And they're off... The deadline for turning in nomination papers has come and gone. It appears that the School Board will have the majority of the attention again this year. Not much of a surprise. After all, they will be asking for somewhere between $45 and $60 million for improvements to our schools.
Not only will the OASD race have the most attention, they will have it all as far as the city goes. It seems that the Council will not have ANY challengers for the 3 incumbants. The OASD on the other hand will have 5 people running for 2 seats. That means a Primary in February. Comment removed... see updated statement below
This spring will be interesting. How will the media handle the lack of competition in the City offices? Will the ONW still want to interview the incumbants? How about WOSH? The League of Women Voters? Will the candidates even do it? I would be surprised if they do. It seems that the only time there is a big interest in running for office is if there is an empty seat. If not, nobody turns in papers. Either that or the city is happy with the current makeup of the Council. If that is the case, we shouldn't hear any bitching from the blogosphere.
Now we get to sit back and see who throws the mud first. It is inevitable. Maybe with the lack of "unmoderated" blogs this year will hold the slinging to a minimum. Maybe it is wishful thinking. I guess we get to wait and see.
Feel free to take a look at the new polls on the right. I am interested in your opinion.
UPDATE: As of the time that this was originally written, I did not know that Kevin Janke has turned in his papers to enter the race as well (thus the reason for removing the comment above regarding the primary). I knew that he was circulating. Good luck to all the candidates...
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Now that the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is winding down and everyone is enjoying the holiday with family and friends, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful and prosperous 2008.
Take Care all and enjoy the holidays.
Kent Monte and Family.
Take Care all and enjoy the holidays.
Kent Monte and Family.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Council Members idea of "notice"
This morning, Stew Rieckman makes a good point about Council Member statements and what is discussed during those statements. It has long been used as a method of getting a discussion on the agenda that citizens are not allowed to comment on. The rule is that if it appears anywhere on the agenda, it cannot be commented on during citizen statements. And of course citizens are not allowed to comment anymore once the Council Members take over.
It was done before, during the process of dismissing Mr. Wollangk, and now we see it again for them to look for his replacement. Although they don't vote, they make decisions based on "consensus" of the Council. My question is; What is the difference? "Consensus" or "Vote". The only difference is that one is formal with a roll call and the other is a head nod.
Now Oshkosh appears to have some quality legal advice from our Acting City Attorney Lyn Lorenson. She has some issues with this method of discussion and she should. It is being used to skirt around the legality of citizen input. I am quite sure that isn't the intention, but it is certainly doing just that.
So far, they haven't hit a topic that had a real impact. Should the citizens wait until they do? OR should we do something about it now?
You decide.
It was done before, during the process of dismissing Mr. Wollangk, and now we see it again for them to look for his replacement. Although they don't vote, they make decisions based on "consensus" of the Council. My question is; What is the difference? "Consensus" or "Vote". The only difference is that one is formal with a roll call and the other is a head nod.
Now Oshkosh appears to have some quality legal advice from our Acting City Attorney Lyn Lorenson. She has some issues with this method of discussion and she should. It is being used to skirt around the legality of citizen input. I am quite sure that isn't the intention, but it is certainly doing just that.
So far, they haven't hit a topic that had a real impact. Should the citizens wait until they do? OR should we do something about it now?
You decide.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
And the Search Begins...
I know this may be old news, but I still wanted to post on it and I just haven't had the time to do it.
As many of you know, there was a group of people (myself included) that met and discussed the possibility of a petition drive to get a referendum question on the ballot to change the form of government. I wasn't convinced that a Mayoral form of government was right for Oshkosh. I liked the idea of being able to select a leader based on qualifications on a nationwide search. I didn't like the idea of a Mayor selected by "popularity contest" running the city.
During that first meeting, my mind was changed. There was an idea pitched out by Stephen Hintz that seemed to have merit. He said that this city could function by having a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor. The Mayor would be elected. His/Her deputy would be hired. Selected by the Mayor and approved by the council, the deputy would be running the day to day operations of the city. The Mayor would have authority over the city, the deputy would have significant input to the Mayor.
This is a poorly written, rough look at the alternate form of government (lack of time). There would have been much more involved if we could have been more organized. Getting 4000 signatures is no small task and two months to collect them would be a challenge. Having less than two months would be near impossible.
Could this city ever entertain the idea of having a full time Mayor rather than a City Manager? Why can't the council at least ask the question? Putting an advisory question on the ballot would be one way to do it. As long as we don't get too deep in the weeds with the question, there shouldn't be a problem. But instead, they are choosing to move forward with the search for a new manager. Is this really the direction we want our council to go?
What do you think?
As many of you know, there was a group of people (myself included) that met and discussed the possibility of a petition drive to get a referendum question on the ballot to change the form of government. I wasn't convinced that a Mayoral form of government was right for Oshkosh. I liked the idea of being able to select a leader based on qualifications on a nationwide search. I didn't like the idea of a Mayor selected by "popularity contest" running the city.
During that first meeting, my mind was changed. There was an idea pitched out by Stephen Hintz that seemed to have merit. He said that this city could function by having a Mayor and a Deputy Mayor. The Mayor would be elected. His/Her deputy would be hired. Selected by the Mayor and approved by the council, the deputy would be running the day to day operations of the city. The Mayor would have authority over the city, the deputy would have significant input to the Mayor.
This is a poorly written, rough look at the alternate form of government (lack of time). There would have been much more involved if we could have been more organized. Getting 4000 signatures is no small task and two months to collect them would be a challenge. Having less than two months would be near impossible.
Could this city ever entertain the idea of having a full time Mayor rather than a City Manager? Why can't the council at least ask the question? Putting an advisory question on the ballot would be one way to do it. As long as we don't get too deep in the weeds with the question, there shouldn't be a problem. But instead, they are choosing to move forward with the search for a new manager. Is this really the direction we want our council to go?
What do you think?
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