Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Let me respond to the poster below that posted this:

?“9-28-2007
Ok, so Fix is worthless and Riggs is a joke, according to the posters.

Who do you back and why?

Have you, yourself, considered running? Why or why not?

Who, if anyone, has been a good mayor within the last 20 years in Ptown?

-By Anonymous?”


I have been around Pickerington long enough to know that we have struggled to get good elected officials. I was here when the recall of Linda Wilson occurred. I was here when the scandal of money missing from the Mayor?’s court happened.

I started to see some real progress from a few individuals in the late 90s. I was here when Lisa Ross and I believe Ted Hackworth circulated referendums to reverse the zoning of the land behind the current Kroger store. Remember when all of the land was zoned C-3 behind Kroger? Both tried their best but the petitions were thrown out because of some technicality. Fix was no where around.

Then some where along this time frame in early 2000 a small group of people started meeting and that formed PATA.

Then the politics were mean and ugly. Try going into the council meeting in 2000 and ask a few questions. Try complaining about passing everything as emergency. You would be ridiculed and in many cases the citizens would give up and never come back. I will tell you I have called a couple of times with problems and they are much more responsive today than they were in 2000. I know Mr. Hackworth has helped me on a couple of issues.

In 200o, the city started annexing everything they could and giving away anything they could to get the land owners to annex. I believe Hackworth sued the city around this time for one of the annexations. Fix was no where around.

Some where along this time frame (2001) Rita Ricketts and Ted Hackworth began to circulate three initiatives to address some of the more apparent problems. By then a gentleman named Bob Harding was either elected or appointed the spokesperson for PATA. You can see his work all over this web site. I think Lisa Ross also started this web site for a place to vent and have a voice in the community. I am no longer sure who actually runs this web site.

The point is these people were either connected directly or indirectly with PATA and as a group they helped with the initiatives being circulated by Rita Ricketts and Ted Hackworth. After a couple of tries the three initiatives were placed on the ballot in 2002. They all three passed overwhelming.

One of those three initiatives was the two lots per acre initiative. That one sentence ordinance has slowed future residential growth in the city to a crawl and during this whole process JEFF FIX did very little or NOTHING to help in the cause. I think Mitch O?’Brien was the treasurer for the PAC that won the victory of the three issues.

If you look back into the PATA newsletters you will find Jeff Fix as the editor for a few months in 2001 and then he quite to run for township trustee. He lost to Harry Meyers. I understand he spend maybe an hour collecting signatures on the three initiatives above but to hear him tell it he was the brains behind the whole thing. He was not and don?’t let him B.S. you otherwise.

More facts


The fact is that Ted Hackworth has been steadfast in helping control growth in this community and get it back on the right track. Many of his actions and those of former Mayor Rita Ricketts are now beginning to pay off.

Brian Wisniewski has been steadfast as well. He has a family here in the city and he is as honest as you will ever find in ANY public official. These two plus Mr. O?’Brien worked through some very difficult times in 2004 and 2005 and many times over the objections of a raging Mayor screaming and yelling over the least little thing. They did update and put together a plan for controlling our growth. It is on the City?’s web site. All before Jeff Fix was ever on Council.

I went to Brian?’s new web site for his campaign. Under the quiet leadership of the Service committee (Ted Hackworth, Mitch O?’Brien and Doug Parker) interviewed and hired an excellent consultant to develop a growth management plan. In 2005 while Mr. O?’Brien was still on council. All the while they had to work under the guidance of a Judge because of a lawsuit filed before they were in office by the BIA.

They got a binding agreement with the County and Canal Winchester and filed a new 208 plan with the Ohio EPA.

They settled a number of law suits with the township which helped save in legal fees. Some believe the city could have won both suits if they wanted to jam it down the township?’s throat.

They updated a thoroughfare plan, a new transportation improvement plan and in 2006 they got the final approval for a access management plan.

Mr. O?’Brien was the driving force behind the upgrades to the city traffic signals. That system is called the ACS lite system and without Mitch that system would not have been considered because Heidi Riggs was opposed. Ironically when the first phase of the contract was being awarded Jeff Fix jumps on it like stink of something smelly and sponsors the legislation so he can now claim he thought of it. Just like he is taking credit for slowing growth.

Brian Wisniewski mentions the new debt policy. I am not aware of that policy but the City did receive high marks for its bond ratings and that debt policy was adopted BEFORE fix was on council. I think it ushered in the NON-SCHOOL TIF near Kohl?’s to build infrastructure without a negative impact on the schools.

Brian mentions that no new lots approvals in the city since 2002.

I guess what frustrates me to no end is that we have three men willing to subject themselves to the Pickerington politics for four more years and despite a very good record Jeff Fix wants to run things when he has shown nothing of value to this community for years.

He writes a campaign brochure for Mrs. Sanders saying these three are against commercial growth. HE will not find that anywhere to back up his claims. However he is not above lying to you and is able to manipulate certain council people into lying in front of the Ohio Elections to bail his butt out of the fire.

Here is who I am voting for:

Mitch O?’Brien for Mayor
Brian Wisniewski for council
Ted Hackworth for Council
Tony Barletta for council

Why would Jeff Fix recurit people to run against the above sitting council people? Its all about Jeff

I would agree

I am in agreement with you. These are the four I am voting for as well for all of the reasons you stated