, but they need forty instead of twenty.  Two people have already gotten petitions to run for the at-large position, so if you get the urge to run, and you're in one of the four wards where there is a vote, consider running for that.

[stump]

Getting back to the election of Tom Rotta for city council , Is it true that if elected you would have the inside scoop and FOIA will no longer be part of your life at least in the city of ludington? That would make your life much easier,

[XLFD]

I will have to be even more inquisitive to be an effective reformative councilor.  I point you to Section 6.5 of the city on city council investigations:  "The Council may make investigations into the affairs of the City and conduct of any City department, office, or agency and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of evidence. Failure or refusal to obey a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers by the Council shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days in the County Jail, or both." 

Imagine if you will, a denial of a request for non-exempt public records made by Councilor XLFD who brings that up at a council meeting.  Imagine a better scenario that at least one other reform-minded councilor gets elected and they happen to be on the same subcommittee that oversees what the request was about.  Imagine an even rosier scenario where at least three other reformers were on the city council and wanted to know why this information isn't being released and conduct an investigation.   

Making FOIA requests is easy, prosecuting the public enemy that blocks the request is difficult.  I will have a greater responsibility to do that as a councilor.