While election-watchers are (understandably) focused on the presidential election, the Oak Ridge ballot for November 2008 also includes the election of a 7-member City Charter Commission. It goes without saying that this is of great interest to city officials (both elected officials and city staff), and I’ve discussed the charter commission election with some of the candidates and with local-government watchers in the community, but I don’t think the public at large is paying much attention.
Fortunately, last week the Oak Ridge Observer published a complete set of candidate profiles, the Oak Ridger published its own set this week in two parts (here and here), and on Tuesday evening, October 14th, there was a League of Women Voters Candidates Forum for charter commission candidates in the new OR High School Amphitheater (an excellent venue, by the way!).
This election was initiated by a successful petition calling for a charter commission to consider adding district representation to the City Council. Currently all members are elected at large, and the petition proposes consideration of a hybrid arrangement, including some members elected at large and some elected by district. The petition brought about an election for a 7-member charter commission to study the charter and make recommendations for amendments. Any amendments that the commission recommends would be presented the voters in a referendum during the August 2008 election.
This process is giving me a sense of deja vu, for more than one reason.
First, I see this as rehashing a conversation that the community should have had several years ago. We last elected a charter commission back in 2003. That group discussed district representation, but did not give it particularly serious consideration, largely because the charter commissioners elected that year had been promoted to the voters as people who would not make substantial changes to the charter (they defeated other candidates who had called for radical changes in city government).
Second, this is shaping up as yet another one of those peculiar Oak Ridge political situations in which sharp battle lines are being drawn over a matter that reasonable people ought to be able to discuss thoughtfully and amicably. There are 7 candidates aligned with the original petitioners (see Citizens for District and At-Large Representation (CDAR) website for this list) and 10 who say they oppose district representation (see “Oak Ridge is One Neighborhood” (ORION) website for this list). The candidates are all responsible citizens with a variety of relevant civic experience, and I hope anyone who is elected will be open-minded about considering the pros and cons of various arrangements. Several have promised to do so, but not all. At the LWV forum one of the ORION candidates even said that his mind is so closed that he would vote to adjourn the commission at its first meeting. It is particularly paradoxical that the ORION faction claims to be all about community unity, but some of its candidates and supporters are making sweeping negative statements disparaging the motives of fellow citizens who are asking for district representation.
Another source of deja vu is that in some ways this is looking like a reprise of the 2007 referendum about city money for the proposed Crestpointe shopping center. Some of the 7 CDAR candidates were prominently involved in opposing Crestpointe, while several of the 10 ORION candidates were prominently involved in supporting the proposal. This split probably reflects the fact that Oak Ridge’s pro-development community does well with at-large elections — I believe that this is true because it takes a lot more money to be a competitive candidate citywide than it does in a single district (where “shoe leather” campaigning is more likely to be effective), so large donations can make a bigger difference in at-large elections. However, a principal concern of the petitioners was that the northeastern part of the city is essentially unrepresented under the current at-large arrangement. Fully 40% of the population lives north of Oak Ridge Turnpike and east of Louisiana Avenue, but according to CDAR none of the 11 people elected to City Council in the last 5 election cycles have come from this sector of the city. Meanwhile, 4 of the 7 current Council members live in the southeastern section of the city, which was home to a little more than one-quarter of the city population as of the 2000 Census. Oak Ridge may be fairly small in population, but the city is spread out geographically, and I’ve seen that people’s experiences and perceptions of living here can differ tremendously depending on where they live.
I hope that whoever gets elected will at least be wiling to be open-minded in discussing the possibility of district representation. There definitely are some negatives to the concept, and there may be other effective ways to improve city government’s responsiveness to all citizens (at the LWV forum candidate Paula Flowers, one of the ORION candidates, said that there are other things that could be done, but she did not get a chance to elaborate on her ideas), but it’s disturbing to hear some candidates asserting upfront that district representation is so absolutely out of the question that it should not even be seriously evaluated, much less presented to the voters.
“…none of the 11 people elected to City Council in the last 5 election cycles have come from this sector of the city.”
True. But in those last five election cycles, there were a total of 34 candidates; only five of the 34 lived in the sector of the city to which you refer. They were: Jerry Marrow (2007), Sandra Messenger (2001), John Clark (2001 & 1999), Mike Coffey (1999) and Edwin Gilliam (1999).
The most likely reason that no one from that area has been elected is simply that very few have run at all. However, of the ORION candidates, four of the ten have run for City Council under the at-large system, and all four have lost at least once. Abbatiello was elected on his second attempt.
Yet, they defend the system that gives each voter a voice in selecting every person who will vote on issues that affect us.
I don’t think the ORION candidates are any more closed-minded than the CDAR group, they just lean the other direction.
Ellen:
I did make the comment about proposing to end the charter commission at the first meeting but I said it tongue in cheek. There may be charter issues we need to review which I am open too but district representation is not one of them. The current system of at large representation is not broken. Likely no one agrees with all decisions of any city council. There are decisions I have not agreed with but by and large I feel that most council members have considered facts and public input before making decisions. If a citizen is unhappy with results then that citizen should vote against council people they are not pleased with which I may do when you run for re-election.
If the “pro-development” community as you call it got it’s way then why was not the Pilot approved? As I look around Oak Ridge I would say the “pro-development” community has not made a lot of headway. I am not affiliated with pro-development or anti-development. I am for the future of Oak Ridge and my fellow citizens.
I know most of the other 9 candidates running with ORION. We come from varied backgrounds and across the political spectrrum. While we may not agree on everything we do feel that Oak Ridge is best situated to meet current and future challenges as a united Oak Ridge, not as a divided Oak Ridge. I find it odd that you choose to paint people who do not agree with your position as not being open-minded. I see my Oak Ridge neighbors being able to vote for all of their council people as a better form of democracy than voting for 4 of 9.
Thank you for allowing me to respond.
You have an excellent historical database, Netmom. I must point out a nitpick, though. Your list did not include two people from the northeast quadrant who ran for Council in the August 2004 special election: Sam Childress and Art Shady. It is true that there has been a dearth of candidates from the northeastern quadrant of the city. It is also true that most (but not all) of the candidates on our combined lists had little in the way of either campaign funding or relevant experience.
The fact that few candidates have emerged from that area does not mean that the current situation is hunky-dory. It is generally accepted that an effective democracy requires breadth and diversity of civic participation, so it’s not a good thing when there’s a large sector of Oak Ridge that increasingly believes it is being shut out of the public process. District representation may not be the ideal solution to that situation, but refusing to talk about a problem is not generally an effective way to solve it.
Mike:
I’m relieved to hear that your comment on Tuesday evening was tongue-in-cheek. Unfortunately, it was not received that way by many in the forum audience. (I feel your pain — I’ve never been adept at telling jokes…) As I stated elsewhere on this page, I hope that whoever is elected to the Charter Commission will approach the task with an open mind — that’s regardless of the views you hold at the start of the process.
Regarding your question “Why wasn’t the Pilot approved”, there never was a proposal for a Pilot station. What the Council considered a few months back was a property owner’s request to rezone a parcel of land from Industrial-2 to a retail classification. The rezoning applicant did not identify a specific proposed use for the land, other than to say that rezoning would increase its value. If the land had been rezoned, it could have been used for almost any kind of retail business. As far as I know, “Pilot station” was just one person’s speculative suggestion.
Zoning is primarily about ensuring compatibility of land uses — in order to protect the public welfare and maintain everyone’s property values. We were considering a particular parcel of land that is part of (although at the outside edge of) an existing industrial park that is zoned Industrial-2. The Oak Ridge zoning ordinance describes IND-2 as a “district [that] is established to provide areas in which the principal use of land is for processing, manufacturing, assembling, fabrication and for warehousing. … Medium industry produces moderate external effects such as smoke, noise, soot, dirt, vibration, odor, etc. These uses do not depend primarily on frequent personal visits of customers or clients, but usually require good accessibility to major street, rail, water or air transportation routes. Such uses have some adverse effects on surrounding properties and are not normally associated with, nor compatible with, residential, institutional, or retail commercial uses” (emphasis added). With that kind of caveat in the zoning, I think it would have been irresponsible for the City to allow generic retail uses next door to Industrial-2 property. Furthermore, that industrial park really does include industrial uses that should not occur next door to a retail business. Current uses in the industrial park include metal processing and other manufacturing; several companies have radiological materials licenses and engage in processing such materials, even including a business across the street from the land that was proposed for rezoning.
I can’t speak for all members of City Council, but I don’t want to live in a town that would agree to let a candy store operate next door to a radioactive materials processor — and you can bet that responsible companies operating in that industrial park would be very uncomfortable having a candy store move in next door.
What issues are affecting Angie Agle? Please, I have a list of issues with faces, names, and addresses, but she hasn’t returned my email. That type of citizen treatment is very apparent with many appointed and elected positions in our city.
The At-Large group has admitted that simple local representation is not better than being At-Large with my community complaints, yet they have shown for 20 years business nor communities have been able to make it on their own.
We have to get serious with our money. We have to have mature people leading our tax coffers. We can no longer dream of a day that businesses will solve the problems of citizens. That is a citizen’s job. When that day comes is when we will have time to dream of the problems we have conquered.
Mr. Kircher: I am not sure of your “community complaints” or who you spoke too so it would be difficult for me to know they have have been addressed but I know Ellen and the other city council members are willing to listen. In fact based on her postings, Ellen appears to make an informed effort to know both sides of issues as was demonstrated with “red light cameras.” I have spoken with other council members who have always listened to me. That does not mean they always vote the way I might want.
Ellen: I respectedfully ask that Mr. Kircher not be permitted to bash Ms. Agle or anyone else with half-truths or no truths. It is your blog so I am only asking.
Changing topics under your statement (“I don’t want to live in a town that would agree to let a candy store operate next door to a radioactive materials processor”) I do not think anyone has proposed putting a candy store next to such a company; I assume you are referring to Y-12. Does that mean you are opposed to putting any store or business near Y-12? Just how far away (feet, miles) do you consider to not to be next door?
I do not know what Ray Kircher is talking about regarding Angi Agle. Perhaps he will elaborate on his specific concerns.
As for the “candy store next to a radioactive materials processor,” no one was proposing a candy store (or any other specific retail use), but the zoning change that was proposed would have allowed pretty much any type of retail business to locate next door to industrial property and across the road from a radioactive materials processor (this is not Y-12, but a private company). Once it was zoned for retail, the property could have been used for a hotel, gas station, candy store, clothing store, beauty shop, or pretty much any kind of store. Nobody (other than a financial institution lending money for the project) would have the authority to tell the developer, “Hold on — that business isn’t compatible with the surrounding industries!”
I think the city’s Industrial-1 (light industry) zoning classification might have been a better choice for this parcel. It is an appropriate zone to buffer between an Industrial-2 district and a commercial district, and in addition to light industry it allows some “commercial uses” (examples include yard equipment and supply dealers, building materials sales, boat and recreational vehicle sales, household equipment and appliance repair, car washes, animal hospitals, and motor vehicle service), while specifically excluding “retail stores.”
Thanks Ellen for clarifying my lack of understanding.
Mike, I‘ll try to handle both issues here. I had a complaint of city utilities, with previous attempts to deal with the city business office first, emailed to all council persons. Jane Miller seemed to be appointed to my complaint and no feelings as to whether I was able to continue with a decision made by city staff. I wasn’t. It led me to state something Mrs. Miller didn’t like. It wasn’t my problem she didn’t like it, but the fact nobody was listening to me or looking at what was happening to me by them was very evident. This is a problem dating back years and documented by me. In my case, it was a clear case of fraud committed by the city. That leads me to comment on bullying. I’ll take Ellen‘s request to comment. I have sent Mrs. Agle an email asking why she felt to Blog “nobody needs to do business with my company,” yet I have found nothing where I have or had business projects with her or anyone she knows. All this leads to the representation we receive from our elected officials when a city breaks down.
Mike, I have no problem dealing with problems, but Mrs. Agle has yet to come to me to state her problem with my business, and unlike you, she knows what I’m talking about and how I feel of our school board. If you would like to see her actions, ask her to pull it up on her Blog, but that isn’t the important issue. So she made it clear that bullying me was the choice of reaction by a school board member. This bullying is evident with some of her constituents online. David Olsen, who was very upset I opposed Mrs. Agles rulings and reasoning with educating and everything involved with education, acting immaturely himself. He was caught stopped in the road after a previous pass by my house, and as I moved his way, he decided to remove his face from his driver’s door window and move on. Was his looks an omen to the Crestpointe meeting at CSC? It sure was. His rubbing up against me and constantly stepping in between people talking with me was rather humorous to some but perplexed others. Yes, I didn’t know children were interested in development projects, or I would’ve brought some.
Ellen, I’m am unsure as to whether you have known about my problem handled by Jane Miller. It still hasn’t been resolved to where it wouldn’t happen again, nor do I believe you should be bothered with it due to you may only send me back to the city staff to work it out. The city staff assures me when it happens again, I’m to react. Is this what we need from city staff, to have no course of business that clearly defines a business’ intentions? If you would like to help, clearly have our city owned business’ redo their business plan and clearly have questions like, If I have a credit with the city yet the city bills me on an estimate, is the city allowed to collect late fees answered. Also, a Utility Consumer Bill of Rights is unknown by our city staff. They are able to estimate bills for whatever reason at any frequency. This is clearly an environment set for fraud.
Our city council, as I know it, has no set or followed policy to file citizen complaints and react with appropriate actions. These actions have fallen into the business’ owned by the city. To state it clearly, most of our elected officials are immature and unqualified to run a business or make decisions upon them, much more decisions with our money collected in tax coffers to be fairly distributed among our city. Last I heard from James O’Connor, what happens in Knoxville affects us. Why doesn’t that apply to Robertsville and West Hills communities?
Ray, are we to understand that you have a problem with the city because you were late in paying your bills? And now that you have a favorite council member, you do not want her to help.
And you can’t remember what you did to get members of the school board upset with you?
I’m replying to Ray via e-mail. I believe that his utility-related concern has to do with meter-reading, which he correctly identifies as an area where Council members must rely heavily on City staff.
Regarding the “Utility Consumer Bill of Rights,” apparently that’s something that’s become commonplace in many parts of the United States, but is essentially unknown in Tennessee. The State of New Jersey has a Utility Consumer Bill of Rights written in plain English that spells out people’s rights regarding matters like deposits, service cut-offs, testing of meters, and handling of billing disputes. Tennessee has nothing similar, as far as I can tell. On the weekend, I can’t contact staff for advice, but the City of Oak Ridge electric department website has a statement of policies (not written in plain English) that addresses some (but not nearly all) of the topics in the New Jersey “Bill of Rights”. This looks like an area in which Oak Ridge could do better — I hope there already is some consumer-oriented policy information available as a paper handout.
Thank you Ellen. Why couldn’t Jane be more understanding of my concerns? Is she so busy with her concerns of her neighborhood that mine was something nobody on council should look at, at least that is what she may have thought. The actions by our city business office is clear fraud when you charge people a late fee on an estimate over and over again without regulation. Over and over I have discussed this with city staff , yet the communication line has never been established to just help out a citizen correct a city business operated in a fraudulent manner. And Steve Jenkins said he was concerned of the safety of people. Where is the concern? This has been going on for years unaddressed by the city business office. There is a book called COR Rules and Regulations Governing Electric Power Distribution. It addresses the business side of the contract, not the consumer’s contract issues. My community is an older community with utility issues, while Jane’s community is newer and was built with stricter regulation. She doesn’t want to deal with utility issues of an older community, like so many council people who have served and is serving today. In addition, this book revealed the effort put into tracking consumption to be incorrect. The information given to me by the city business office is all made up and doesn’t show actual usage in my case. This was disappointing to learn. Why keep such an inaccurate operation of city business?
I am concerned with a city doing business this way, unlike the racist CrackerNation who always is in Chuck and Angie Agle’s pocket. I have seen how they cater to Mrs. DuBois, but she hasn’t heard what they say behind her back.
Unwilling to discuss the topic of my questions about a school system and then having an uninformed school board member attack a business is the game played by our school board member Angie Agle. I’m am not her first, yet the latest by all in her group was against Baskin Robbins. We must have school district representation also. Our Schools and Neighborhood Watch groups have failed the students of our community. Will Chuck Agle partake in the bullying and idle threats that Angie has partaken in? I believe so. That is why we had what happen the other night at the discussion, idle threats and statements with no meaning, jokes from ORION. Did you choose that acronym because you want to put a belt to the citizens? This is how I see those people on the Oak Ridge is One Neighborhood group to be, ill concerned.
This city at least must find elected officials who do not partake in the bullying of people at all. The likes of people like Angie Agle, who is not willing to work with someone who has a valid problem, are the elected people we must remove from our city offices. And to think, with more control of our money given to the schools, she is not the treasurer we need. I see what this school has, she is bullying investing and insurance firms for school teacher pensions. This is not the way to do it Angie.
Can the Charter Commission put concerns about schools and school related comments into the district representatives? This could be why our schools have not listened to citizens, they do not have to. More voices by districts on city council will bring more talk about real issues regarding our schools. Or could the Charter Commission break up our school board also, so we could have a communication link to our schools by our district representative?
And yes RacistNation, I remember, she has it on her Blog. Or is it you who has forgotten about that and when this city prospered, under a district representative city council.
Ray, everyone who disagrees with your pettiness is not a racist. Making up stuff about Ella DuBose who is the only African American running for the Charter Commission itself seems racist. As I have often commented to you, your accusations seem more appropriately directed at yourself.
ORION has the only African American candidate and more women candidates than CDAR. ORION a far more balanced and experienced list of candidates.
As for the subject of districts, on a school board that would be disastrous with schools competing for resources rather than resources being applied where needed. For the city council, it would be equally disastrous. Most people that I have talked to about this think they will have a local representative from their neighborhood. But as Steve Dittner pointed out there are 27 named neighborhoods in Oak Ridge. That means that the proposed division would leave 4 1/2 neighborhoods for each district, on average.
As for representation, at the highest level, we have the maximum representation now where each citizen can vote for all the members of the city council, our taxing authority.
If you mean that representation means having someone to reflect your point of view on the council, districts reduces that likelihood since you can only vote for a minority on the council and that minority is more likely not to share your view on any contentious issue.
Districts are less fair from a one person/one vote point of view. They are more likely to spend more and as a result are more likely to require more taxes. We have seen in our history with districts that people often run without opposition for their seat. In Oak Ridge, the complexity of dividing the city into 4 County Commissioner districts, 5 School Board members, and 6 City Council members with boundaries shifting as the population shifts makes no sense.
As Ray Evans’ in the Oak Ridger today points out, we don’t need districts, we need a community organizer who get people registered to vote, find and encourage qualified candidates to run, and get the registered voters out to vote.
That is your opinion CrackerNation. As for Ella and Jane, they both have yet to show me they know what is needed to improve the older districts in our community. And for you CrackerNation, you have yet to prove to anyone your bullying is helping older or newer districts. So go ahead and be mean, that is all a racist has to offer. For me, I’m upset we have 7 council members and many of them have not shown me they can live anywhere else but under the protection of At-Large representation.
Ellen, I haven’t received your email. One big problem that the city has is its contradiction to being green. The city electric department wants customers to use greener technology to reduce energy consumption, yet they estimate bills under older energy consumption records, when they are correct, and an inappropriate estimating formula. I have had bills estimated $150 dollars over actual usage, and I have in the past received credits from the city for over $500 dollars. To anyone, that is a problem.
You don’t have to ask anyone about what to do about our blighted neighborhoods. Highland View is a good model that can be extended to other neighborhoods as well. There are some enhancements to that process that will make it more effective, but it is a good start. And look! All that investment in time and money for a neighborhood that has no representative living in it. Imagine that.
After looking into your problem with the city, it appears it all started with you not making the meters available for reading. Can’t blame the city for that. And now you are bad-mouthing Ms Miller for helping you out when no one else would.
Ray, I am very surprised at your comments about my efforts on your behalf. I sent no less than 15 e-mails and initiated many conversations and phone calls on your behalf which resulted in your receiving a refund on your utilities and penalties deducted from your account. Both Steve Jenkins, Janice McGinnis, Jim O’Connor and Mr. Sherrill the Meter Reader, have met with you (at my request) to try to resolve your issues. Your meter is now being read each and every month. The State of TN does not have a Utility Customer Bill of Rights, but I believe you were provided with ordinances that have been passed covering this issue. I assure you, that you have the full attention of City Staff due to my efforts and can bring any additional issues to them at any time. Council members are not assigned issues or problems. I chose to try to assist you because that is what I am elected to do. Sorry you are not satisfied with the results. I continue to help citizens all over the City – most recently I have been able to help citizens on Hollywood Circle, Andover Lane, East TN Ave., East Faunce, Florida Ave., Hanover Lane, etc. I am still willing to assist you with this or any other City problem you may have in the future.
Best Regards,
Thanks to Jane for posting here.
Ray, I’ve e-mailed you at multiple addresses. The latest message has been returned as undeliverable, but the earlier ones appeared to go through. Apparently I don’t have a current e-mail address for you…
The email was returned because most likely he put down a fictitious address to avoid getting emails. From reading your info and Jane Miller’s, I believe that you both have tried to help Mr. Kircher. I commend you both for acting on behalf of citizens.
It turns out that I did have Mr. Kircher’s correct e-mail address. He found my message in his trash folder.
Jane, in your attempts to have the city provide a correct utility bill, only you and the city staff received the amended bill. You stated in your email to me you have received a copy of the amended bill. That was a few days before the bill was due. When the due day came I still didn’t receive the bill. If I kept my schedule and waited for the city to bill me, I am sure the bill next month would have a late fee added for the past month.
I had to make a trip to the Municipal Building to have the amended bill pulled up. It had a credit of almost $100 dollars that month. Why didn’t the bill come to me? Why did I have to go out of my way to pay this bill to avoid a late fee created by the rules and regulations of the city business office? Why did an At-Large council member and city business office just leave my attempts for a correct billing to end with an email of the bill to everyone else involved, but I couldn’t have the amended bill emailed to me? If it was emailed to me when you received it, I would have been able to pay it from home. I was timely and urgent in my messages to have a correct billing sent to me before the due date. That is part of the service by the city business office, or isn’t it? This and other issues by customers are not covered in the CORRRGEPD. I believe if someone who represented the older districts directly would have knowledge of the older rules and regulations that were applied when my home was built and understand the problems of new rules and regulations applied to older districts. That is why I support district representation.
Another joke Mike? Your display of care with jokes didn’t work for you here, and I hope it doesn’t work for you at the election polls also. I suspect you are not a clown in your day job, you are not good. Also you and your poor jokes are not good for leading our city in a new charter.
Next, a racist knows what is good for a community? Do you really believe sinking money into a specific street helps the whole community? CrackerNation, that is the racist view of our city you need to leave outside the gate. Why don’t you ask the rest of the community how well they feel about the attention Highland View recieves from our city council? That isn’t a community project, it is a street project forced as an effort for a community. CrackerNation, maybe you need to change your name to CrackerBox?
Ray, keep your sexist comments to yourself. Maybe you need to grow up.
Ray: I am not sure why you want to attack me. Do you attack everyone who tries to help the city and other citizens? I am sorry you have had issues with the utility bills. I hope you get them resolved. I would ask though, do you really think a person elected as a district council person would have the time or staff to check into everyone’s utility bill questions? You may be misinterpreting what such a part-time council person would do. A district council person who would represent several neighborhoods and as many as 4,000 or 5,000 people.
I wish you well.
Ray: Let me clarify so you have no doubt of my position. If the only topic to be discussed at the Charter Commission were to be district representation then I would be in favor of adjourning (no joke) though I do not see that happening. District representation was addressed in 2004 and was rejected. I see no reason to divide the city.
I would be in favor of discussing potential changes to the city charter that might strengthen economic development and viability. I would also be in favor of discussing requirements for bringing referenda to ballot (but not preventing referenda). Perhaps term limits should be discussed.
I do not want anyone to be misinformed about my position on district representation. I still hope you would consider voting for someone like me who believes in the future of Oak Ridge.
Is that all you can comment about, spot helping communities CrackerNation? Highland View is the same unrepresented place with one lone developer using up grant money. Those projects you listed CrackerNation fall short of helping the whole community.
Mike, will you be one of those elected officials who visit citizen’s houses with bad attitudes, like the one you have shown here, “Ray: I am not sure why you want to attack me”,. Where is it that you feel attacked, or is anyone’s opinion now an attack. What about what you said, it is an idle threat in your world.
Without attention to the fact the older parts of this city are not represented by simple rules and regulations of the city, we will continue the suffering of poor community grant spending. Are you the type of person if the problem is not at your front door the citizen must be making these things up? You sound that way, with bad jokes to support your cause. That isn’t a way to run a campaign Mike. I read what you said, “I will put a stop to this nonsense.” That was you, or is there another charter commission you are running for, the Secret Charter Commission to further alienate the older communities of Oak Ridge, or was it someone else placing idle threats upon citizens?
Mike, you say the setup works now. You say no changes are needed, yet you cannot start to comment one issue the city has, just that nothing needs to change, then the Netbots come out and attack people because change isn’t happening. Have you driven the center lane into our city from Centrifuge Way? You will see that it is a miserable lane to travel, yet the road to the country club is paved again, 3 times in 5 years I believe. Have you seen the ever expanding gravel shoulders on Melton Lake Drive, yet the center lane into our city is like driving on a gravel road. This is just one issue that needs to be addressed. Yet we have council members with little thought about us, only how to put us into debt by giving money to businesses and non-profits. When will the city have representation for all! I hope you learn that this city is suffering under the current charter Mike. I hope you can change your mind and become a CDAR member.
Oh ray, is that the best you have? Nothing?
Wipe the drool and tell us why districts, the form of electing city council members that does not work here is so important to you? You want to divide the city into a few special interest groups, increase spending, increase taxes and wind up with these little fiefdoms that run unopposed and watch voter turnout plummet again, like it did here before. Since you don’t understand our history, take 7 minutes and watch Chuck Agle dismantle the CDAR arguments in the first video and then explain why you want to roll back the clock and divide the city.
Just what are you for and why are you for it?
You are the racist. You always believe this city is represented well, but you are the first to claim government is to provide business with available cash because they are unable to provide the credit needed to start up on their own. That is problem number 1.
The representation problem falls into why has my elected officials refuse to update our city government? Chuck Agle’s claim is just the laundry, where is the soap? His radical and unsupported, nationwide, ideas has not cleaned up our city for the past 20 years. How much time does he want for failure? His views have not touched on the concerns of the citizens in Robertsville. Why is it he isn’t supporting a large shopping complex in his backyard? He also falls short on ideas that his community is safe from the expanding crime problem he has in his neighborhood. Does he hope Neighborhood Watch will clean it up? Well he hasn’t been supportive of increasing the amount of police officers we have. Now that you have some simple views of a cheap and broken down candidate who is in bed with a racist and a disgruntled baby boomer, we can get back to representation of my community. We in Robertsville will decide who we want to represent us. What can it hurt? How can someone dedicated and voted in by a community hurt what we are not getting now?
Next, get that goofy smile off of Chuck’s face. It makes him look more immature than he is, a man who plays with monkeys? When the monkeys leave, we see that people didn’t turn out because they were too busy to change something they believed they couldn’t change. Well some new people have moved to our city, and more and more people are beginning to wonder why we do not have district representation. It is much easier to deal with a problem when we have elected officials familiar with the problem. As you can read, Jane Miller has fallen far short of solving what Steve Jenkins has stated as a city wide problem, yet our business office with At-Large representation still cannot run a business efficiently and fairly to incorporate our older communities with newer rules and regulations.
I see your racist matter only cares about your neighborhood. Bringing back a communication to city council from communities is where we are at. We all can see the At-Large choice has been an utter failure with more debt on credit than where we should be with all the gifts given to Oak Ridge government from federal government and high property and sales taxes.
We expect what we pay for CrackerBox, so far we have only seen the payment plan, no community plan.
It appears that you do not have any valid reasons to oppose Mr Agle’s points since all you can do is call people names.
I see you don’t care CrackerBox. All you oppose is anyone who does care.