Can this website influence the elections?
Permalink +Mon, Sep 15, 2003, 2:23 pm // John Servais
I doubt it. Most visitors are political experts - elected, bureaucrats, reporters or junkies - and have their own candidates to support. Few casual citizens even know of this site. Regardless, below are my thoughts on the primary election.Mark Asmundson is a corrupt mayor and must go. He constantly surprises even politically savvy folks with his audacious duplicity. It has always worked for him. You have seen that oversized postcard showing the McRory's with Mark. Notice the text does not say they support him. The McRorys have told friends they are embarrassed about the use of the photo for Mark's campaign. Just a small example of Mark's MO. He runs the city with closed-door deals. And, if you can remember back even a few months, they all cost us too much money.
I'm backing Brett Bonner. He is much more moderate than his old radio show suggested. He is intelligent, knows the issues and is experienced at management. He will be fair to all factions. My second choice is Russ Weston. Russ would be a very honest mayor and would not hurt our city. Foster Rose would be too much the advocate for downtown and as a council member was very arrogant. Both Brett and Russ will listen and work with all citizens. Sharon Crozier is too new to city issues. I hope she stays active in city politics. Regardless, I will strongly back whoever makes it through the primary against Mark.
Sheri Ward would make an outstanding city council member and I strongly support her. Terry Borneman has ignored citizen input for over three years and has discovered it only this summer. He is claiming and taking credit for things he actually opposed. The Herald reported that the building code height loophole was fixed with Terry on the council, implying his support. In truth, Sheri worked for two years to convince a majority on the council to close the loophole, with Terry voting against it. The Herald ommitted any mention of Sheri's role. Indeed, Sheri is running because of Terry's arrogant attitude towards citizens and his record of always voting for whatever mayor Mark puts before the council. Terry likes to close public hearings by calling for a council vote on the issue with no discussion of the input by citizens.
Sheri has worked for five years as a neighborhood activist and will bring a much-needed independent attitude to the city council. We should not miss this opportunity to vote her in. Many conservatives think Sheri is liberal and liberals think she is conservative. In truth, her belief is for fairness to all. She wants city planning codes that don't allow planning staff to interpret them different ways for different applicants. Developers should support her as should any who support neighborhood values such as views and predictability of future developments.
Don Hansey really should not be running. His "20 years experience" is in the county and even that ended almost 20 years ago. He has not participated in any city issues. Don is very conservative and would be the shill for the Building Association.
Port Commissioner. As you probably know, I made my mark on local politics by exposing corruption at the Port about 10 years ago. I know the Port and how much it _could_ benefit our local economy. With three good Port Commissioners, we would be the most prosperous city in Washington State. We have not had that since the 50s. While commissioner Scott Walker and I disagree on much, he is our only intelligent and business-oriented commissioner. He needs a second commissioner to make any improvements at the Port. Right now, Executive Director Jim Darling sets the agenda with Doug Smith and Ginny Benton his lap dogs.
I support Travis Holland but have to admit that Jim Jorgensen might be the best candidate. Travis knows Port issues, has served for years on government committees, is a working pilot at the airport and has much good business experience. Jim Jorgensen has a lifetime of marine experience in Blaine and has worked hard on Port projects up there. Jim brings maturity to the table.
Jack Grant is also very good and Ron Wilson would even be much better than Ginny. Jack is an attorney who works on trade and business ventures. The Port has squandered its free trade zones for years, with the commissioners not knowing how to develop them. Jack and Scott Walker would get those going. Ron Wilson is a fine guy with integrity and is a member of the Ferndale City Council, but I think he is the least qualified of the four.
Ginny must go. Her personal legal and financial dealings are a mess. I have touched on them but have not fully exposed how bad they are. If she is dumped in the primary there is no reason to post them. More importantly, Ginny does not bring anything to the table at the Port. She just votes the way Jim Darling asks her to. She is deaf to any discussion of issues.
There you have it. Liberal and conservative values play a role only in which challenger you vote for. Most liberals who are active in city issues do not support Terry or Mark. Most conservatives tell me they are supporting Ginny while they hold their noses. Changes to these three offices will benefit all of us and will not offend the values of any of us. We are lucky to have such good challengers to chose from this year. Let's give them our votes.
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Election Forums
Tue, Sep 30, 2003, 4:55 pm // John Servais
The first of three Bellingham Herald Election Forums is taking place this evening at the County Council chambers.The forums are being broadcast live on KGMI radio, 790 AM.…
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News censorship is not some obscure conspiracy theory
Mon, Sep 29, 2003, 7:00 pm // John Servais
Indeed, I watched CBS news and they have the story now. (see 3 pm below) Still nada at the CNN and FOXnews websites. A search shows nothing. Novak…0 comments
US soldiers would never do things like that
Mon, Sep 29, 2003, 1:32 pm // John Servais
How many war prisoners is the USA holding? 6,000? A new website is trying to track all the foreigners the USA is holding in secret prisons or not…0 comments
It is probably Brett’s to lose
Fri, Sep 26, 2003, 1:17 pm // John Servais
All week I'm hearing from political pros how Mark will still beat Brett for mayor. Mark is too smooth, they say. Mark knows what to say in every…0 comments
Taking care of our own—NOT!
Thu, Sep 25, 2003, 1:21 pm // John Servais
Did you know that US soldiers who get wounded in Iraq and are hospitalized in military hospitals - for amputation of their foot or other treatment - are…0 comments
I would sure welcome some company online
Tue, Sep 23, 2003, 1:50 pm // John Servais
The look of this home page has changed today. The flag is larger and now fits official flag specs. My thanks to Conrad Suckow for this. While it…0 comments
The Auditor counted all but the last
Tue, Sep 23, 2003, 1:27 pm // John Servais
25 ballots today. In the only close race, Don Hansey has firmly out-polled Sheri Ward. Given how the Herald viewed the big absentee count on Friday afternoon, we…0 comments
Decreasing the ‘bull’ factor
Mon, Sep 22, 2003, 1:45 pm // John Servais
The dates of the Lunch Time Soapbox Forums schedule has been adjusted. It will now start on Wednesday, October 8, instead of the 1st as originally posted. The…0 comments
Conclusive election results are now in
Fri, Sep 19, 2003, 2:40 pm // John Servais
Don Hansey has out-polled Sheri Ward and will face Terry Borneman for city council representative from the 5th Ward. Terry polled only 44% and probably faces a stiff…0 comments
Insist on the truth about war casualties
Fri, Sep 19, 2003, 10:00 am // John Servais
Were 8 US soldiers killed yesterday, besides the 3 being reported? We may not learn for days, weeks or months. As casualties mount, the US military appears to…0 comments
Some comments on national issues
Thu, Sep 18, 2003, 2:02 pm // John Servais
Foreign Internet news sites are reporting 8 US soldiers killed in Iraq today. Nothing at the CNN, Fox and MSNBC websites. These reports are three hours old. What…0 comments
A few words are in order
Wed, Sep 17, 2003, 2:14 pm // John Servais
It is humbling and most satisfying to see the voters choose for change in leadership at City Hall and the Port. For an incumbent to get less than…0 comments
Internet election results: It’s just a fad
Tue, Sep 16, 2003, 2:17 pm // John Servais
The Auditor will post election results in almost-real time this evening. First post should be about 8:15, and because of the very few races the evening count may…0 comments
Can this website influence the elections?
Mon, Sep 15, 2003, 2:23 pm // John Servais
I doubt it. Most visitors are political experts - elected, bureaucrats, reporters or junkies - and have their own candidates to support. Few casual citizens even know of…0 comments
Facing the abyss
Fri, Sep 05, 2003, 2:33 pm // John Servais
So now the US is crawling to the UN asking for help in Iraq. And asking France and Germany to help. George W and his Neo-conservatives are facing…0 comments
Growing up Whatcom
Thu, Sep 04, 2003, 2:36 pm // John Servais
A new political pressure group is organizing to try and slow the growth of Whatcom County and Bellingham. Pro-Whatcom claims to be a diverse grassroots group of citizens…0 comments
So - what polite word can we use?
Wed, Sep 03, 2003, 2:41 pm // John Servais
Phone outage in Whatcom County, Bellingham and much of Skagit County since 7:45 am this morning according to news reports. KGMI is on top of this and the…0 comments
Why things go so wrong for us good guys
Mon, Sep 01, 2003, 2:43 pm // John Servais
AlJazeera's English language website has finally opened. This is the Arab news site that scooped the US news media on a weekly basis during the war last spring.…0 comments
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