Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

I was looking over these names of the candidates for Pickerington City council and something began to shine through all of the smoke.

This year we seem to have two completely different types of candidates running for council and the Mayor?’s office. The ?“Hi I am the great first impression?” group which we can call the ?“rabbits?” and then there is the ?“tortoise?” crowd.

The rabbits are the ones in a great hurry. They came onto the scene as an after thought. Heidi didn?’t do anything in the early part of this century to slow the growth or even suggest anything about our community and now she wants to lead that community that she ignored until David Shaver got her appointed to council. Clearly David Shaver was interested in becoming a Judge and once in office a little over a year he made that known to the masses and he failed in that attempt. Heidi was the president of council in 2004 and 2005. However after some very shaky deals with campaign solicitations of city contractors for the Blackwell campaign she was over thrown by Mr. Wisniewski. Like a child pouting she spent most of 2006 finding reasons not to show up for meetings.

Obviously in 2006 Jeff Fix came on board and he promised David Shaver the way to a Judgeship in Lancaster. In the end, Jeff Fix turned his back on David Shaver and David Shaver was none the wiser. In the last four years our Mayor didn?‘t have a clue who his friends were and they used him to further their own agendas. All the while touting Heidi Riggs as the next Mayor of Pickerington she was out there putting the screws to David Shaver in her not so subtle ways.

By 2006, most of the studies and policies she wants to take credit for were in the can so to speak. The impact fees were being collected and the growth management plan was already adopted. So the hare?’s are out looking to greater fields of clover and running ahead forgetting what go them all here. There is Heidi Riggs, Brian Sauer, Bob Blair, and Tricia Sanders running as a team and they are being assisted by the one and only Keith Smith.

Exactly where were these folks in 2000?

Who really lead the why to get us to slow growth? Heidi did say yea three times in 2003 for a housing moratorium but she did nothing beyond that. What did Keith Smith do? What has Jeff Fix accomplished? He is still trying to give the city tax dollars away to the township.

To hear Fix tell it in his campaign literature he invented slow growth and it was all his idea.

Then we have the tortoises. These guys have been around for years now banging away at the establishment and working tirelessly to slow the growth on and off of council. So do you turn the reins of power over to a Heidi Riggs and her know nothing colleagues or do you go with those that have been there all along? Those that have the proven experience and have shown their concern of Pickerington and its schools. I don?’t know about the rest of you but I am going with the experience and those with the proven records: Mitch O?’Brien, Ted Hackworth, Brian Wisniewski and Tony Barletta.

In Agreement

I am with you on this. I am voting for these people as well. Lets hope we have more that think the same. It is our opportunity as voters to help turn this city in the right direction with people who truly care.

briar patch


I think the city is going in the right direction. There has been a major shift in policy and direction of the city since 2003. However since the arrival of Jeff Fix we see that our city taxes are now being eyed by the township trustees instead of being eyed by the developers. I know there are the conspiracy nuts out there but the above named group that I support (Turtles) are fighting to protect the city tax payers from everyone not just the developers. The rabbits must protect their future by not offending the township voters for when they all seek higher office. They will run through our clover and leave us their droppings.

Maybe if we had a real Mayor of Pickerington (instead of a Mayor of the Township) he would host a meeting where the tax realities of the City and the township were laid on the table and in a form where everyone could see the TRUTH. Folks sometimes reality sucks. Maybe if we had a Mayor that allowed a staff to negotiate instead of an uninformed political egomaniac laying the ground work for his next political office we might find some answers to our community's problems. Don't think for one minute that this group of rabbits running for the city leadership is running for the good of Pickerington.

As this campaign goes along you will begin to see the connection the rabbits have with the state Republican party and this election is going to be about them not us.

Sorting through the bull



I campaigned for the change candidates 4 years ago. Let me throw out a few observations. Brian Wisniewski and Ted Hackworth were tireless. Regardless of the time and day and regardless of the weather, they were always out there working hard. Tony Barletta and Mitch O?’Brien were probably the two hardest working people in the campaign not running for anything. Whether it was for the Mayor?’s race, council or the school board seats, they were everywhere in the school district. If it was not stuffing bags, hanging them on ALL the rural mailboxes in the outlying areas, they were on someone?’s porch selling the candidates. O?’Brien was later appointed to a council seat and it was deserved and he proved that he was the right choice. In talking to him at the time, he had just come off a 7 month stint for his job in Washington, DC and would have ran himself except for being away so long before the campaign season. I can safely say that had he run, we would not be suffering with Riggs presence after all this time. Tony went on to support and work hard for major issues in the community and was a constant supporter of those he helped get elected until thing started falling apart when service to the city took a back seat to egos. I think you know which two of the candidates I am referring to.

When I remember back to Riggs?’ and Shaver?’s part of the campaign, I remember Shaver manning ?“command central?” at his law office. I remember people coming in droves to help and I remember Shaver and his wife handing out bags of literature and directions of where to drop them. This is an important part of a campaign but Shaver spent most of his time stuffing his face instead stuffing bags or beating the streets with the helpers. He seldom went out to help and when he did, it was only for a few minutes. Riggs, on the other hand, appeared to be out there on the streets with us. She showed up to where we all parked our cars in the neighborhoods but was seldom seen after that. When she was seen again, she usually had a beverage in her hand indicating she had just come from a coffee shop or convenience mart. She never answered when we asked how long she had been gone.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I am cautioning any of you readers who are contacted by Riggs?’ volunteer committee to consider carefully any commitments. You?’ll find out early, just as so many of us did 4 years ago, how incredibly lazy she is and how she manipulates and uses people and then casts them away when she is done. I would also encourage you to contact Brian, Ted, Tony and Mitch to offer your assistance to them. You won?’t be disappointed in how hard they work.

Stick with the people who are the hard workers, who have always been there to stay the course. Stick with those who have demonstrated their commitment to the city instead of just talking about it. We are on the precipice of potentially seating a mayor and council that can effectively take us forward in the future rather then keeping us in Shaver?’s perpetual wheel-spinning cycle we are in now. Let?’s make the right choice.

Let?’s make the right choices and move forward.