Whether the election was won by us, or lost by the Mayor and his current Council, it really doesn't matter. There are three new members voted to the governing body, and we need to get down to business.
As Councilwoman elect, I have tried to mend some fences and reach out to my former opponents. I have made my peace with Charlie (for whom I never held any animosity to begin with), with Todd, with Barry and with Ken. I have also reached out to Ann and Scott, the remaining Council members. I can only hope that some of the bad feelings will go away in the interest of moving on. Really, only time will tell.
The first issue to hit the fan was the senior/disabled Tax Rebate problem. It seems that during the state mandated block and lot number changes, thousands of records of seniors and the disabled were wiped out. Homestead rebate forms were never sent out, and the deadline for filing was June 2nd. Through some concerted effort, and lots of phone calls, we were able to get the deadline for filing forms extended to August 15th. Emily Ingram, Ann Updegrave, Mike Kafton, Senator Singer's office and I all worked together to to try to get this accomplished immediately, even though the Memorial Day holiday intervened. I had a good feeling about the way this issue was resolved through teamwork, and I hope that is a harbinger of things to come. I am not a Pollyanna. I realize there will be lots of rocky road ahead, but at least we got off on the right foot.
Two more meetings to go, then I'm up there on the platform looking out. I know it's a huge responsibility, but I really think I'm up to the challenge. I have no future political aspirations, and my goal is to do right by Jackson. I only ask for a chance.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I Can Now Smell the Roses
Well, it's all over but the shouting. The "A" Team, Mike, Mike and the Mad Dog, won by an almost 2-1 margin. We took every district, and it was a landslide.
Westlake cast 1100 ballots. I received 800 of those votes. Charlie, my Westlake neighbor, received 399. I got more than 70% of the vote. Negative campaigning does not always work, Charlie. It really doesn't. But let me say how much I appreciate that Charlie, Emily, Todd, and the entire campaign team came over to our headquarters to personally congratulate us. I know that wasn't easy to do, and I think it was very gracious of all of you. I also appreciated Mayor Seda calling our team on the phone and congratulating each of us as well.
It's been a long, hard fight since I wrote my first post on the "Run for the Roses." I am truly humbled and overwhelmed by the trust people have placed in me. I hope I can live up to it. I promise to work side by side with the remaining two Council members.
One of the things I hope to do is to work closely with the Board of Education if I am lucky enough to be appointed Liaison from the Council. I think the BOE and Council should work together for the common good, which of course includes the children and the taxpayer.
I am going to see if I can get a copy of the full budget so I know what I am talking about when I make suggestions. I know we won't be the ones voting for this year's document, but I want to know exactly where our tax dollar is going if I am going to be one of the overseers of the taxpayer's pocketbook. I truly want to put my money where my mouth is.
I know we will start working on the gypsy moth problem right away. We cannot afford to let another year go by, and then find ourselves with our tails in the air again because it's too late to come up with a decent solution. This is a REAL problem, and I truly want to try to alleviate the situation.
Mike, Mike and the Mad Dog are a great team. We plan to work to make Jackson a great place to live. I am only human, and I'm sure I will make mistakes. But it won''t be because I owe somebody something. That will NEVER cloud my judgment.
From here on in, my Blog will be about being a Councilwoman. Even though I don't take office until July, I will start working NOW.
Westlake cast 1100 ballots. I received 800 of those votes. Charlie, my Westlake neighbor, received 399. I got more than 70% of the vote. Negative campaigning does not always work, Charlie. It really doesn't. But let me say how much I appreciate that Charlie, Emily, Todd, and the entire campaign team came over to our headquarters to personally congratulate us. I know that wasn't easy to do, and I think it was very gracious of all of you. I also appreciated Mayor Seda calling our team on the phone and congratulating each of us as well.
It's been a long, hard fight since I wrote my first post on the "Run for the Roses." I am truly humbled and overwhelmed by the trust people have placed in me. I hope I can live up to it. I promise to work side by side with the remaining two Council members.
One of the things I hope to do is to work closely with the Board of Education if I am lucky enough to be appointed Liaison from the Council. I think the BOE and Council should work together for the common good, which of course includes the children and the taxpayer.
I am going to see if I can get a copy of the full budget so I know what I am talking about when I make suggestions. I know we won't be the ones voting for this year's document, but I want to know exactly where our tax dollar is going if I am going to be one of the overseers of the taxpayer's pocketbook. I truly want to put my money where my mouth is.
I know we will start working on the gypsy moth problem right away. We cannot afford to let another year go by, and then find ourselves with our tails in the air again because it's too late to come up with a decent solution. This is a REAL problem, and I truly want to try to alleviate the situation.
Mike, Mike and the Mad Dog are a great team. We plan to work to make Jackson a great place to live. I am only human, and I'm sure I will make mistakes. But it won''t be because I owe somebody something. That will NEVER cloud my judgment.
From here on in, my Blog will be about being a Councilwoman. Even though I don't take office until July, I will start working NOW.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
And on to the Election
Well, last night we had our last coffee. All that's left is the election, and that isn't until Tuesday. There will be lots of flier distribution and mail between now and then. I am sure they are saving their "best" for last. My opponents are running an unbelievably nasty and dirty campaign. Character assassination seems to be the name of their game. If they win, I will congratulate them, but I will NEVER respect them. They have never heard a nasty word from me, nor will they.
The sign fairy has struck again. Yesterday when we drove through the neighborhood, we found that all the signs around Westlake stretching from Manhattan street to Hope Chapel Road were stolen for the second time. The rest of the signs around town will undoubtedly be gone this weekend. One has to be desperate to do something like that, but I was told it is commonplace with that particular political group in town.
Barry, how can you can be so pleasant in person and such a jerk on the blogs. I truly meant it when I congratulated you and Ken on doing CPR in that emergency situation in Meteteconk during the debate. But, I wish you would learn to spell my name right when you are bashing me. It's spelled R-I-V-E-R-E. You have come up with some really creative spelling over the last weeks. It even rivals your creative math.
And, Charlie, my friend and neighbor. You chose to be the spokesman for their trash against me. I thought you might have taken the high road, but you didn't. You could have spewed their other garbage, the things not aimed at me. And please, don't say it's not personal. It is VERY personal to me. We work together, and we have always gotten along. I told my campaign up front that I would say nothing negative about Charlie, and I stuck to that. For one who prides himself on his accounting skills, you sure dropped the ball on this one. You didn't have to say everything they told you to say. You might have done your own math to see the absurdity of what they told you to say. Are you always going to listen to the party that way?
And Emily, even though my son knows you, I guarantee you he would vote for me and my "A Team" if he lived in town. Please don't think otherwise. He is, after all, MY son.
My next and last blog posting on my "Run for the Roses" will be after Tuesday. Whether I win or lose, it has been a good fight. I have made many new friends. People really put themselves out for my team, and they didn't get paid a dime. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
The sign fairy has struck again. Yesterday when we drove through the neighborhood, we found that all the signs around Westlake stretching from Manhattan street to Hope Chapel Road were stolen for the second time. The rest of the signs around town will undoubtedly be gone this weekend. One has to be desperate to do something like that, but I was told it is commonplace with that particular political group in town.
Barry, how can you can be so pleasant in person and such a jerk on the blogs. I truly meant it when I congratulated you and Ken on doing CPR in that emergency situation in Meteteconk during the debate. But, I wish you would learn to spell my name right when you are bashing me. It's spelled R-I-V-E-R-E. You have come up with some really creative spelling over the last weeks. It even rivals your creative math.
And, Charlie, my friend and neighbor. You chose to be the spokesman for their trash against me. I thought you might have taken the high road, but you didn't. You could have spewed their other garbage, the things not aimed at me. And please, don't say it's not personal. It is VERY personal to me. We work together, and we have always gotten along. I told my campaign up front that I would say nothing negative about Charlie, and I stuck to that. For one who prides himself on his accounting skills, you sure dropped the ball on this one. You didn't have to say everything they told you to say. You might have done your own math to see the absurdity of what they told you to say. Are you always going to listen to the party that way?
And Emily, even though my son knows you, I guarantee you he would vote for me and my "A Team" if he lived in town. Please don't think otherwise. He is, after all, MY son.
My next and last blog posting on my "Run for the Roses" will be after Tuesday. Whether I win or lose, it has been a good fight. I have made many new friends. People really put themselves out for my team, and they didn't get paid a dime. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Sign in Please
Well, now I've seen it all. Yesterday, Bob and I and a whole group of UNPAID volunteers put in our campaign signs around town. This morning when we got up, many of the ones we put up were gone and replaced by the Seda team's signs in the exact same place. I also heard that at least 50 signs around town, including those on private property, were removed or damaged. Holy cow! I said this would get worse, and lo and behold, it got worse. But this is 7th grade antics...similar to their 7th grade math.
Why would sane, grownups go around acting like children? Could it be they are scared? I can't believe that while we were putting up our signs, we noticed that one of the the Seda team's signs was lying on the grass. I picked it up and put it in the ground again. Isn't this the courteous, normal thing to do? Isn't this what a decent person does? Believe me, I would never touch one of their signs again if it were burning to the artificial turf that cost me 4 million dollars. I am very happy to say, that many, many Republicans are ashamed of what happened. They are the good people, despite the shady few.
I do not act this way. I do not debate this way. And most of all, I didn't raise my kids to be this way. What is wrong with these people? Do they have no decency? Bob and I went out and put new signs up. I will almost bet the farm that by tomorrow morning, they will be gone. Shame on you, Seda team. Shame on you.
Why would sane, grownups go around acting like children? Could it be they are scared? I can't believe that while we were putting up our signs, we noticed that one of the the Seda team's signs was lying on the grass. I picked it up and put it in the ground again. Isn't this the courteous, normal thing to do? Isn't this what a decent person does? Believe me, I would never touch one of their signs again if it were burning to the artificial turf that cost me 4 million dollars. I am very happy to say, that many, many Republicans are ashamed of what happened. They are the good people, despite the shady few.
I do not act this way. I do not debate this way. And most of all, I didn't raise my kids to be this way. What is wrong with these people? Do they have no decency? Bob and I went out and put new signs up. I will almost bet the farm that by tomorrow morning, they will be gone. Shame on you, Seda team. Shame on you.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The Debates Are Done
Well, we have completed five debates, and that's all she wrote. Now, it seems all that is left is the nasty literature.
Two accountants are running for election for the Seda Republicans, and neither one apparently can do math. I am accused of raising the Merrick school budget by 300% on their flyer, or 330% in their debates. Take your pick. It was either over 23 years (my length of service) or 27 years from their newspaper quote in 1974. I didn't even get elected to the board until 1976. But let's take their numbers...330% over 23 years. Ms. Emily "I'm a CPA" Ingram was quick to say that if you divide 23 into 330%, it comes out to approximately 14.3% per year. Mr. Garofano, the other accountant, and Mr. Porter, not an accountant, were quick to ask if we would like someone who raised budgets 15% per year (a little poetic license) to be on our Council. Well, either they don't know math, or they are listening to the wrong advice and delivering it as fact. And either way, I wouldn't trust them to work on my budget. What if someone told them to say the world was flat? Would they? If indeed a budget were to go up 14.3% a year over 23 years, it would come out to over 3000%. In actuality, when you annualize 330% over 23 years, it comes to a little over 5% a year. It is less if you use 27 years as your base. Any 7th grader can tell you about compounding. The bottom line is that while I was on two school boards (one elementary board and concurrently on a central high school board), during years of double digit inflation, I was involved in preparing 27 budgets. Every single one was passed by the voters. How many 32% increase budgets would the voters of Jackson pass if given a chance? I would venture to say NONE. Mr. Seda and team had better learn how to do basic math.
Mr. Garofano said that this wasn't a personal attack. Are you kidding me, Charlie? You are impugning (not a math word, an English teacher word) my fiscally responsible record with manufactured numbers that anyone with half a brain can refute. I take it very personally, my friend. I was a very well known figure in Merrick because of all the good I did, and I refuse to let you knock it down with a few words which someone else encouraged you to say. You have attacked the wrong girl, in the wrong place, with the wrong issue.
I guess I haven't yet seen the worst of it. But again, if all they've got on me is a misrepresented series of facts, then I am WAY ahead of the game.
Two accountants are running for election for the Seda Republicans, and neither one apparently can do math. I am accused of raising the Merrick school budget by 300% on their flyer, or 330% in their debates. Take your pick. It was either over 23 years (my length of service) or 27 years from their newspaper quote in 1974. I didn't even get elected to the board until 1976. But let's take their numbers...330% over 23 years. Ms. Emily "I'm a CPA" Ingram was quick to say that if you divide 23 into 330%, it comes out to approximately 14.3% per year. Mr. Garofano, the other accountant, and Mr. Porter, not an accountant, were quick to ask if we would like someone who raised budgets 15% per year (a little poetic license) to be on our Council. Well, either they don't know math, or they are listening to the wrong advice and delivering it as fact. And either way, I wouldn't trust them to work on my budget. What if someone told them to say the world was flat? Would they? If indeed a budget were to go up 14.3% a year over 23 years, it would come out to over 3000%. In actuality, when you annualize 330% over 23 years, it comes to a little over 5% a year. It is less if you use 27 years as your base. Any 7th grader can tell you about compounding. The bottom line is that while I was on two school boards (one elementary board and concurrently on a central high school board), during years of double digit inflation, I was involved in preparing 27 budgets. Every single one was passed by the voters. How many 32% increase budgets would the voters of Jackson pass if given a chance? I would venture to say NONE. Mr. Seda and team had better learn how to do basic math.
Mr. Garofano said that this wasn't a personal attack. Are you kidding me, Charlie? You are impugning (not a math word, an English teacher word) my fiscally responsible record with manufactured numbers that anyone with half a brain can refute. I take it very personally, my friend. I was a very well known figure in Merrick because of all the good I did, and I refuse to let you knock it down with a few words which someone else encouraged you to say. You have attacked the wrong girl, in the wrong place, with the wrong issue.
I guess I haven't yet seen the worst of it. But again, if all they've got on me is a misrepresented series of facts, then I am WAY ahead of the game.
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