Council Candidates

Well, it is time to start my life after politics. I feel that I have spent too much time and effort learning and studying this "garbage" to sit back and do nothing with it. Even though I am no longer a candidate, I still have a vested interest in WHO is elected to the council. I think that the "conservative" needs to be represented by a blog as well as the "liberal" that have several.

My first post will be MY opinion of the remaining candidates. You can take it, leave it or argue it. This is what I feel regarding the candidates, but make no mistake, I have not decided where my votes will go on April 3rd. It is up to each candidate to EARN that vote. Hopefully, this forum will give them the chance to earn more than mine.

Now to the candidates, they are listed in the order that they finished in the primary.

1. Bryan Bain- I am really torn with Mr. Bain. He has had my respect since he was elected to the council 2 years ago but his actions as of late are becoming troublesome. During an interview with WOSH, he was asked about his "flip flop" vote on the garbage fee. Mr. Bain almost came unglued on the radio. He became extremely defensive and hostile towards Mr. Burnell. That was out of character for him so I dismissed it until his response to one of my recent posts (on the old blog). After he posted that, he did call me to discuss it. I amended the post and apologized for my "error" and removed the post altogether the next day but the courtesy was not returned. Is this a sign of things to come? I guess we should wait and see.

2. Tony Palmeri- Mr. Palmeri has historically been very conservative when it comes to city politics. I don't see that changing. His message has been very good when it comes to open government and accountability. He believes in many of the same things that I do but he may want to tone the "brashness" down a notch. Right now, I think he will remain a contender.

3. Meredith Scheuermann- Ms. Scheuermann has been a large disappointment since her election 2 years ago. She had run on the platform of "asking the tough questions" but has yet to really ask them. There are several questions that she asked during the Five Rivers mess that seemed tough... too bad they weren't hers (somebody was asking the questions of her). In addition to that, she sent out a flyer that claimed "fiscal responsibility" yet she has no problem spending $280,000 on floating docks when there are several streets in dire need of repair or replacement and could use those dollars.

4. Jessica King- She is bankruptcy attorney and I don't know much about her with the exception that she is new to city politics and doesn't do well answering questions that she isn't allowed to prepare for. We need to watch the televised forums to be sure that she is a viable candidate. Perhaps a bankruptcy attorney is what the city needs if the council and staff continue to spend the money like they have...

5. Bob Cornell- I read on the ONW Election forum posted on 2/18 at 1:16pm (screen name 'positive') where he tells us that he will not continue a conversation with anyone that wishes to remain anonymous. I have a real problem with that. In addition, he and I had a conversation when he took out papers where he admitted that he does not agree with any of my positions and is only running because of a vacant seat. He said that he is happy with the current council and their decisions. Mr. Cornell will NOT have my vote.

6. Mark Nielsen- He is largely unknown. The only thing we do know is his connection to Joe Paulus. He didn't do much prior to the primary so it will be interesting to see how he rebounds from a sixth place finish. We all know that it is possible after Mr. Bain did it 2 years ago. I will be looking forward to hearing more about him over the next several weeks to see what his message really is.

That is a short summary, I will open up the comments (moderated of course) for a limited time to see if everyone can behave themselves. I will remind everyone that I AM NO LONGER A CANDIDATE in this race. Insulting me will get you nowhere. I will delete any inappropriate comments and also point out that I have not discussed the Mayor race, so you don't need to either.

Have a nice day!!