The election returns are in, and I’m elated by the election of Barack Obama. He will be inheriting a country that has serious problems, but between his pragmatism and his amazing ability to inspire people, I am hopeful that he will provide the leadership America needs.
The Oak Ridge City Charter Commission election results are also in, thanks to some late evening work at The Oak Ridger (thanks to Donna, John, Darrell, Carmen, and Leean). Although the newspaper’s headline says that “Status quo candidates” won, it appears to me that the reality is that voters elected the individual people (or at least the names) that they knew and respected best: Gene Caldwell, Pat Postma, Leonard Abbatiello, Chuck Agle, and David McCoy from the ORION list and Virginia Jones and Pat Fain from the CDAR list. I hope that these 7 people will recognize that they were elected primarily for who they are — not necessarily for the platforms they campaigned on — and that they will fulfill the public’s trust by undertaking an open-minded evaluation of the pros and cons of various arrangements for electing our local government.
First time that I have seen your blog. Although I did not vote for you in your last election, I have watched council on TV and will certainly vote for you next time. I appreciate your service to Oak Ridge.
If you think that there is disconnect between who these candidates are and they platforms on which they ran, I think you are seriously mistaken.
“…they were elected primarily for who they are — not necessarily for the platforms they campaigned on” could be partially true, but I believe that the voters are smarter than that. They do look at positions, and consider that as well as other things like resumes.
Do you think Obama was elected for who he is, or the platform he campaigned on?
The pros of at-large representation and cons of district represenation have been debated over the past few weeks, not to mention during the 2003/2004 charter commission.
It is time to move forward and bring unity to Oak Ridge. That was and is the platform of those five candidates. They won based on that platform.
My contention that most voters voted for the person, not the position on the issues, comes not from theory or ideology but from talking to voters and studying the election results.
A bunch of people (some of them friends and some just “general public”) approached me for advice on this election. Almost always the query went something like “I know I want to vote for Gene Caldwell because he was our family’s pediatrician, but I want to know who else to vote for.” Sometimes they named other candidates who they knew and trusted, but every one of these people was unaware of how the charter commission item came to be on the ballot, and they hadn’t heard of either ORION or CDAR. (I tried to explain the background and let them make up their own minds.) Based on my nonrandom sample, I figure that only a small fraction of the voters was aware of the issue — and most were not voting for either point of view, but were trying to pick the best people to serve on a charter commission. (Similarly, consider the woman who Netmom met at the polls, who refused to vote for Netmom’s husband Chuck because of misconceptions about Netmom’s actions on the school board. Misguided or not, that woman was voting based on the person, not the issue.)
The way the votes split among the candidates also supports my view. The vote distribution is not what you would see if people had voted a “straight ticket.” For example, note that some of the top seven candidates were ORION candidates and some were CDAR candidates, and the 8th highest vote-getter (CDAR candidate Tom Burns) came in just a hair behind the 7th highest (ORION candidate David McCoy). Also, there were some noticeable geographic disparities in the vote; for example, Mike (who is relatively new to the city and lives in Rarity Ridge) carried the Lawnville precinct of Roane County (where Rarity Ridge votes) by landslide proportions, but trailed pretty much everywhere else. It’s clear that he was supported by his friends and neighbors — presumably because they know him and trust his judgment — but did not do well where he is not well known. Ironically, Mike’s results serve to illustrate one of the potential benefits of district representation — with by-district elections, people who have earned the respect and trust of their neighborhoods can gain public office even if they are not well-known city-wide.
I contend that the 7 people elected to the charter commission were elected because they are respected members of the community who were judged to be deserving of the public’s trust, not because of their specific views on the combination of by-district and at-large elections. Having won the public’s trust, I hope that they will honor that trust by undertaking a sincere and open-minded evaluation of the issues that brought about this charter election.
This is a great step for our city. I see it like you do Ellen, the people have put trust and hard work ahead with their vote. I hope all who have been elected to be given a great opportunity to give our city well needed progress.
Knowing six of the people that were elected I agree that they will give consideration to all options and to other areas of the city charter that may benefit the city. I encourage citizens to attend the meetings to voice ideas.
Virtually anyone who wanted to learn about the issue was greeted by CDAR and ORION operatives before entering the polling places. They knew which side was advocating the return to districts and which thought that at-large was a better idea. While people do vote for people they trust, they also vote for the ideas that those people represent.
I too believe that our elected Commissioners will listen, consider, and vote for what they believe is best for Oak Ridge. I also believe that the fact that the (5 out of 7) majority was selected by the intent of the majority and is not just a random event. It has happened too often in our recent history.
You can look at the 5 to 7 string of events and rewrite history all you want CrackerBox, when you as a citizen finally pull the string you see the attic is empty. When it comes to CITY GOVERNMENT ISSUES ONLY, the past workings of a business hungry council has strained many city districts in the housing market. I’ve seen this before, from behind the window of a school bus. All it takes is one minority in the hearts of people, then all authority is left in the hands of the citizens.
Clean this place up city council, NOW!!!!
To make a few notes, CDBG, look at the spending, City Ordinaces, like landlord and tennant laws not a part of all city districts but things like 40′ tall residential houses is citywide.
Besides to the mall, where is this city council taking us? I for one have hope this charter commission will work on the input of citizens and not fancy boat shows dreamed about in the paper.
Sorry Ray, what you are complaining about is probably not the intent of the Charter. If you want to change the City Council you have to field qualified candidates.
It is evident what the intent of our city council is, or else they wouldn’t be a city council, now would they?
You forget to see what it is you want. Some how in your field of dreams you believe a store would solve all our problems, or is it just your problem you would like the rest of Oak Ridge to fix?
I’m sorry Oak Ridge doesn’t have the crackerboxes you like, but maybe you can start trying after 20 years of this?
I don’t expect anything to come from this charter commission if no citizens are there to ask why. So why do I think after 20 years of your way are we to get anything different? Is it that people are looking for leaders now?
This Charter Commission I see has a lot more at stake than the last one did.
Ray: As one reader I am not sure what you are even talking about or complaining about. You did mention utility issues in another thread here.
I believe there will be city council elections this coming spring. Have you thought about running?
Sorry Mike, I suggested qualified candidates as the solution.
Are you sure Oak Ridge is progressing as well as it should be?
Does Oak Ridge have no problems to you? If not, list them. I will then know you have a grasp of the issues to talk about the problem.
Ray, Oak Ridge has plenty of problems so we don’t have to make stuff up. Citizen representation on City Council is not a problem.
CrackerBox, you have no clue to the problems or you would be listing them. List the problems you see, we will discuss them and the ones I see!
You and other NetBots have said we do not need to elect a mayor At-Large because our current city manager form is working well. If you only knew how corrupt this form of government can be, and how others who see a mayor voted in by less than 5 votes without a recount makes Oak Ridge the least desirable city to move to. Our current city manager is raising taxes for continuing payments totaling more than $200,000.00 a year to a Chamber of Commerce, businesses only move here because he pays them to do so in tax grievances, he pays city departments to build spec. buildings on open natural land while buildings sit empty in our city, all the while the mayor of our city waits for a photo opportunity because he is not busy working for the city. People visit this city and the word flies around you can go here but not there. That statement works both ways without representation: by location for fear of a crime and by location for fear our city functions will not have the head count to continue. Failure covers all issues, and failure is evident when many districts are left out of the conversation of progress needed to improve our city.
Another action of lack of district representation is found in our school board by them cutting the busing immediately around our schools. This works for some schools in out of the way locations nestled inside residential districts, but many schools in our city are not in safe locations. That is why rebuilding a high school was a poor choice for our city, while building new would have secured a safer location at a lower cost. I firmly believe we would have had all the extras the school board wanted if the school would have been built new. The land the high school sits upon would better fit retail development while many other locations in our city would have provided a safe place for students The people of the Robertsville district, including myself, have brought the danger of cutting busing for Robertsville, but since not one school board member lives in Robertsville. Why did our school board not listen to the Robertsville district who has been dealing with this problem and still does. Problems of safety still exist while clearly easy solutions are available. Is that the only building we can vote in? I am all for moving the voting precinct out of that school due the parking problems and fire safety zones violated while students are in school. Once again, the lack of district representation is very evident in our school board and in our city council. They do not know of the danger that is around that school and all schools when we talk about bars open for business and sexual predators looking at our city as a re-entry city. Why is that?
We continue to invite all these newly released prisoners yet we do not have a jail. If you only knew how many times we send a police officer out of this city to drop off arrested people at the jail in Anderson County while another crime is committed her in Oak Ridge and that officer is needed here, not being a delivery driver. How can a city survive with the incarcerated being shipped here for a re-entry program and our police cruisers drive out tens of thousands of miles a year to the jail?
Do you have a monitored alarm system in your Box of Crackers? I also propose that all monitored businesses and residences be imposed a false alarm fine. Every time one of your crackers set off the alarm and just continue to bring in the groceries without calling in the false alarm, you should be fined. That also goes for these apartments built with continuing false fire alarms, and more of these cracker boxes are being built. I would like to see how much these false alarms cost the city, all because you do not feel safe in your district., all the while innocent people cry out for help of the danger facing them and our city council just sits there with all eyes and ears on James O’Connor.
Our problems are heading to your street CrackerBox. I hope you soon realize we all need help, not just your empty list of problems.
How much does the school get paid for holding an election there? Is it worth the violations created by voters parking in the grass and in fire zones while students are in school? Crackerbox, if only you can list the problems of this city?
Ray, you said, “You and other NetBots have said we do not need to elect a mayor At-Large because our current city manager form is working well. If you only knew how corrupt this form of government can be, and how others who see a mayor voted in by less than 5 votes without a recount makes Oak Ridge the least desirable city to move to.”
Electing a mayor was not even an issue that most candidates including some from CDAR that should be considered by the charter commission. If we were to elect a mayor, would we have to elect one from each district? What if the mayor were elected from Emory Valley? Hummm. Bet you wouldn’t like that.
Also, the city manager does not raise taxes as you said above.
Mike, I suggest you take a few years and attend some council meetings. Maybe you can keep up?
Mike, many people opposed me when I said we need to elect our mayor and school superintendent At-Large. This gives our city more positive press, would always bring about more discussion in our city, and would be viewed differently by guests, because when the headlines read “Mayor voted in by 4 votes,” common sense people would be asking when is the recount.
You keep on trying though. Someday you may move to the inner city. In the meantime, maybe you can sit in with the Agle’s and understand what CrackerNation people do. Then you can understand why I expect segregation is next.
Ray, you know that the mayor is not voted in by 4 votes. All of the city participates in voting for all of the city council members who selects a mayor as the head of their legislative body.
I’ve “moderated” several comments that were nothing more than personal insults, and I expect to trim some of the personal insults embedded in some of the earlier comments.
Direct elections of the mayor and school superintendent are not (as far as I know) on the wish lists of any of the charter commission members. (These changes were not proposed by CDAR, and since ORION candidates generally supported the status quo, it would be inconsistent for an ORION candidate to support these changes.)
I’m glad to be able to say that no one is seriously proposing election of the superintendent. There’s no denying that parents and the public have had many complaints at various times regarding our professional school leadership, I believe we would have many more complaints if our schools were led by a nonprofessional elected superintendent. I think it would be seriously irresponsible to make this an elected job.
There are benefits of having a full-time elected mayor instead of a city manager, but there are also significant drawbacks. I believe that Oak Ridge is much better off with a professional city manager than we would be with a citizen mayor.
Ellen: I know the phrase “status quo” means the existing state of affairs. Unfortunately that phrase often portrays a negative concept or a broken system. For example please look at the quote from B. Obama:
“In one week, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up. In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future. In one week, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo. In one week, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.”
President-elect Obama had a point but to agree with it one would have to concede that the “status quo” needed to be changed on a presidential level. As we know, enough citizens in the US agreed with that position. For Oak Ridge, I do not believe the system is broken. A majority of Oak Ridgers agreed. I urge you to use a phrase other than “status quo” when referring to our current system of electing council people unless you really believe it is broken of in need of change.
Thank for allowing me the opportunity to speak.
Mike
” unless you really believe it is broken ”
Some people can still work with a broken bone, but when that person suffers a broken right leg and is ordered to rest, that person is in a disabling situation. Generally, Oak Ridge is broken, but what will heal it?
Why else would a charter commission be voted upon, if nobody thought the status quo of Oak Ridge were leading the whole city into the future incorrectly? It is the moniker of people who believe in what has been going on for 20 years.
Mike, labels, monikers, and acronyms are of all Oak Ridgers. Some are just wanting Oak Ridge to move out of its civic dump attitude in the name of big business is going to save us. Oak Ridge has older buildings and homes sitting empty. On lush and green undeveloped property, you can build all the new buildings and homes you want. The current plan for our city is failing and costing us more in taxes and fees. How is that going to change our city?
After 20 years, you have to believe many people have lost their faith in what local leaders want to do with city taxes and fees. If you would like, I can take you into the heart of the problem and walk with you into streets and neighborhoods with the thugs, prostitutes, and dealers who thrive on the empty building syndrome of Oak Ridge.
Ellen, also thank you for the discussion of our city government. I look forward to the years ahead of you and other council members discussing what this commission brings to us.