About time too, sometimes there are so many typos in his postings I think he may be going blind ;-)
Yes, William has finally stopped messing with his blog, has ditched us losers at blogsplot, and can be found at peoriapundit.com once again.
Bill is already back to harassing me for harassing Councilwoman VanAuken, on whom I believe he has a huge crush. He denies it, but isn't fooling anyone. No one doubts Barbara is extremely bright Bill, you have every right to fall for her.
For the record, I believe that VanAuken does return calls and e-mails- when she receives them. I just think she does what she wants (water company vote, Station 11) instead of what her constituents instruct her to do. I also think Teplitz was much, much worse. My frustration with VanAuken at this moment stems from her lack of fight to restore Fire Station 11 to full capacity. I was at a forum where VanAuken said Fire Station 11 was critical to the people in her district, that Teplitiz's vote had endangered citizens, and if elected, Barbara would make Station 11 a priority. Plenty of campaign flyers stating essentially the same thing were distributed on her behalf. I personally know three fire fighters who campaigned for her who are pissed. They believe their lives are jeopardized by the current cuts and strange distribution of fire fighting equipment. Seriously, whoever heard of a Fire Station without a water truck?! The water truck is the one with the friggin hoses, used to put out FIRES. I also know that the City could find an annual revenue stream of $750,000 by cutting waste if they were so inclined. Hell, the Municipal Band gets $100,000 - and polkas certainly don't count as an essential service. Council seems to be in favor of a tax increase, but not enough of one to restore fire fighting capabilities to safe levels. Have these people learned nothing from Hurricane Katrina?
I also remember VanAuken chastising Teplitz for saying the garbage fee was "only" $6.00 per month. VanAuken told the audience using the word "only" was indicative of a leader who had forgotten the needs of her constituents, many of whom were on fixed incomes. Yet, Barbara hasn't mentioned eliminating the garbage tax (which doesn't pay for garbage pickup). These were the issues VanAuken ran on, these are the issues we have every right to hold her accountable for, ahem, Bill.
However, adequate fire protection is more important than the slimy garbage tax. So, I'm putting the pressure on Manning. If Councilman Manning can dissect the water company's books and find certain revenue, despite the outrageous $300 million price tag, finding a paltry $750,000 of local government waste to restore Station 11 should be a cake walk. So, how about it Bob?
If your mind is too open, your brain will fall out. Warning: Names, identities, descriptions, and pictures have been changed and/or used to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. PollyPeoria should not be used or quoted as a source for your senior college thesis.
Monday, October 17
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5 comments:
He's a fanboy.
"For the record, I believe that VanAuken does return calls and e-mails- when she receives them. I just think she does what she wants (water company vote, Station 11) instead of what her constituents instruct her to do."
Oh, bull. We don't have a direct democracy. We have a representative democracy. Direct democracy is the last thing our foumnders wanted, or we'd be voting ourselves bread and circuses.
That aside, I've be as pleased as anyone should the city administration scrap this budget the have now and start really trimming the fat. First thing: Eliminate half the commissions and councils we have have. I'd also instruct the city's legal department to IMMEDIATELY start using fines for to the owners all the long-term abandoned buildings in Peoria.
"Direct democracy is the last thing our foumnders wanted, or we'd be voting ourselves bread and circuses."
Or saying "no" to water buyouts? You make a great argument for why public referendums are so often a silly waste of time and resources.
Non-binding referenda are a waste of time, certainly. I elect people to city council and congress to represent me. I don't elect them to take polls.
I assume that anyone who wants to get elected is saying they are the smartest, most hardowking persona vialable. If so, why they they differ to opinions polls taken from among people who may only have a passing familiarity with the issues?
Politicians need to cast the smartest vote they can in terms of public service, then let the chips fall where they may come election time.
If you open your eyes, all we get are bread and circuses. Ballparks, Rec Plex, Zoo, Museuem, Strip Malls, Civic Centers, need I continue ? And not brought by referendum, but by good old conservative republicans who have to throw tax money at their backers, developers, bankers, real estate companies, you know the usual suspects.
The question is simple and well worn, " Is Peoria better off today than before all this great developing began ?"
Seems that the feet voted no, and we keep bowing to the Big Cat and She keeps moving her assets out, too.
Keep buying it if you want, but, the problem is this: where there is no vision the people perish.
I haven't seen an original thought in this city's government in a lifetime. And the vast majority of the citizenry agree amongst themselves. There's just no outlet that isn't an agent for the status quo.
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