Who I Am and Why I am Running For City Councilor

[XLFD]

My name is Tom Rotta and I am running for against the Ludington City Councilor At-Large position.  Here's a brief biography followed by a rationale for running a campaign.

I was born March 26, 1964 at Paulina Stearn's Hospital, right here in Ludington's 4th Ward.  I lived my formative years in the area, attending Victory Elementary and eventually entered the Mason County Central school system, where I graduated with highest honors in 1982, earning a National Merit Scholarship for college that would effectively pay for my next four years of education.

At those times I greatly enjoyed bicycling (a love that lasts to this day), boating down the river, tennis and baseball, even though I had a reputation for being bookish due to my grades.  Throughout high school, I delivered the Detroit Free Press throughout Scottville (50-65 papers), and performed various farm jobs during the summer and beyond.

I then went away to college and eventually graduated from Central Michigan University in 1987 with high honors and a BS degree in Mathematics, but I also learned a valuable life lesson when I made a bad error in judgment on the way to that degree.

One late night, I wandered into the basement of my dorm, and entered a door that had been left open.  I found myself in the food supply room for the dorm's cafeteria.  Hunger and a 21 year-old's college ethics conspired together, and I snatched and ate about $5 worth of food.  I was caught, admitted my offense, and as a result was fined $200 and put on probation for petty larceny. 

This incident has stuck with me for over 25 years, but beyond (very minor) traffic tickets since then, my record has been clear, and I do not wish to relive the aftermath of my ethical lapse that one night.  Perhaps it makes me more intolerant of what passes for legal nowadays at City Hall.

In my twenties, I traveled the country and stayed and worked a while in Massachusetts, California, and Illinois, and eventually got my Masters degree at Michigan State University.  By my thirtieth birthday, however, I was ready to come back home for a variety of reasons. 

While working as an adjunct professor at WSCC and as a seasonal ranger at Ludington State Park, I had another life-changer.  One night, July 29, 1995, I was at the LSP's front gate just past midnight, when a very drunk driver crashed into a camper, the booth, and me-- sending me flying 70 feet in the air, landing on concrete.  Somehow, I survived, but my leg was broken in three places.  In my recovery, I learned a lot about myself, and developed a relationship with a good woman, who (except for a brief hiatus) has stuck with me since.

Since then, I've been serially underemployed but happy, working as an apartment manager, firefighter, substitute teacher, security officer, Census worker (in 2000 and 2010), and a few volunteer bits.  I also occasionally dabble occasionally in investigative reporting for the public here at the Ludington Torch. 

 

I won't burden the reader with rehashing the problems I have had with certain individuals employed by City Hall, but what has continually kept me going is that there is very little concern at the highest levels with following the state's or city's laws or ethics policies.  There is little concern for the safety or rights of the citizens or visitors.   The misuse of public money by the DDA alone should concern all, and the competitive bidding process is frequently  overlooked.  Yet, they continue to raise fees and taxes, while we have a harder time making ends meet.

I don't want to be a politician.  I was kind of embarrassed getting my nomination petition signed, because I ran into a whole lot of the real people out there that don't have a lot of love or respect for our local officials-- just like me. 

Most I won over with what I was looking to do, which is basically to get in there with a small crowd of citizens with torches and pitchforks (figuratively) at my back to do what's best for the city and then, more importantly, do no more.  The water tower and marina projects were unnecessary and costly (over $2 million), whereas precious visitors died last summer due to a program that was scrapped worth about the same as last year's raise for our Manistee City Attorney.  Here was what I prepared for my nom. petition:  Petition to Nominate TR

With Pete Engblade, the only Councilor without a rubber stamp, retiring, we need someone that actually cares about every Ludington citizen.  I pledge to be that representative for the people, and the agent against what City Hall currently represents.

 

Halloween 2010:  Little Pumpkin and Superman

[AQUAMAN]

Sounds like a sincere grass root appeal to help Ludington's future become something to be proud of again, and should inspire more similar-minded citizens, to come forward for public service that is in dire need these days. We don't need to continue to follow the recent past, and present, unless the majority of people are truly happy, and vote that way. Way too many in the city limits, as well as county and state, have just given up and quit voting long ago. Can we blame them? When the majority of qualified voting public feels there is a real chance for positive change to again reach out to the citizens of Ludington for their future good, and common citizens come forward to run suspicious characters out of office, then we will cleanse our past with new vigor and integrity, just as our forefathers here wanted and expected from us as decendants. Most of the current regime are NOT decendants of anyone here, but downstate big city stooges, bringing their tried and true warped methods to Ludington. This is NOT what most here want, it's just what apathy produced and it's time that changed. Here's wishing you all the luck and success in your venture for good government again. Only we can put candidates like this into positions to make the right changes, not wishing and hoping from silent and apathetic sidelines.

[XLFD]

Lack of awareness of the problem is the problem.  Our elected officials are too often just the rubber-stampers of what the cadre of unelected managers, attorneys, and policy makers from outside are creating. 

But this isn't xenophobia, its just what's happening-- and almost all questionable dealings and policy making is being done by out-of-towners exploiting one thing or another that Ludington has to offer.