A Local City Councilor to be Proud Of

[XLFD]

In the eleven years I have been following the Ludington City Council, there hasn't really been a time that I can remember where I was 100% proud of a councilor.  There have been times where I have been inspired by a seemingly random act of good judgment or of courage, where a councilor breaks the hive mentality at least for a fraction of a meeting, but then they always slink back to the herd.  I have seen almost all councilors over the years have a shining moment in the sun, unfortunately their revelation doesn't seem to last and they gather back with the other councilors in a state of contrition. 

After a while, It makes citizens frustrated that the city council forgets the simple act of listening and caring about the things they hold dear, and that, over time, many councilors forget about.  A citizen of Seattle recently made that point to his flighty and inattentive council, after most if not all of that public body forgot how to listen and how to be courteous:

If you are a Ludington City Councilor and have read this far, I hope you take the Seattle video to heart if you ever decide to do other things while the people who wrestled up the courage to speak with you see you distracted with other things or talking among yourselves during their comments.  I may yet someday be totally proud of one or more of our new councilors, but they will have to do more to earn it, like the person whose story I relate from a neighboring county.

Perhaps neighboring is too generous, Mason and Newaygo Counties meet at one point, sharing that point with Oceana and Lake Counties.  Yet in the City of Newaygo resides a councilor who saw the county sheriff committing blatant election law violations in order to get extra dollars for extra road patrol units in the November election of 2018, much like Mason County did for their sheriff's department (except they snuck it in during August, when a lot fewer people vote). 

Instead of doing nothing, expecting a county official to do the right thing, or even using the city's resources under his command to address the issue, he filed a formal complaint with the Secretary of State, listing the three times he knew of where the sheriff's office campaigned for their millage using official personnel and resources and doing so while officially working.  This reform-minded councilor (I have never used those two terms together before) is named Mike Hikade, and this isn't the first time he's worked against corruption. like when he took on a City of Newaygo TIF Authority.  

“A few months ago I asked what this group was about and I was told it as economic development. It seems to me to be more about personal development.”  Councilor Hikade cited dinners, hunting trips and other activities engaged in by a public group (including the mayor and city manager) as well as his displeasure with recent bonuses paid to the employees. He offered 5 recommendations.

In an election law violation ruling that he prevailed (see Hikade v Mendham), Hikade is still rather disappointed in the outcome, which had Sheriff Bob Mendham pay $100 for the three separate violations in the months before the millage election, which lost anyway, unlike the one in Mason County.  

"The punishment is a “slap on the wrist” and amounts to that of a “parking ticket", said Hikade.  He suggested that a small fine downplays the seriousness of the offense when government officials violate campaign finance law, and he said that state legislators should look into changing the law.

Additionally, Hikade said that he is surprised that the county clerk and the Board of Commissioners let the officers violate campaign finance law — including at public meetings of several townships — for so long. If he did not file a complaint, Hikade said, the violation would have been overlooked and the officers would have continued to advocate for the millage tax increase using taxpayer-funded resources.  He added:  "There has not been a millage increase in a while and there was no need to have one. The sheriff simply wanted more money to spend."

That's totally courageous, I would take a bullet for a guy like this if he was on the Ludington council.  The feckless sheriff, on the other hand, replied to investigators before the election by saying about the charge of his impropriety:  

Sheriff Mendham needs a course in how to be a conscientious and modest public servant, and he likely lost the millage because the citizens of Newaygo County had that corruption and tone-deafness in his department revealed by my new city council idol, Mike Hikade.  I hope if our councilors are still reading that they take note of the summary of his rebuttal to the sheriff's counter-attacking defense:

And his rebuttal to the need for the millage in the first place.  I encourage Mr. Hikade to move to Ludington when his term expires in Newaygo and root out the economic development schemes and the corruption still running rampant in this city and county. 

[Wonder Woman]

The guy in Seattle has a very valid point.  Just look at the councilor at the end of the table who is playing on her phone the entire time.

[Willy]

One would think that in a City the size of Seattle ,which just past a mandatory housing affordability law, that the seats in the audience would be filled with concerned citizens. But just like Ludington, the citizens are being discouraged from attending by a non responsive, self serving group of Councilors. Everyone knows that Ludington's ruling Council pays no attention to the public and is even hostile to anyone who shows a hint of common sense. Just look at the history behind how X has been treated and anyone else who has tried to make the Council pay attention to the wayward direction the City is heading. The most recent, of course, is the splash park which is an ill conceived and convoluted idea not because it is a splash park but because of where it is to be located and it's cost to the taxpayers. Besides, for a city that is almost surrounded by water, a splash pad and it's cost makes  no sense.
Three cheers for Mr.Hikade. He is performing his duties as a representative of the people in an admirable and open way. Just imagine what Ludington could be if the Council was filled with Mr. Hikade's. And just imagine what America would be if Congress was populated with his type.