- Will it be a SURPRISE, if the Saratogian, after nearly 30 years of calling for a change of the form of our government does not endorse Proposition 1?
- Will it be a SURPRISE to find out that Mayor Johnson will pull a last minute slam out of his bag of dirty tricks to try and create fear and doubt to sway voters as he did in last years Mayor’s election. I remember that one, he had his minions pass out door tags and mailings days before the election telling voters that his opponent Brent Wilkes had mismanaged his business into a 90 some million dollar loss. It was proven that the Mayor had fabricated the information. Newspapers reported in many articles of the unscrupulous act the Mayor pulled.
- Will it be a SURPRISE if businessmen like Tom Roohan, Charles Wait, and Elliott Masie are against Proposition 1? Remember that the Commission form was started “when fearful that the island city might never recover its prosperity under the leadership of the incumbent city council, a group of wealthy businessmen known as the Deep Water Committee devised a plan to have the governor appoint a commission to govern the city during the rebuilding period. To appease opponents who contended that appointed government was undemocratic, the plan was altered to provide for popular election of the five commissioners.” The operative words here are WEALTHY BUSINESSMEN. The Commission form was created by them and for them. Look at
He has a fence surrounding his house that is illegally placed and doesn’t meet code. He has stamped macadam sidewalks when City Code says you -have to have 5ft. wide by 4’ thick concrete with wire sidewalks, again he is out of code. Why isn’t the code Dept. charging him with these code violations? Is he inserting his private threats on City Hall employees?
- Would it be a SURPRISE if SUCCESS was paying senior’s to vote no?
- Would it be a SURPRISE if not one word that SUCCESS is promoting regarding the Charter is truthful?
Like it or not, the back room of politics is surely a game. Will it change if the Manager form wins? Not all games but most of them. One Commissioner would not be able to stick it up another Commissioners backside because they wouldn’t play ball with them.
The Council would be the legislative body of government approving every piece of City business. The Manager would oversee the running of the departments by qualified department heads, not political appointees or appointees that have a personal interest with a Commissioner. This Manager will get the Departments to run smoothly and efficiently because if they don’t then it is his or her job on the line.
I hope you have made up your minds by now, but if you are against the Proposition or still on the fence, take a look at what happens in the next few days, say a Press release by the Mayor, a charge by the financial backer of SUCCESS, Elliott Masie and ask yourself, are these acts of desperate people trying to have fears and doubts about this issue? If so take a look at what they do not want to lose and ask yourself, maybe it’s time to take our government back.
http://tenoonan.com/2012/10/31/saratoga-springs-charter-vote/
It is a wonder how the Saratogian can call for change in government for years but comes out in an editorial every time with an excuse to vote no. As you said yesterday, would it be a SURPRISE if the Saratogian said no to change? No, it wouldn't be a SURPRSE. They have too much to lose, too much advertising dollars from the big businessmen who have come out against change this week. The Saratogian now professes to go with the Mayor's appointed Commission whose duty by the mayor's own admission will be to 'tweak' this Commission form of government. It now seems the Saratogian likes the "5 headed monster" that years ago it was railing to get rid of. An old saying a former Saratoga politican told me long ago was to "follow the money". It looks like he got this one right. However, not a SURPRISE.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you called #1 right, good call.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyway to try and have a recall regarding getting rid of Johnson? With his antics and what he has cost Saratoga one could make a good case.
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