Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

Dear Penny

Dear Penny,

My only thought on the Law Director is that they have him there to broker for other lawyers. They don?’t ask him to do anything except seek expert legal advice elsewhere. He also reads legal information written by real lawyers. Don?’t you ever wonder where the term ?“fatal error?” came from?

Where did you ever hear that the man you reference in your second paragraph is nice?? I know it sounds like your being facetious, but even a stab at humor is misplaced with this man. He is a shark. Nothing more ?– nothing less. He feeds on the blood of others. I am very familiar with what happened in the Republican Party that night. You forgot to mention besides the Law Director rewriting the rules as they went, when it cam to vote counting, guess who was counting them ?– that?’s right, the master puppeteer of Pickerington. The very person that pulls ALL the strings.

I hope that the voters see what is really going on with the charter amendment, at least from what I can discern. They tried to shoot sown the original and were moderately successful. Well, the petitioners rose to the occasion and started the process from scratch and again were successful at getting the right number of signatures on City approved forms. The City, now forced to act, disregards the new petition and seems to be referring to the old one because it is the lesser of the two evils facing them on the charter amendment. Well throw that one in the trash Mr. Law and deal with the new one. It contains all the resuscitating content that you said were fatal in the first. Get on with it. You said the old one was broke and we fixed it. Throw out the broken one.

Will I find a new Law Director? Do I need to? Can?’t we just contract with a firm on an hourly basis? I mean, if I lead by example and conduct the business of the City of Pickerington in a legal, moral and ethical manner, how many hours a year would I need legal interdiction? Will I spend his $75K salary plus his offices, staff and all the other ?“expenses?” a year contracted with a firm? (By the way, his salary compared to the City Manager?’s? What?’s up with that? He should consider that a big slap in the beard!)

Will I hire a new City Manager? Don?’t I have to? But I need to ask you and the citizens a question first. How much are you willing to spend to make her go away? She has a contract. It will take more than the words ?“You?’re Fired?” to make her leave. It will take dollars.

However, I will at least be able to move her into the portable in the parking lot. DON?’T LAUGH! I?’m serious as a heart attack about that. What better way to make the employees of the City take stock of the seriousness of their decisions than to place them in the same environment faced by the youngest victims of their past decisions. I can?’t wait to see them come across the parking lot on one of those cold, sleety, windy days in January to use the bathroom in City Hall. As a matter of fact, I think my greatest enjoyment might come from sitting in my office and calling them to come to my office 10 or 20 times a day during that kind of weather!

VOTE FOR WANNABE IN 2003!


By Mayor Wannabe

Can't afford her

Mayor Wannabe,


I can?’t seem to find you listed as a registered voter in Pickerington. As you post more messages you begin to put forth more great ideas. I guess the first issue you must deal with is the Law Director. He is under contract with the City. I believe he has a one year contract renewed every calendar year. I?’m also sure this City Council will need to pass the ordinance approving his contract as an emergency. The Law Director sits in on all City Council meetings giving great legal opinions. If you contract with a junior partner of a Law Firm for say $150 per hour divided into the $75,000 salary that means this city would have 500 hours coming just on the salary portion. Could we give this new Law Firm, 6 hours, per council meeting allotting time for the attorney to prepare and sit through the meeting? He also must prepare and prosecute the Mayors court. So let?’s give them another 12 hours per month to prosecute. Just for the very basic services of the Law Director that would come to 288 hours per year. That would leave the city with 212 hours to work with on other matters that I may have missed in the above scenario. This doesn?’t consider our current fees paid for the Law Director?’s office rent, salary for his secretary, office supplies, fax machine, phone service, and insurance. How many more hours could we add to the above service?

I see one law firm is already trying to get their foot in the door. Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe (pronounced ?“do we cheat them and how??”). I?’m sure replacing the current Law Director with a junior partner would not lower the quality of our city?’s current legal advice.

I understand that the current Law Director just asked for an addition to the OUTSIDE ATTORNEY budget raising it to $204,000. So the second half of the Law Director equation would be to ask why we need all of these outside attorneys skilled in all of these other kinds law. Could we have a City government that maybe obeys the law? Could we have a city government that adheres to the terms of contracts that it enters into? Could we have a city government that is honest in its negotiations with its neighbors and its OWN CITIZENS? How much of the outside attorney budget could be saved by just being honest?

You indicate it will take money to fire the City Manger. How much do you need for six months? She has a contract until the middle of 2004. Geezz if we only would negotiate in good faith with the other government entities around Pickerington I can see at least $204,000 available from above. How above her $600 per month for a car allowance? How about her car wash money? How about her lunches? I think we can?’t afford to keep her. Do you remember last year she was the treasurer of the coalitions against SB-5 in which she persuaded this corrupt city council to donate $149,500 to that coalition? The real question Mayor Wannabe can we afford to keep her? You run I'll support you.


By Penny Pincher

Dear Penny (again)

Dear Penny,

Whew! You want the Finance Director job when I get elected? Nothing against the current one ?– she just has to dance when the strings are pulled, but YOU GOT SPUNK! And I like spunk.

You have resolved the Law Director issue. We will contract out services. I don?’t know about DC&H though. I think Mr. Dewey and I have had previous dealings and I would fear a conflict of interest. But given our proximity to the State Capitol, I?’m sure there are a few reputable firms we could look at.

Can we afford to keep the current Manager? Nope. It will cost some to get rid of her but that cost will be recovered soon enough. I?’ll tell you up front that I wouldn?’t be against paying the next Manager the same salary, minus the perks if the person has the qualifications and experience to bring us out of these dark times. As long as the person is 100% legal, moral and ethical, they will earn every cent of their salary helping me and the newly elected Councilpersons save what will be left of our community. In addition to their Manager?’s role, they will be spending an inordinate amount of time with the Township Trustees, School Board and neighboring community leaders working equitable solutions to the issues facing us all uniquely and jointly.

Don?’t dwell too much on the past, Penny. History shows that the voters of Pickerington immediately erase any memory of past deeds of incumbents immediately upon entering their poll. If that weren?’t true, none of these baboons would EVER have gotten reelected. After I?’ve told you about forgetting the past, I have to bring up one piece of historical data: EVERY incumbent elected official in the City of Pickerington that ran was defeated in the election to the Fairfield County Republican Party Central Committee. One sitting Councilperson was soundly defeated in the last General Election. They CAN be defeated in an open election where the puppeteer isn?’t in the back room counting the votes!

VOTE FOR WANNABE IN 2003!



By Mayor Wannabe

Wannabe

Mr/Ms Wannabe, can't refer to you yet as The Honorable Wannabe but I think you are wrong about the past when you said ''Don?’t dwell too much on the past, Penny. History shows that the voters of Pickerington immediately erase any memory of past deeds of incumbents immediately upon entering their poll. If that weren?’t true, none of these baboons would EVER have gotten reelected. ''

I don't think it is soley senior-moments at the polls re-electing incumbents it is a lack of someone else to vote for. It takes other choices on the ballot besides the incumbents for them to be defeated. Heck Ted Hackworth was running as a write-in last time and got hundreds of votes. The only non-incumbent on the ballot last time got the most votes out of anyone.

If we get enough people to run next year who knows what may happen.

I've got a cool design in my head for Incumbent Free 2003 buttons - I just need to get it on paper, get them made up and start passing them out.

Good luck Wannabe.