COLDNews: Doing the Research a Kaye

[XLFD]

 

Today's City of Ludington Daily News has an interesting story on Mayor Candidate August "Pete" Engblade:

 

 

But the bottom is hard to read at that magnification, so here's what the last few paragraphs look like:

 

 

The bottom shows that he is 72 years old, but Pete is only 65 years old. 

 

It shows he runs Kaye's Care, an elder care business, whereas he is a State of Michigan probation/parole agent.

 

It shows he is a LHS graduate and has taken a smattering of classes, while in reality he has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from WMU, undergraduate degree from Ferris.

 

It shows he has 10 years on the Ludington City Council and other community activities he has not participated in, even though he has been on the City Council for 12 years (the maximum) and involved in gun safety training.

 

                          Kayngblade?!

In fact, all the attributes he is claimed to possess by the COLDNews is possessed by his as-of-this-writing-unofficial Mayor candidate Kaye Holman.  Is this part of the COLDNews plan to make Pete Engblade have marketable appeal to our area's transgender community?  

The COLDNews isn't a big fan of Pete Engblade, he's not the rubber stamp (even though he got one on his retirement) that, for some reason, the COLDNews desires in office.  Was this a simple error or an attempt to gloss over some of the attributes that make Mr. Engblade a more desirable candidate than others-- such as his holding of a Master's degree in Public Administration, and his admirable career in public service?  

Knowing the COLDNews track record it could be either.  Thanks for the late April Fool's joke.  See it here before they take it down:  http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news.php?story_id=70744

[Marty Redman]

Those Coldnewsers are such a bunch of jokesters.  Izzat picture a morph of Engblade and Holman, I don't recall eith having a goatee?  With kaye you never know tho. 

[XLFD]

Actually, I couldn't find any profiles of Pete Engblade's mug anywhere on the web, so I ran Kaye Holman's face with Bill Bob Thornton, the closest face I could find in the morph page's options to Pete's profile.

[Willy]

X. Here's how I look at it. None of the current Councilors deserves support to run for reelection especially for the Mayor's job. Did any of them contact you for information on what you have uncovered? Has any of them tried to determine if you were in fact framed and mistreated by Shay? Has any of them apologized for the extreme practice of forking out thousands of taxpayers dollars for hired attorneys and court costs so they could hold back public information? I don't like any of them because they all went along with your character assassination. The current crop of Councilors should be ashamed of themselves and do not deserve the public's trust or confidence. To H_ll with all of them.

[XLFD]

What's scary so far, is that there is nobody officially in the mix for the positions of City Councilors for the 2nd, 4th, and 6th wards, other than the incumbents in those seats, neither of which are term limited out this time.  If that holds, and the mayor's race grows even further beyond three (as rumors run rampant of additional stooges running for that post), it will totally prove the opposite of what the Committee for a Stronger Ludington asserted last year in their failed bid to give Mayor John up to two more terms. 

 

That is, the notion that extending terms limits is good for democracy because it allows the people to choose the same person over and over again, instead of being cheated out of voting for him by some artificial term limit.  It is a compelling argument, but has no bearing in the real world. 

 

Do you really believe that there would be so much interest in the Mayor job this year if Henderson was eligible for a fourth term?  The energy that has been shown by the three candidates so far, the feint by Megan Payment, the "who will run?" and interest in the political aspects of the new mayor and how that will change Ludington's direction is something that would have been totally lost if the political machinery of Boss Henderson and his engrained power of his incumbency and 'partnerships' would have been a deterrent for almost all serious contenders. 

 

I'm going to try to organize a proposal to drop term limits back to two terms to be voted on in November, non-retroactive so I can see my buddy Gary Castonia back behind the counter for four more years (I hate seeing him cry).  If anybody would be interested in helping to circulate a petition for this, please send me a message.  Once we can get at least five serious petition-circulators, I will try to get it started.  If you know me, this is a compromise of my principles, because I think it would be ideal if you would only be able to serve one term at an elected  position. 

[XLFD]

I encourage all reform-minded citizens living in either of those even-numbered wards to run for City Council, because Willy is absolutely right about the current make-up of the council.  Even if you have a problem with me and think I sometimes treat them with disrespect, take a look at their voting records over the year.  Tax cuts:  none, some big raises, new fees, some Headlee overrides.  Property/Individual rights:  no expansions, several contractions.  Infrastructure spending going down, while discretionary spending on downtown flower baskets (right of way changes, way faring signs, et. al.), water tower painting, etc. goes way up. 

Who is really being disrespected here?

[AQUAMAN]

I think you might have missed some statements Pete also made about infrastructure around town. He said it's in decay, and needs improvements, like the US-10 and Staffon St. area. And so many other streets and alleys. He also touched on the new Washington Ave. bridge, and how that needs to now be maintained better once rebuilt. Yes, it would be nice to see Pete elected and have new faces in the council that he can rely on for support, and progress towards better goals for Ludington's citizenry. Some new faces with new ideas and new energy, the kind that isn't there for the money, publicity, and tourist projects. Some new faces that will look out for the locals now, the ones paying the taxes, the ones making contributions to the city with their work ethic, their job creations, and faith in themselves and a system that has gone awry for all too long. Some new faces that really are there for a positive change, not the quid pro-quo of voting like pawns in a game of chess that only a select few control. If we could only get leaders like that again, with vision, and discipline for positive actions, we might have a real council and mayor again. The time for "good honest hard working locals" to come forward, serve in some capacity, even if only on a committee, is here.

[XLFD]

I didn't miss his statements on infrastructure, but I think he does have some serious questions to answer about his record on the issue during his twelve years as councilor.   If Pete has reborn himself in his two year absence, I'm more than willing to absolve some of his previous transgressions, but  Pete coasted through his last year or two, and made some mistakes in that time period. 

[Willy]

I agree X. Pete was part of the problem and part of the good ol boy network. He's had his turn and now  needs to step back and let someone who is interested in serving the whole community have a chance so the chain of that unholy alliance between business, Government and the tourist trade can be broken. This unholy alliance would not be so unholy if the citizens who are the meat and potatoes of this community were included in the Governmental process and were given consideration and a  voice when decisions are made.

[XLFD]

Twenty eight hours and counting since I've brought this to their attention and the COLDNews still hasn't corrected their error.  Those clowns, unlike the MSP and this modest website, don't matter too much about fiction being left out in the public eye.  Engblade may turn out to be the lesser of the evils when the race gets down to two.

Look out for an interesting bit of news at tomorrow's City Council meeting to shake things up a little.  No hints.

[AQUAMAN]

Before all get too up and snippy about Pete, at least he has the guts to throw his hat in the ring. Did he ever make mistakes? Of course he did, so do we all. Pete's the one and only council member I can say stood up to that unholy alliance, many times, and to his own dismay sometimes. Fear of not agreeing with them, is not a sole responsibility that he should have had to bear on his shoulders alone, yet, he did, and quite a few times. As for his opponents, Kosla is young and inexperienced in any government activity. Holman, well, her mouth flapping aimlessly and continuously in the wind so much, reminds me of a bull in a china shop. She thinks she knows it all, and has proven time after time during council meetings that she is uninformed, misguided, and feeble at best, not to mention callous and rude. Not a Mayoral type we need imho. People should rather be asking about that unholy city treasure chest of over $8Million in taxes collected sitting in banks collecting .025% interest, instead of being spent on the infrastructure and other needs of the locals, not to also mention big tax breaks that are overdue and warranted at this time. From the candidates signed up so far, my money and vote is for Pete. In conclusion, I think it befits the man to at least have a correct picture of himself offered on this thread, I can't find one yet.

[Willy]

Was Pete on the Council when that boondoggle of a marina expansion was constructed at a cost of a million dollars? Was  Pete on the council when the persecution of X began? Was Pete on the council when the water towers costs were breaking the bank? Has Pete ever voiced his opinion, publicly, about the disgraceful way X was dragged over the coals and publicly humiliated for trying to expose the truth? Has Pete ever contacted X or tried to help set things straight at City Hall?  Has Pete ever publicly admonished the Council for spending thousands of dollars to pay attorneys to fight the release of public information? If he has I haven't heard of it. I have nothing personal  against Pete. I just want to see someone who is going to get the City on a true and honest course and even though Pete may be a very nice guy I don't think he is the one to set the City and Council straight.

[XLFD]

To answer Willy's mix of questions in order:  yes, yes, yes, no, sort of but no, no. 

I can't argue with either of your opinions, because I both think you have it right, even though you've came to different premises and conclusions.