For the City of Farmington:
* Televise your meetings – and get professional help. It might cost a few thousands dollars, but it’s not fair to rely on volunteers for something as important as this. Bite the bullet, folks, it’s time to move into the 20th century. And then consider a Web site re-design to take us into the 21st.
* Keep the North Star study off the shelf. The North Star Destination Strategies branding study cost us $60,000 – make sure taxpayers get their money’s worth, by putting the recommendations to use.
* Play nice with Farmington Hills. The Oakland County-funded study of merger/shared services impacts could uncover cooperative ways to save money. If that happens, make cooperation a priority. It’s time to stop worrying about whether Farmington Hills officials are looking to build an empire, because – as we’ve all been told time and again - there’s no way a merger could happen without a majority voting in favor of it. And as we’ve all been told time and again, a majority of residents don’t want a merger. Right? Keep in mind your decisions will affect the lives and property tax bills of 100,000 residents, because we’re all really in this together. Eye on the ball.
* Play nice with each other. There should never, ever be another exchange like the one between Council member Tom Buck and Mayor Valerie Knol, prior to her appointment. Mr. Buck’s pointed and inappropriate comment that Ms. Knol should declare her support for “autonomy” smacked of political bullying, and it had no place in a civil proceeding.
For the City of Farmington Hills:
* Fill your vacant council seat wisely. You have a unique opportunity in appointing a council member to serve a little under a year before the next election. Remember that the person you appoint will automatically become an incumbent if he or she chooses to run in the next election, and incumbents have a distinct advantage. Unless you choose someone who promises not to run in the fall, remember the person you appoint might well be in that spot for a long, long time.
* Play nice with Farmington. It’s easy to get caught up in reacting to the defensive attitude of some Farmington officials as talks begin over the shared services/merger study. This is really not the time to argue over who’s paying for what and whether they need you more than you need them. Keep in mind your decisions will affect the lives and property tax bills of 100,000 residents, because we’re all really in this together. Eye on the ball.
* Draw clear lines around Chief Dwyer. While he won’t retire until summer, Police Chief Bill Dwyer has announced his candidacy for State Representative. While he is and always has been an ethical, responsible person, politics is a funny business – and you can bet his political opponents will be sensitive to the slightest whiff when it comes to conflict of interest or any abuse of his office.
For Representative Aldo Vagnozzi:
* Fight recall as hard as you ran for election. This absurd exercise is a waste of your time and energy, but do it anyway. First of all, you’ve done nothing wrong. Michigan citizens complain about new taxes as if they haven’t been the ones creating the need – by abdicating responsibility for the poor and elderly, sending children to school ill-prepared, creating a demand for new roads and road repairs, and let’s not forget term-limits, which have created a polarized and over-politicized legislature. But the most egregious hypocrisy in the recall drive is this: A successful petition would mean spending thousands on a recall election, which would only result in a new legislator being elected in November. When you’re leaving office. In other words, the people who are complaining about new taxes want us to spend thousand in tax dollars on an election that would accomplish nothing – except, perhaps, to satisfy their own political ends.
For Vicki Barnett and Bill Dwyer, who seek to replace Representative Vagnozzi:
Fight fair. A clean campaign means no cheap shots, sticking to the issues and making sure your parties do the same. If they plan to run attack ads, tell them to get another candidate. Voters will have enough of that at the Presidential level.
For Congressman Joe Knollenberg:
See above.
–Joni Hubred-Golden
Michigan Woman Blogger
To claim that Rep. Aldo Vagnozzi has done nothing wrong ignores that Michigan’s economy is in a downward spiral and Rep. Vagnozzi’s vote to increase taxes will exacerbate the problem. Michigan must cut spending by restructuring how it operates. The legislature’s failure to do this necessary step means that before this fiscal year is over, we will be facing another Lansing-created budget crisis. Rep. Vagnozzi and many other legislators have been negligent in their duties. In the private sector you get fired for negligence. The same standard should apply for our elected officials.
As far as wasting money on a recall, you miss the full purpose. A recall serves two purposes – punish the current offender and deter future offenders. If the recall is a waste of Rep. Vagnozzi’s time and energy – good. The less time he has to spend creating more obstacles for Michigan businesses the better.
I haven’t at all missed the point of a recall, and I would fully support the movement if a) Rep. Vagnozzi wasn’t going to be replaced this fall anyway and b) if he wasn’t more than 80 years old and unlikely to run for another office.
I’m also very curious about why people are so interested in recalls now, when this problem has been brewing for more than a decade, while Republicans controlled the legislature. No one got interested in recall until legislators (and this was an action with bi-partisan support) decided to raise taxes. If you want to punish someone, recall the people who dithered around with the budget for years, rather than enact real reform.