Point No. 10:

10. Empanel truly independent charter review committee,with the purpose of proposing changes to the city charter that: A) Mandate thatMiddletown’s city government return to the true purposes of a municipalgovernment; B) Emphasize the division of powers within the city; C) Ease theprocedure for recalling elected officials, and the implementation of theimmediate discharge of non-elected officials, who violate city ordinances,charter provisions, or State of Ohio General Law; and D) incorporate the OhioAttorney General’s “seven tests for compatibility of offices” into the Charter.

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I believe it istime for our City Charter to be re-written and submitted to the people foracceptance.  I believe that the time hascome.  It needs too many changes toattack it piecemeal. 

(Please bear inmind that each and every change, if done individually, must be submitted to thevoters for approval.  This leads toconfusion and bad choices, like the “two-fer” choice last time of “eliminatingwards AND reducing the size of council from 7 to 5.  You couldn’t vote “for” one and “against” theother.  You had to either take both, orreject both.) 

The items Ilisted above are just for starters.  ButI do believe that this Charter Committee should be free from relatives ofcouncil members and free from members of MMF.

I truly believethis needs to be done, as it seems that things have just gotten out of hand inour fair city.

In fact, if theunimaginable () happens and I lose this election, I think that I will re-write iton my own.  It might take me a year orso, but I believe that I can do it in such a way that the ONLY ones who can POSSIBLYbe against it would be the crooks!!! Then I will propose it to the sitting city council, and we can watch tosee who votes AGAINST submitting it to you, the people, to vote upon!!! 

Point No. 9:

 Immediately and inwriting, explain to the City Law Director that his first duty is to thecitizens of Middletown, and that this duty supersedes any directives from citycouncil.

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It also willtake a resolution directing the City Manager to do this, and probably willnever happen, but I can try.  I alsoadmit that it is paradoxical that I want what would essentially be a “directivefrom council” to say that it “supersedes any directives from council”.

The problem thatI see is this:  I believe that EVERY cityemployee’s first allegiance is to the citizens of Middletown.  I also believe that every employee shouldfollow the law.  There should be noquestion about that.  It is my opinionthat the city Law Director spends more time trying to find loopholes and waysaround the law than he does explaining to council what the law is and that theyhave to follow it.

This leads tothings such as “Home rule trumps state law.” And “Abstentions count with themajority.”  (I believe that both of thesepositions are flat out incorrect!)  Theyalso have led to some very, very shaky “conflict of interest” and “no councilmember shall profit” positions.  I alsohave sat right in meetings myself, with the law director in attendance, thatwere “pre-arranged meetings with a majority (a “quorum”) of city councilmembers in attendance, for the purpose of discussing public business” and wherepublic business was discussed, and agreements were reached (not with formalvotes, but with “nods”), yet everyone but me insisted that these were NOT“meetings of city council”.  If thecouncil members didn’t know it (or didn’t believe me when I told them) and theCity Manager didn’t know it, then the Law Director certain should have known it and shouldhave told them!!!

I just believe thateveryone who draws a public paycheck, no matter how large or how small, is apublic servant, and their first allegiance to the public which theyserve!!!  How it got to the point inMiddletown where people don’t seem to understand that and need to have itexplained to them, I don’t know.  Butthat is one of the main reasons that I am running!!!  Perhaps the people who need to be told thisin writing should just move on.  Perhapsthey are just not cut out to be “public servants”.

Point No. 8:

 Immediatelyabolish all city codes or ordinances banning, or even discouraging, signsvisible from I-75, or from the surface streets in the areas surroundingInterstate highway interchanges, when such signs advertise goods, products,businesses or services available in the City of Middletown. *********************************************************************************

Of course thiswill take a resolution directing the City Manager to have legislation preparedto this effect, as Acclaro pointed out above, but I will propose such action.  And this is just a start.  I believe we have to loosen up our signordinance and gave some examples of why above in my reply to Acclaro.  I just can’t for the life of me figure outwhy we have become “ashamed” of our businesses and feel that it is tacky forthem to advertise.  Advertising iseffective, and our city demonstrated the height of hypocrisy when we advertisedour Weatherwax Golf Course on billboards at the exits just north and just southof our city on I-75, but we ban billboards in our city, even along that sameinterstate highway!!!  And think aboutall of the signs we stick in our rights-of-way for MidFest and othercity-approved events.  Signs that wouldbe illegal if erected by anyone else, anywhere else in our city!!! Whathypocrisy!!!  I guess that it’s onlytacky when someone else does it???

We cannot expectpeople to spend money at our businesses (and thereby for our businesses tothrive) if people cannot identify them or find them!  Sure, there need to be some standards, andthere need to be some regulations, but we have gone way overboard.  Look around! This is the Section 8 capital of Ohio…not Beverly Hills!!!  Allowing our businesses to reasonablyadvertise their goods and services is not going to ruin our reputation…or our“ambiance”.  Bringing more business andcommerce to town will only improve it. 

And right now, weactually DO make many of our businesses plant trees or bushes in frontof their signs!!!  This goes beyondhypocrisy…this is stupidity.

Point No. 7:

 Immediately issue a policy paper to all city employeesinvolved in engineering, planning, zoning, and other businessdevelopment-related fields instructing them that personal preferences can nolonger be tolerated while conducting city business. Include in this policypaper instructions that no city employee’s tastes shall be imposed upon, oreven suggested to, any potential business enterprise, and to purge all localcodes and ordinances of personal preferences. Include a warning that anyviolation of this policy will result in immediate summary discharge.

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Again, let me beperfectly frank.  City employees’personal tastes have no place anywhere in the operation of our city, butespecially not in the business and technical aspects of it.  The City of Middletown is not the personal“Sim City” of any employee, for him or her to play with and try to build theidyllic village of his or her child-like fantasies.  If any employee wants to build a Sim City,then let them buy the software with their own funds and play with it on theirown time.  If they don’t have enoughpersonal time to play Sim City, I’ll be happy to arrange an additional 40 hours(or more) per week of free time for anyone who thinks that the citizens,business owners, or prospective business owners of this city have to kowtow totheir personal tastes.

All citydecisions must be fact-based on sound business principles.  If you like tweed jackets or angora sweaters,then by all means—wear a tweed jacket or an angora sweater every day.  But do not try to make every one of ourcitizens, or every entity who tries to do business with us or start a businessin our city, wear a tweed jacket or wrap their business in one just because youhappen to like it.

Point No. 6:

 Immediately issue a policy paper to all citydepartment heads, instructing them to distribute it, and explain it, to allemployees that there will no longer be any unwarranted impediments to businessdevelopment. Further instruct them to explain to all employees that there is nosuch thing, for example, as “the right architect“. The right architect is anyarchitect licensed to practice in the state of Ohio, or licensed in any statewith reciprocity agreements with the state of Ohio, and that any employee foundviolating these directives will be summarily discharged.

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Let me beperfectly frank.  I don’t watch everymeeting of the Zoning Board, or the Appeals Board, or the Architectural ReviewBoard, or similar bodies, but I have watched occasionally.  It has been a couple of years, but I haveheard the same person use the following phrase twice during official proceedings: “…the right architect…”!!!  Both times it was used in the context:  “With the right architect, this can really be a great…”, and “If they use the right architect, I think we would recommend...” 

First, we shouldNOT be blackmailing developers or businesses into using favored vendors byimplying that approval may be withheld if they don’t.  That is illegal, unethical and immoral.  Second, even if said “unintentionally”, itsmacks of impropriety and, in my opinion, should not only be a “firing offense”,but also should be brought to the attention of the Butler County Attorney andprosecuted to the full extent of the law…no “allowed to resign”, no “it’s timeto retire”.  Fire the party and prosecute,and send them to jail if appropriate.

If I am elected,and this kind of malfeasance occurs, they better hope that it is not recordedor that no one shows me the recording. I won’t need any other votes to take it to the prosecuting attorney!!!  So even if I can’t muster enough votes tomake this official city policy, enough people better get on board to warneveryone because there will be follow-up and there will be consequences.

Just as I touchedon briefly in an earlier point concerning public buildings (specifically, thenew health clinic) there are different levels of commercial and institutionalbuildings.  Some people and somebusinesses desire high-end, very stylish, even lavish structures.  Other more frugal people and businesses wantbare-bones structures and prefer to put their capital into goods, supplies,equipment or wages.  Just because abusiness prefers a simple, very economical building, that does not make it anundesirable business.  On the other hand,a very expensive, stylish, high-end structure does not guarantee a desirablebusiness.  Middletown has littered itszoning regulations with a host of building code-type requirements that donothing but add to the expense of any new commercial or industrial structuresthat are built (or substantially remodeled) in our city.  It’s as if we are trying to equate expensivestructures with quality enterprises.  Weall should be smart enough to know that is not the case.  A flim-flam artist driving a new Mercedes isstill flim-flam artist, and many wealthy men of high character often driveolder, moderately-priced (but always fully paid-off) cars.

I can tell youfrom my experience in the construction industry that every addition useless “feature”required by our snobbish zoning/building code adds dollars to the cost of a newstructure priced to be built by a business considering Middletown as alocation.  Especially now with thecurrent economic climate, our city needs every edge that we can offer toprospective businesses.  One advantage wehave to offer is economy.  Can we reallyafford to negate that advantage by forcing every new or expanding business tobuild an expensive architectural showcase when it is not really necessary justbecause a few of our City Hall hotshots like that sort of flash???  Do we need the cowboys with the fancy hats orwith the ones with the big herds??? 

The MiddletownFire Department Headquarters on Roosevelt and Wikoff is a good example.  I doubt that it could be built theretoday and meet every one of our requirements. Would our excellent firefighters respond any quicker if that building’sexterior was all cedar planking and stone facing???  Would there be fewer fires if the building’ssidewalls were not all in the same plane with no breaks???  Would it sleep any more firefighters if  it had a gable roof with phony dormers???  Would the life squad get out the doorsquicker if they were wood instead of metal??? Of course the answer to all of those questions is “NO!”  However, if it had all of those things, itwould probably been much smaller if the budget had remained the same.  And if it was smaller, some of the items that I mentioned may have been negatively affected!!!

So why must wedemand similar expensive cosmetic requirements of businesses who want to locatehere, and by doing so chase them away to municipalities that use more COMMON SENSE???

Of course, I willjust be one Councilman.  I cannot demandthat the zoning requirements and building codes be revised by myself.  All I can do is propose that it be done andstate my case to the rest of Council.  Itmay die for lack of a second, or it may fail if three other Council members donot vote for it, so elect not only me…ELECT ME and VOTE IN SOME HELP FOR ME!!!

Remember, First Ward Voters will be voting for FOUR City Council members:

A First Ward Council member to fill the remaining two yearsof Mr. Armbruster's term (NOTE: thisshould be ME!!!); a Mayor for a four year term; and TWO"at-large" Council members for four year terms.

All other City residents will be voting for THREE City Council Members: The Mayorand TWO "at-large" members.

Mike, with no offenseintended to middletownusa, I hope you are putting this as an ad in the Journaland putting out flyers so all of Ward 1 will be aware of it. If not, I thinkyour targeted message will not be reviewed by the masses needed to separate youfrom the opponent in the ward.

No,I do not intend to put ads in the Journal or put out flyers.  I have spent my limit of campaign funds onyard signs and lapel stickers.  I realizethat many see this as a fatal error. However, I am relying on word-of-mouth from my backers to get me overthe top.  I hope that those here onMiddletownUSA will help out by telling their family and friends—and asking themto tell their families and friends!!!

One of the concerns Iwould voice on putting family members on any Committee is usually, you areputting a yes man/ yes woman on do the bidding. In other words, you place arelative in a position that the feedback and agreement you wish to secure. Forinstance, Joe Mulligan sat on the "Charter" committee that did awaywith the ward system, giving a small group within the city, what they wished toaccomplish in the future---complete control over the direction and expendituresof Middletown.

What about the nepotismin city hall which is as bad as the Committees comprised of council memberfamily members? Would you terminate Joe Newlin's son (Magistrate/ policesergeant) as they are father/ son and the many other relatives who work withinthe city building?

I know in every F500company I have worked, neptotism is not allowed and its in policy manuals. Willyour policy be implemented into the city departments or just council andcommittees?

I agreecompletely regarding family members on committees, and implied this in my pointNo. 4.  Perhaps I should’ve been clearer. I am also against nepotism throughoutCity Hall, but I think that most of that hiring is governed by Civil Serviceregulations, isn’t it?  I certainly wouldsupport a policy forbidding relatives working under the supervision ofrelatives, but we must follow the law, and the actual law, not whatsomeone wants to twist it or misinterpret it to be.

As for the rainy daydrainage, it went from 25% to 15%, could that be a basis for a campaign themefor sustaining the 1.75% levy- a campaign strategy? You know, we have no money,we ran down the fund by 10%, to buy buildings that are idle? Bill Becker andJohn Lyons said that at 25%, it gave the city 90 days of a window to pay thebills. That can't be truthful then, or if so, at 15%, in the event somethingoccurred catastropic to taxes and revenue, the city would have perhaps a 30 daysurplus. Would you support the fund being at 25% or 0%? Is there a % youthink it can be drawn down to?

It wouldbe my goal to maintain the Rainy Day Fund at 25%, and certainly keep it at aminimum of 15%.  In fact, if elected, Iwill try to never again refer to it as the “Rainy Day Fund”.  I prefer the term “EMERGENCY RESERVE FUND”,which more accurately describes it.  Whenit gets down to 15%, we should certainly batten all the hatches and go intofull crisis mode, because we are heading for a financial crisis.  This is not to say that the amount between15% and 25% is some sort of “slush” fund, it is not!  It should only be touched when there is somesort of emergency, some unforeseeable circumstance.  It should not be used at the convenienceof council or the manager

As you know, many ofyour critics on many of your ten points will say you are making policy pointsas if you are a city manager, not a city council person. I suppose thatwould include existing council members. Your thoughts---should council adoptor reject city decisions, or be out front, and set them?

Both!!!  While it is true that the City Manager isresponsible for the day-to-day management and operations of the city, he/sheserves at the pleasure of the City Council. Council has the authority, by both Charter and the ORC, to passresolutions and those resolutions may direct the City Manager to implementwhatever policies (within the law) that the City Council sees fit.  It is also a fact that Council is always freeto terminate the City Manager and hire a new manager whose thinking is more intune with theirs. Since most City Managers understand this fact (as well as thefact that the council reviews his/her performance and approves or rejects anysalary increases), prudent City Manager comply with council’s wishes, even ifit must be after clearly warning council when it is felt that those wishes arein error.

Is that not really thefunction now of the Mayor by the change in the city ordinance, that the Mayorhas great latitude in impacting city policy?

In aword, NO!!!  Even with theCharter change, the Mayor has no greater latitude in impacting city policy thanany other council member.  The Mayor isnow obliged to give the “State of the City” address every year.  Other than that and the fact that he can nolonger be removed from his position as titular head of the council by a vote ofcouncil, he has no greater power than the former “Chairman” of the “CityCommission”, or the former non-elected mayor; basically, other than what I justmentioned and the fact that he chairs the council meetings and signs thelegislation (which any two council members can do) and proclamations, he has nopowers greater than any other council member.

Would not a personaltouch of having Ambassadors or city greeters work just as well, than changingthe sign ordinance, as Ann Mort has stated, so businesses and new residentsknow where the water payment office, the criminal court, civil court, and taxdepartment in Donham?

NO!!!  The sign ordinance needs to bechanged!!!  As it is now, people havegreat difficulty even finding many orf our businesses!!!  Please recall the situation about two yearsago, with unemployment over 10% and hundreds of people lining up for every jobopening, when one of the businesses around Atrium had to beg for a temporaryvariance to erect temporary signs so applicants could find them.  Even though they had advertised the jobopenings, and for interested parties to apply at the business, no one wasshowing up.  They discovered that, eventhough they had given directions and ALL of their legally allowable signs hadbeen erected, no one could locate their business!!!  So much for our sign ordinance…nothing moreneeds to be said!

That is after you havedriven 5 miles downtown dodging the cameras mounted on the traffic lights andthe pot holes. But Walmart has greeters, why not Middletown. And, it adds acouple more employees to payroll, unless that's a volunteer position. But wouldyou not agree a Middletown Ambassador only works, reactively, when a company ornew resident already has an interest in Middletown, than proactively bringingin business and residents. Ita a concierge, awaiting to serve. I would think areal estate agent would be able to tell a new resident, "here's Donham,you can pay your bills online."

Agreed.Better yet, let’s cut the red tape and just make it easier to do business inMiddletown.  We must STOP finding ways tokeep businesses OUT, and start finding ways to help them IN!!  This goes back to the fact that a few peopleat city hall want to pick every business, and keep out every one that they,personally, do not want.  That is WRONGand it must stop!!!  Anyone who wants toopen a legal business in Middletown in an area properly zoned for that business(or with a variance) must be allowed to do so. We must stop keeping businesses out of Middletown just because someonein City Hall has a personal bias against some businesses or businesspersons.

Do we also need an Ombudsman,to resolve disputes within the city, or just dowbtown city Ambassadors?Forgetful me, I didn't realize Welcome Wagon wasn't around anymore, but I neverknew they were charged to be a municipal economic development engine.

Yes we DOneed an ombudsman…but we need one for our CITIZENS!!!  I have thought so for years, and have eventhought of volunteering for the job. However, I was certain that if I suggested this, the suggestion would berejected out of hand.

The Ambassador message: "Welcometo Middletown. We have drained our general fund reserves. We have 1.75% tax,and intend to raise it to 2.0% within 5 years. We have lots of houses forsell---cheap. We have a pothole potline, call anytime. If you like art, we haveit, once a month, with wine and cheese. The schools are below average, but wedo have a nice private catholic school if you want to pay $3,000 per child forelementary, and $7,000 for high school. Glad you are here. Do you like todance---we have a great gala and looking for new blood and eyes."

All goodreasons for you to spread the word for folks to vote for ME!!!

You mention two of thekey points Paul Nagy referenced in his debate called PIE- city whichfocuses upon Public Safety, Infrastructure, and Economic Development. Besideseliminating the sign ban and such out at the interestate, is there any otherarea in the ten points which addresses the E, as in economic development,besides the freedom to advertise out by 75 and more relaxed architecturalstandards for building. I thought to some extent, the Fisher development to alowered price point accomplished some reduction in standards.

It’s ashame that the Renaissance development was not protected by covenants or deedrestrictions, although I believe it was an illegal development to begin with,so it is difficult for me to gin up too much sympathy.  (The City had declared a moratorium ondevelopment for the entire area, and then allowed that one single exception,allowing them a head start while forcing all other developers to sit on theirhands.)  

Well, wemust do more to become truly “business friendly”, not just say the words.  There is a reason why, of all theinterchanges up and down I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton, we are the onlyone not thriving.  Developers have waitedfor complete new interchanges to be built just to the north and south of us,rather than to come here and deal with our City Hall.  It’s a travesty.  Look at the Towne Mall property:  You cannot tell me that someone, somewherewould not like to redevelop that, and that the current owners would not want todeal with them.  I believe that a fewpeople at City Hall with their screwball “quaint village, bike path, doggiepark, old professor, walk-to-work, master plan” scheme is the ONLY thing thatstands in the way.  If we can put amajority of TRULY business-friendly, common sense people on City Council thatwill sing the TRUE advantages of Middletown onto City Council, we will claimour rightful place as the real “middle-of-the-metro-plex”!!!

It’stough to sell Middletown as a “business-friendly, modern, happenin’, commercecenter when they keep pointing to our Master Plan and telling prospectivedevelopers “NO!  What YOU want to do isNOT what our Master Plan calls for.” What’s keeping downtown depressed is the same thing that is keeping ourentire city depressed: We keep regurgitating the same old, tired, failed planover and over and refuse to learn from our mistakes and listen to the market!!!  We must look back and learn from our mistakesor we will just keep repeating them!!!

If you do a chronologyof economic development in Middletown over abou 20 years, it goeslike this:

Act I- pre- 1990-2002: Neil Barielle, ED Director,Net Sum gain or loss? Loss

Act II- 2005-2008: Consultants, Bill Murphy andthe Middletown Economic Council (call it pre MMF), Neyer Group, Non Profit. NetSuma gain or loss? Loss.

KPI- Atrium, Renaissance

Act III- 2009-2010: Consultants, Mike Robinetteand Company (and MMF), Net Sum Gain or Loss? Loss.

KPI- Atrium, Renaissance

Act IV- 2011: Consultants, MMF, a part-time MUMemployee, and an attorney, Net Sum Gain or Loss? Loss

KPI- SunCoke, CincinnatiState

Act V- Present, Consultants, MMF, Ibid. NetSum Gain or Loss? TBD.

KPI- Cincinnati State,Greentree, Renaissance (UDF?)

Once had a CEO say, if Ineed to hire CONSULTANTS, why do I need CERTAIN EMPLOYEES?

Where in your 10 pointsdo you address this situation, and what is the solution to correct the netNEGATIVE?

And your ten pointsaddresses overabundance of section 8 by which point?

Your ten points havemerit, but unless you are submitting your resume for city manager, I don'tthink 80% of these will be implemented, as the law director would be requiredto amend ordinances, that council would then vote.

Well, Ihave absolutely NO PROBLEM amending many of our outdated, oppressive,progress-killing, business-unfriendly ordinances!  Do you???

Cutting back oncharitable activities probably amounts to $100,000 in a $130,000,000 budget.

I thinkthat you’d be surprised!  We can startwith the paid positions at the Convention and Visitors Bureau and similarorganizations. Perhaps TVMiddletown should be a project of MUM, or even CinciState??  Those are two items that younever hear about during our “budget talks”, yet we spend money on them everyyear.  Do you wanna guess how much???  (Clue: Just those two items alone are way more than the figure you mentioned.)  I could go on, but I won’t right now. 

And with the gas fund,it is my belief those funds are mandated to be spent on roads and mowing, notan option to be used for those purposes.

I LIKE MIKE....I am just uncertain if he is running for city council oropting for the city manager position.

Me ... City Manager???  LOL!!! Perhaps if I was younger and healthier and if this were a city of200,000…then I might consider it, if the money was right.

Point No. 4:

In my view, thisis a “no-brainer”!!!

NO governmentalemployee should be on ANY board or commission that reports to that governmentalemployee, or reports to another board, commission, or other body of which thatemployee is a member!!!  That is the verydefinition of a “conflict of interest”!!! The ONLY exceptions would be the rare cases that may be prescribed byour City Charter or the Ohio Revised Code (such the Board of Health).   Iassure you all that, if elected, I will NOT accept any appointments to anyboards or commissions, first and foremost for the reasons just stated.

But there isanother reason.  If one looks at theMiddletown Codified Ordinances for the ordinances that established these boardsand commissions, the sole duty of most of them is to “advise City Council” onthe subject of that board or commission. Once again, we council members do not need to “advise” ourselves…we dothat when we discuss the issues.  We alsodo not need to influence those who will be advising us.  What would be the purpose of that?  Most importantly, the very purpose of suchboards and commissions is to get the thinking of those OUTSIDE of our ownbody!!!  We don’t need a board orcommission to get our own members’ thinking…we get that when we discuss theaction items at the council meetings.  Weneed input from the citizens OUTSIDE of our body!!!

Now I have onlyever heard two reasons for council members being on these boards andcommissions:

Reason 1:  “Howelse can we Council members know what is going on?”

  Well, that is simple!  Since the duty of the boards and commissionsis to “Advise City Council”, we will “know what is going on when we either readthe minutes; OR, we hear a report or recommendation given at an open CityCouncil meeting.  Now, if that is notgood enough, each and every one of these board and commission meetings is supposedto be an OPEN, PUBLIC meeting!!!  Anyinterested council person is free to attend, not as a council person, but as aresident, and listen in on the meeting JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CITIZEN.  So, If some council person thinks that theycannot “know what is going on” without attending the meeting, they arecertainly free to attend each and every meeting of each and every board andcommission.  As a side note:  Supposedly, the “council liaison” reportsback to the full council so that ALL council members can “know what is going on”. However, in all my years of closelywatching City Council, I don’t think that I have heard ANY “Council Liaison” “reportback” to the full council more than TWICE!!!   This means that either they are negatingtheir own stated purpose, or they are holding other (closed) meetings in violation ofOhio’s Sunshine law to tell each other “what is going on”.

Reason 2:  “Allof the others cities are doing it.”

  Well, sorry, but I wouldn’t accept that as avalid reason from my kids when they were young, and I doubt if Judge Wall wouldaccept “All of the other crooks are doing it” as a valid excuse for a felony,so this is the weaker excuse of two very weak excuses.

I think thatmembership on all of these boards and commissions is more of a “resume builder”than anything else.  I won’t participate,and if I have my way, we will pass at least an ordinance, and hopefully aCharter Amendment, against it.

But I will needthe help of the citizenry on this.  Ibelieve that Middletown has a wealth of knowledgeable, willing, conscientious,public-minded citizens that would be willing to serve on all of the variousboards and commissions, if only they knew that the boards and commissions werenot to be stacked with all of the same, old “friends of city hall” and cronies thatare always on everything.  I will needsuch citizens to come forward and apply. I will champion the cause, and perhaps together we can make progressinstead of just splashing ink on the society page, or providing emptyreferences for those who intend to seek higher office.

One relateditem:  Some of the local “public boardsand commissions” appear (at least to me) to have no legal basis for their existencein our Codified Ordinances, they just seem to have “evolved”.  Yet they seem to get at least some funds fromthe public treasury.  I’ll try to put anend to this, or at least see that it gets out into the open.   

Of course, I willjust be one Councilman.  I cannotaccomplish this alone.  All I can do isrefuse any appointments that are offered to me, and to propose the rest.  Such proposals may die for lack of a second, or they mayfail if three other Council members do not vote with me, so elect not only me…ELECTME and VOTE IN SOME HELP FOR ME!!!

Remember, First Ward Voters will be voting for FOUR City Council members:  A First Ward Council member to fill the remaining two yearsof Mr. Armbruster's term (NOTE: thisshould be ME!!!); a Mayor for a four year term; and TWO"at-large" Council members for four year terms.

All other City residents will be voting for THREE City Council Members: The Mayorand TWO "at-large" members.

Point No. 3:

Open governmentis essential to freedom.

I cannotunderstand why our present city council, or those of the past, insist uponkeeping as much of their discussion as possible out of the public’s eyesightand earshot.  I can only conclude thatthey are saying things that they would be ashamed, or afraid, of saying openly.

“City CouncilChambers” is so-named because that is where City Council is supposed to meet,so at the first meeting after I am elected I will be proposing that all of ourmeetings be held right there in City Council Chambers with the camerasrolling.  In this day and age, we shouldhave a City Ordinance to that effect (or perhaps even a Charter requirement). Iam ashamed that it has to even be said. At the very least, it gives the perception of impropriety.

I also believethat “Executive Sessions” are being abused. It certainly appears that our councils never even know if they are goingto be discussing the “buying” or the “selling” of public property, as therenever seems to be an executive called for one or the other, they are always called forboth.  This is “odd”, if true, to say thevery least.  Similarly, I find odd theoften used reason: “To consider the appointment, employment, dismissal,discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee orofficial.”  For the love of Pete!!! Ifthey aren’t sure whether they are going to “Appoint, employ or dismiss” or ifthey will “promote or demote”, whether they will  “discipline or give the fella a raise” thenperhaps they should be taking group therapy instead of wasting time in an executivesession of City Council!!!  Let’s faceit: they are just reading a “laundry list” to try to cover their butts whilethey talk about something they should be discussing in an open meeting, whichis explicitly illegal and in violation of the Ohio Sunshine Law.  Further, if Mr. Landen does not explain thisto them, then the next executive session should be “to consider the dismissal,demotion, or discipline” of HIM!!!

Of course, I willjust be one Councilman.  I cannotaccomplish this alone.  All I can do isto propose this.  It may die for lack ofa second, or it may fail if three other Council members do not vote for it, soelect not only me…ELECT ME and VOTE IN SOME HELP FOR ME!!!

Remember, First Ward Voters will be voting for FOUR City Council members: