Selection Day, November 14, 2023

[XLFD]

Was it a mere coincidence that just one week after election day, on the same day strategically staggered, that three local public bodies selected three important positions?  The county commission (COM) was set to replace their only county administrator ever after interviewing the four candidates all day.  Pere Marquette Charter Township (PMCT) trustees were set to look at and select a township supervisor after interviewing five candidates at 4 PM.  And the city council of Ludington (COL) was set to see the same number of candidates vie for the open Third Ward seat vacated when Les Johnson moved over to the county commission at 6 PM. 

On the Radio

But even before all of these choices took place, local radio station WMOM showed some civic mindedness by holding a candidate forum for the Third Ward candidates that morning, and four of them appeared to give their views and their qualifications for the job.  Full disclosure, this reporter was on the docket.  After Mark Rogers and Melissa Reed took their fifteen minutes to make their case, with songs between of course, I took my turn, and I was followed by Jason Gerbers.  You can see WMOM crafted articles on each candidate at the video links provided.

I would have loved a debate on the issues facing the city with the rest of the candidates, but alas it wasn't meant to be but there was a good time had nevertheless.  If time on air is any indication, I had the most to offer of interest, with over five more minutes than Rogers had. While this likely had no effect on the six councilors making the selection, I hope it showed other listeners with some inherent bias against my activism that my intentions and goals are noble and sensible.

Meanwhile at the airport

After Attorney Gerbers voice trailed off on WMOM, the county board was getting through their regular meeting and preparing for 45-minute interviews with the four candidates for county administrator.  Jason Schlicht went first, followed by Timothy Dolehanty, lunch, then Mark Justin and Kaitlyn Szczypka, finishing around 2:30. 

The board would unanimously approve of the youthful Szczypka the current clerk of Elk Rapids, as their next leader, and will have current administrator Fabian Knizacky stay on until (up to) February of 2024 to guide and train her for the position while she has the title of deputy administrator starting in January.  Knizacky' has served the county for 30 years with integrity and class.  Kaitlyn has some big shoes to fill, but at 29 years old and excelling at formal training, she could outdo Fabian's longevity.

Coronation at the Corner of Iris Road

Out of the nine items of new business that the board was set to look at the first two, the candidate interviews and selection of township supervisor, were the ones that filled the meeting at 4 PM.  The regular meeting still had its regular routine before that, with department reports, county official reports, and public comment.  The two persons who would comment that night along with the one piece of correspondence had one thing in common, they all advocated for one of the five candidates, Kelly Smith.  My comment was a little more enigmatic, and rhythmic for that matter, as I made three points in a little over a minute.

XLFD:  "Three things quickly.  First, the minutes approved tonight had an oversight, or perhaps it was wishful thinking, by noting that Karie Bleau was not present at the last meeting, when she was.  Second, until this spring the township's Facebook page allowed for two -way communication with the public by allowing comments to be made and responded to.  As this township moves past a difficult era it should reopen all lines of communication they can to show that they care about what the public thinks, whether it be praise, criticism, or an innovation never considered. 

Lastly, when it came time for belling the cat, several courageous mice in the township came forward and took the risk to themselves and their livelihoods and they should all be recognized for valor, many of them are here. 

But only one threw his hat in the ring, to dethrone the king,

and when that king left town, an election still went down.

The fleeing in-cum-bent, lost by seventy percent. 

The moral of the story:  you can't go wrong as a representative of the people when you follow the will of 85% of the voters."

And though I never mentioned his name, had a lot of respect for his opponents (even more after the interviews), and know him only through a formal introduction, Smith had the winning combination of experience, character, and humility that one hopes to see rise in the field of public service.  The other three candidates interviewed (Jamie Healy bowed out of contention before the meeting) all faced an uneasy question about why they didn't file for the recall election, and there was no great answer to that question.  

Ronald Mousel, a retired school superintendent, advised the board to choose him as an interim supervisor, had the best answer, because he believes whoever is chosen should be transitional since PMCT may decide to hire a superintendent or a township manager in the future to take many of the supervisor's duties and powers.  He was rather convincing of that position in his presentation which preceded the questions.  In their eventual choice, the board decided not to take this path.

Jennifer Doggett and Megan Tresnak both offered youth and persistence in their presentation, but it was not enough, Kelly Smith had youth, more experience, and took place in the events that led to the successful recalls of two PMCT officials while keeping his hands clean and his head above the fray.  The decision was unanimous:  Kelly Smith.

So, while my parable may have had little or no effect on the ultimate decision, at least PMCT heard the rest of my brief comment.  They would allow comments on their Facebook page the next day.  But the selection process took about two hours, so just after the vote was made, I needed to head back to Ludington City Hall because I had some questions to answer at 6 PM.  I left the PMCT Board meeting at the same time my neighbor Mark Rogers left for the same purpose.

The Third Warred

The Third Ward is arguably the most important ward in Ludington, containing all downtown businesses, Stearns Park, Rotary Park, the harbor (with the SS Badger), city hall, post office, library, etc.  This makes the 3rd ward councilor position very important, second only to the councilor at large, and the sitting councilors know that.  Many hold grudges against me speaking the hard truth to them at most meetings, then writing about their failures in the Ludington Torch later, showing them in their glory by offering the videos and recapping their public acts.  Some take that personally, I call it a public service on my part that they can always correct by coming on here, the Ludington Pitchfork, or writing me at the email address I have provided them with often.

I could have totally said everything right on my WMOM interview (I surely didn't), I could have aced every response to questions with the council, by thoroughly knowing each of their viewpoints, but I would have never gotten the call up to represent the Third Ward on their vote.  They are a lot like the MCP's Rob Alway, a very corrupt and elitist Scottville city commissioner, who couldn't take the grief I was giving him for his tainted acts and resigned.  In his totally objective article forecasting the night, he would say:  "Tom Rotta is a firewood vendor who boasts, in his letter of interest to the council, about the many lawsuits he has filed against the city and other local municipalities, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars."

I have a bit of fun in showcasing my talents at the expense of the pride of the City of Ludington and Scottville, but I never boast about costing taxpayers any amount of money.  In truth, I have saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2019 by one simple catch of the city trying to collect another 1% in property taxes for administrative fees.  Without my action, over $120,000 each year would have been taken by local taxing authorities, meaning that I've saved us all over a half million dollars at this point, just by doing my research and forcing the council to make a difficult decision.  They decided wisely not to raise taxes so overtly.

But I already knew Rob had zero credibility with anything political, I'm just glad more are finding that out.  After banging the gavel doing the routines and asking for public comment (none) the process began in earnest.

Melissa Reed offered her three-page resume and her experience on the planning commission to the board.  She seemed a safe choice, she answered one question from each of the councilors and the mayor, and did it without any noticeable glitch, and with at least a little knowledge of the city's direction and agreement with it.  

Then it was my turn.  The mayor went first and asked the same question he asked to all of the other candidates, about what issue the city had which impassioned me most.  While I have had many over the years, the answer came easily to me, it was the rental inspection ordinance passed back in 2015 and inflicted on the city the next year.  I went into great deal explaining to them how that simple act led to our current crises in affordable housing availability and homelessness.  I stopped short in saying that the giveaways the council has been doling out to out-of-town developers in order to create housing that turns out to be non-affordable in recent years is only making things worse in the long run. 

I gave reasonable and civil answers to other questions asked me, so much that Councilor Cain asked me whether they would see this same Tom Rotta show up at council meetings.  I don't get asked questions at council meetings, I just get mostly ignored.  But when it came time for Councilor Ted May to ask me a question, he led off with a rather long statement that might make Rob Alway blush, suggesting I had viciously criticized each city department and them regularly, and Mayor Mark Barnett heard enough to have him try another question.  When May tried again, it came off just as bad (for him) and the mayor went to the next councilor.  

May had asked every other candidate about how they had felt on the marijuana dispensary issue, and I'm sure I would have had a better answer than the others for that.  After the meeting, I tried to get the full question he was going to answer through FOIA, but he apparently hadn't written it down, even though he was obviously reading it when he asked me.  I sent an email to his official email, advising him that I could understand his frustration in not being able to have his question answered, it happens at most meetings for me, so I asked whether he could share the question he was planning to ask so I could respond.  I haven't had a response in over a day.

After holding my own during the rest of the inquisition, the dais went to Attorney Jason Gerbers.  He seemed a rather personable fellow, easy going and joking throughout about himself, his profession, and his relative newness to the area.  While he did well, Gerbers should not ever be considered for any position as a public official until he explains why he was so gullible as to write cease-and-desist letters for Jerry and Karie Bleau against other public officers and citizens of PMCT for First Amendment protected activity, threatening each person with strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) if they didn't stop speaking critically of the Bleaus.  

Then came Jeanne Oakes, a 75-year-old former superintendent and a host of other positions.  Oakes had been appointed to the DDA last summer, but she never mentioned this in her resume or at the podium.  As a member, she has missed a majority of the DDA Board meetings so far in 2023.  She didn't show up at the WMOM interviews either, but she came across as kind and genial without knowing much about the issues.  

Mark Rogers came last, and as his neighbor, I have never seen him so dapperly dressed.  Unfortunately for Mr. Rogers, his neighborhood worked against him for getting the job, because he was not only close to me as to where he lived, but also as to how he was perceived as a small business owner and a commonsense thinker.  This was not what the council was seeking.

So, who did they wind up picking?  The one who was not able to air her views on the radio and has had other things going on when it comes time to serve the city on the DDA Board.  The one who smiled like the kindest grandmother, said the nicest (but meaningless) things about the council and the city, and who raised the average age of the council from 67 to 68, even when a fossilized Les Johnson moved on.  I could easily believe this was a rigged selection.

Sounds about right for this council, at least they were not choosing a county administrator or a township supervisor to guide them.   Reed would get a vote from Councilor Terzano, Gerber would get two votes (Bulger and Cain), and Oakes would get the rest (Winczewski, Stibitz and May).  Terzano would go Oakes on the next vote to make it official.  

Councilor Winczewski would just make my day before she cast her vote, scolding me like a schoolboy who refuses to follow the accepted process (but who always gets the right answer).  I went over to Mark Rogers after the meeting to congratulate him on tying me (at zero) in the original vote.  The long selection day was over.

[stump]

 That's all we need is someone who didn't show up, is not informed about what's going on and just goes along fat , dumb and happy . Do you recall the statement , I JUST WANT TO BE MAYOR?  yep we got another one of those.

[XLFD]

That would be former Mayor Kaye Holman who sadly passed away this year, during the 150th birthday of Ludington.  Les Johnson was given a resolution of appreciation this last Monday, remember when Mayor Holman was retiring and had Les hand her the 'resolution of appreciation' she merited:

[Freedom Seeker]

True! True!

[Willy]

Thanks for the post and the inside look at what goes on in local politics. It was also fun to read. It read like a mini novel with all the characters clamoring for a piece of the action. Some with good intentions and others still looking at life thru closed eyelids. An article that tries to tell a story with facts and common sense. A fine piece of writing sprinkled with humor and insight. All of that including a Grandma Moses, a bitter witch of the West and a gloomy May. What a cast of characters. Well done.

[Willy]

I forgot to mention the letter you sent to the Ludington City Council. It is an absolute classic and hits the mark on all points.

[XLFD]

Thank you, Willy.  When I finished my resume, I saw that it was rather light on showing experience at the local government level-- but it seemed to me that I've had an incredible amount of experience with local government over the last 15 years, and so I went over that breadth of experience in my letter of interest.  None of the other candidates had nearly the same amount of experience or success at the local level, I figured I would highlight that-- and try to keep it on one page, otherwise it would look like I was bragging or something. 

The council made a mistake if they are in agreement with the old adage:  "keep your friends close but keep your enemies (critics) closer."  They would have been able to make my life difficult by choosing me and they would have been better able to control what I can do and say-- then use their corrupted powers to sanction me as they used to do with Angela Serna when she dared say anything bad about a fellow official.  Councilors May and Winczewski said very demeaning, incorrect, and slanderous things against me during the interview process, but are any of them going to be held to account?  Not by this council, that's why most of them need to just go away and do us all a favor.

Our friends in PM Township showed exactly what I have been showing over the last decade plus:  that citizens have a lot of power, once they figure out how to wield it.