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A Job Well Done February 5, 2010
Organizers have tabbed the crowd at around 200, but considering the number of chairs and how many people were standing it looked more like about 300 to me. Either way it was a very good crowd considering the weather and the fact that it was the first time for this event. Mark Williams was selected over Craig Northcott to run for Circuit Court Judge against appointed incumbent Venessa Jackson. That was the only contested position. Eight candidates stepped up to run for county commissioner. Considering there are currently only three GOP commissioners out of 21, having eight good candidates gives hope that the tide can begin to turn on the Democrat domination in our county. The only disappointing thing to me was the lack of anyone to run against incumbent Coffee County Mayor David Pennington. I understand the position is difficult for most folks to consider as it is full time, which is obviously tough for working folks to do. There is still plenty of time for potential candidates to run as independents if they don't want to carry a party tag into the race. Consider how you might be of service to your community.
My First Time
I have never been involved in the local party in this way before. I'm not sure why, other than it has never seemed like the county party has had much input in county politics. Hopefully that is changing and this caucus appears to be a step in that direction. There are plenty of opportunities for anyone who is interested in running for a county office to do so. Our county is woefully under-represented on the GOP side as almost all county offices have been dominated by Democrats for as long as I can remember. However, it seems that our government on all levels is slipping away from us and it seems the time to dig in and take it back has come. Hopefully this will be one way to help that process along. I'm keeping an open mind, as I have no idea how this caucus will play out. I don't plan to run for any county office, as I have my sights set on other options, but my hope is that there will be a strong turnout and some good candidates will emerge. Hope to see you there.
Taking the Easy Way Out
The Mayor asked the BMA to eliminate intersection soliciting, citing complaints from citizens, safety issues, etc. The issue came to a vote, the first of two readings last Monday, and passed by a 5-2 vote. I want to commend Alderman Mathis and Blanks for their negative vote, because I believe that there is a way to work towards a solution for the problem without simply eliminating the practice. Citizens that argued against the ban represented organizations whose primary fundraiser is intersection solicitation. These are long-standings organizations who primarily help veterans, children's hospitals, etc. Perhaps a better solution would be to create a solid permit system for intersection solicitation, one that requires a representative of the applying organization to come to city hall, read and sign a form, perhaps be given some verbal reminders, etc. Maybe they put up a deposit that they receive back if they follow all the rules and lose if they don't. Maybe we shouldn't allow anyone under 18, or even 21, to solicit at intersections. Maybe we shouldn't allow groups such as ball teams or churches to solicit. As a government we should have the right to determine who we allow to solicit on our public streets. But to just eliminate the practice altogether is simply taking the easy way out without consideration for those that legitimately solicit in support of their organizations. Come on BMA, surely you can come up with something better. If you are not willing to put the time in to find solutions then you should consider if you are properly serving the folks.
The Tide Begins to Turn
However, this change will not take place automatically and it has not taken place because of one, two, or even three elections. This change must be worked for and battled for and fought for in the political arena throughout this year and years to follow. Conservatives are excited today, and rightly so. The magnitude of Brown's win is already being downplayed by the drive-by, state-run media today, but don't allow this to lessen the force of this upset. Brown's win is one of the biggest upsets in our nation's history, based on where it happened and how dominant the liberals appeared to be just one year ago. For what happened yesterday to have true, long-term effect though we must continue to press those that we feel are qualified to run for elected office. That process begins locally. As of now no candidates have picked up petitions to run for either alderman or school board member in Tullahoma. Also, few candidates have added their names to the Feb. 4 Coffee County Republican Party caucus, which will choose candidates to run for county positions. With 21 out of 24 county commission seats held by democrats, along with the county mayor office and most other county offices up for re-election, now is the perfect time for those who feel a call towards public service to place their hats into the ring, to step up and be willing to serve their community for the betterment of all. As one who came out of nowhere to capture a seat on the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen in 2005, I can tell you that it is possible. You don't have to be a seasoned politician or even have been involved in local politics in the past to be fully qualified to run for city or county offices. All you need is the desire to serve and the willingness to work and run with winning the goal. Click Here to see the 21 districts in Coffee County. Determine which district you live in and then please consider running for commissioner in your district. You can make a difference and we can make Tullahoma and Coffee County better.
The Way Things Ought to Be
As I watched the public hearing unfold it became obvious that the majority of citizens who live in this area did not want the rezoning to take place. Issues were brought to the surface about potential flooding, which already plagues this area of town, increased traffic, public safety, etc. The realtor who requested the rezoning so that his client might have a better opportunity to sell the land made his case for rezoning, citing the need for more affordable apartments in Tullahoma, the inability of the client to sell the land as R-2, etc. The BMA then debated the issue for 15-20 minutes with a number of good arguments made on both sides. At that point the question was called and the vote was made. The request to rezone the land was defeated by a 4-3 vote, with Norris, Eads, and Sandlin voting to rezone and Mathis, Bisby, Stanton, and Blanks voting not to rezone. There are a number of different angles about this case that highlights the best and the worst of city government, but the main thing I want to point out is that this is EXACTLY the way local government is supposed to work. This was a blueprint for why it is so important to elect people who are willing to invest the time to study the issues and, more importantly, who listen to citizens when they speak. It also points out that despite what the local media has tried real hard to make you believe over the past five years about 4-3 votes, the fact is 4-3 votes are what you want to see more of, not less of, because a 4-3 vote means both sides of an issue were represented and that no single side of an issue is dominated on the BMA. I commend Mayor Bisby and Mike Stanton on the basis of their votes as I believe they made the best arguments. Although the case made by the three who lost the vote was legitimate, in the end it came down to what the people in the immediate area wanted as opposed to what business interests wanted. The people won this round. I also commend the BMA on its decision not to use frozen paving funds to pay for the design on the widening of Cedar Lane. As I stated yesterday, once those funds were gone they would never be replaced. That would have been a mistake and the Mayor and BMA were smart not to take that course of action. In light of the use of Industrial Board funds being used to begin the Cedar Lane project, I'm still somewhat confused as to the nature and purpose of the Tullahoma Industrial Board. I thought we consolidated that into the Coffee County Industrial Board some years back. What does the TIB still have $200,000 in funds? There must be something about this issue I missed. Finally, I haven't heard of any potential candidates for local office picking up petitions. Have you? If so send me an email or give me a call and we'll begin the debate on who the best candidates are for the 2010 election.
To Spend or Not to Spend
I see where the Board of Mayor and Alderman is going to consider using frozen (no pun intended) city paving funds to fund the introduction work on widening Cedar Lane. My question first is how much in city reserves do we have? Second is wondering if times are tough enough to freeze road paving funds, which is woefully underfunded as it is, then is it a good idea to instead spend the money on something we don't even know is going to happen? Perhaps the better road is to use city reserves to fund this $175,000 introduction expense for widening Cedar Lane. We really need road paving to stay up to date. At the same time I realize that widening Cedar Lane is and has been at top priority for a long time. If we have the chance to actually get that done and pay for only 20% of the cost then we can't pass that up. The question seems to be is the government paying for 80% of that project a certainty? It doesn't appear so, which makes me pause about spending paving funds on it. Sometimes you have to jump out and take a chance and sometimes you have to bite the bullet and hold back. If you have an opinion about this then tonight at 5:30pm at city hall is the time to voice it as the BMA will meet for the first time in 2010.
Time to Step Up Wow. Thanks to Coffee County Republican Party Chairman Lynn Sebourn I have had the opportunity to look over the map of county districts. These districts will be re-drawn in the near future, and it is none too soon. To see the districts and determine which district you are in click here. I didn't realize that out of 21 county commissioners only three are republicans, all from Tullahoma. That explains a lot about our county government. The question, considering that Tullahoma voted a majority for Bush in 2008 and keeps voting in Judd Matheny as state rep, is how come democrats keep dominating locally? It is an easy question to answer - there hasn't been republican opposition. Now is the time for all good conservatives to come to the aid of their county! To see the list of county commissioners and their party affiliation click here. The Coffee County GOP will meet Feb. 4 to decide who will run for which county offices. Right now there are not a lot of candidates coming forward. As we see nationally right now, a fairly even mix of both parties makes for better government than a one-party domination. I have never really been involved with the county GOP but I am considering becoming more involved because I believe that this is a critical crossroads on all levels of government. I want to do my part to help my city, my county, my state, and my country remain the land of the free. What about you? Won't you please determine your county district and consider running for county commissioner. Trust me, you are just as qualified as some we currently have sitting in those seats. To visit the Coffee County GOP web site click here.
An Exciting Revelation As I sat in quiet darkness this evening and contemplated whether or not I might return to the political arena I was struck by a stark realization - I never left it. As a citizen of Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee, and the United States of America, I can no longer rely on those who are currently in office, or considering a run for office, to make the decisions that increasingly determine the future for my family. I have learned after my brief venture into office that when in office I was severely limited in my ability to create change in direction of our government. When in office one needs a majority of votes to create change, and even when one has that majority any change created often takes a long time to be realized. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen that I was a part of created many of the positive developments that our city has seen over the past year, including funding school capital projects, upgrading D.W. Wilson Community Center, lowering property taxes, etc. Today though I'm struck by a different reality. With this blog, my increasing contributions to The Saturday Independent, the coming opportunity to host a political radio talk show, and my coming live Internet video talk show - I have more chances to influence events now than I ever would if elected to office again. So that is where I'm at today as potential candidates begin picking up papers to qualify for office. That might change over the next month or two, but as of now I'm interested in actively working behind the scenes and through these media outlets to positively influence change in our city, county, state, and nation.
I've been watching C-Span for a couple of hours and I am disgusted by what the U.S. Senate is about to do. They will vote at 7am Eastern on Christmas Eve on advancing the 'Health Care' bill, which will basically complete a total government takeover of business in America - socialism. Advancing the bill tomorrow morning won't make it law, it still has a number of steps to go to become that. Disregarding the fact that passage of this bill fundamentally goes against everything America was built on, the deals that have been struck and the secrecy and speed with which the process has taken on both go against everything Barak Obama ran on. Remember 'Change we can count on'? How about, 'We will debate health care in the open for all to see'? Senate leader Harry Ried, a Democrat from Nevada, made deals with senators from Nebraska, Florida, Michigan, Illinios that are pure shameful. Millions of dollars will be paid by the rest of the country to these states in exchange for their 'yeah' vote on this bill. That is just wrong. If you have not followed this process and what the leadership has done to get the votes to advance this monster government buracracy then I encourage you to read a little over Christmas about how your government has descended into total tyranny. Not only do these deals raise serious moral questions, but they are simply unconstitutional. You cannot tax some states but not others, and this bill flat out does that. For instance, Nebraska will not pay one bit of its increased costs, but Tennessee will pay over $300 million. They want to mandate to states a program that they are not helping the states pay for, except for the chosen few. Most states, such as Tennessee, are already in serious budget trouble. This money will come out of your pocket if this thing passes that's $300 million we will be paying. The health care system needs work without question. We need tort reform and insurance companies should be able to compete across state lines. What we don't need is the federal government yet again reaching far beyond its constitutional authority. The auto industry, banks, and now insurance? That is a huge part of what used to be the private sector. Don't you see that the march these people are making is quick and it is going to be increasingly difficult to turn around. This bill must be stopped, and only we can do it. If you have never responded with a phone call or email or letter, now is the time. Thankfully our senators from Tennessee are both against these 'scam' as Bob Corker called it. But we can't sit back and leave the work to others. We need a cause. We need an uprising. We need to watch 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington!
Take Back Our Country and Our County
As American citizens our first option is always the ballot box. It is easy to say go to the polls in 2010 and vote for the candidates who are the most conservative nationally and the most pro-Tullahoma locally. But can we really tell who stands for what these days? I submit that often times we can't. After all, Mr. Obama didn't shout from the rooftop that he was going to attempt to destroy our country in his first year. He gave hints, and those that really listened to those hints saw what was coming. Most Americans though thought his idea of 'change' was good he won the election handily. Wonder how the election would turn out if it was held now? Our county commmisioners, especially those that are elected to supposedly represent Tullahoma, didn't campaign on the promise that they would go to Manchester and bash Tullahoma at every opportunity. They didn't say they would put the health of our citizens at risk. They didn't say they would argue against following the law and argue for continuing to illegally steal $200,000 a year from Tullahoma, but they did just that for 20 years. The point here is that it seems to me that the time for candidates to stand up and REALLY say what they believe and how they plan to govern is here. If we as a people of Coffee County and America don't stand up soon and DEMAND that our elected officials actually represent us then the day is approching when we won't even recognize the America that we grew up in. I for one am ready to fight for my country. Now I don't mean physically fight or anything like that, but rather fight for the right to actually be represented by those that are elected. On a national level I feel the table is turning. As more and more liberals drop out of races and as the poll numbers continue to drop for both the president personally and for his policies, it seems the nation is awakening to exactly where our apathy and our 'moderates' have gotten us. But locally I'm just not sure. I hear people complain about the county and its corruption and its nasty comments about Tullahoma, but when I suggest they run for commissioner or county mayor they brush it off and say things are so corrupt that you can't beat those in office. We cannot give up, either nationally or locally. Nothing is forever and all things can be changed. We could have a county government that actually DOES represent citizens from Tullahoma, Manchester, and the county. Considering how much the people of Tullahoma pay in county taxes, and how little they receive in return, fair and honest repesentation is certainly something we should not only expect but that we should demand.
A Day That Will Live in Infamy
Imagine, just for moment, what the world would be like if we had lost. What if Hitler had crushed us in Europe? What if the bombs didn't work for us in Japan and they invaded our mainland and took our country? We hardly can imagine how the world could have lasted this long if fanatical fascism had prevailed. Would the militaries of Germany and Japan rule the world? How thankful I am that my father's and grandfather's generations stepped up and sacrificed everything to maintain their way of life, our way of life. We take it all so much for granted, and we seem to have lost the reality that there will always be people in this world who hate us and want to take us down. On a more local note, I'm becoming alarmed at the nature of the relationship between our Coffee County government and the City of Tullahoma. The relationship seems very strained, and the past year has seen a lot of negative banter and points of disagreement between the two. Yes we had the settlement of the 'gentlemen's agreement' lawsuit and that was a good thing to get that in the past. Let's not forget that on the heels of the settlement came a lot of negative comments from county commissioners that represent Tullahoma, basically arguing that by following the law the city would be hurt. That implies they believe we should have gone on breaking the law, and that losing millions of dollars was ultimately good for Tullahoma. Now we have the commission taking an alarming stand regarding emergency first responders. Jimmy Bradford has threatened to delay any agreement allowing Tullahoma's fire department to be first reponders in our town. The Fire Department has the trained personnel and the equipment to provide much quicker responses to medical emergencies in some sections of our city, especially the northeast quadrant but other sections as well. It is hard to understand how this could be a negative for anyone, unless there are people on the Coffee County side that are using this as a political payback. Maybe there is something personal here. Either way it is wrong to haggle over such a critical issue. Maybe its time the people of Tullahoma worked a little harder to get stronger representation on the county commission and in the county mayor's office. When was the last time someone from Tullahoma ran for the County Mayor position? Why are the commissioners seldom challenged in elections? Hopefully as another election cycle begins in January we will see some challengers to some of these county offices from a more conservative, Tullahoma-friendly group of people. I for one believe it is time for change on the commission.
Welcome Back to the Blog The time has come to rekindle the blog. I began this blog in 2005 as a means to communicate with my supporters during my successful run for Tullahoma Alderman. I continued to use it for that purpose during my three-year term in office. However, once my term ended in August, 2008, it became something that I no longer had much desire to continue. I didn't want to be involved in local issues or give my opinion on those issues. I guess I just needed a break. But during the past few weeks I have once again been reminded of why I entered the political arena in the first place. We as a people need strong, conservatice leadership on the national, state, and local level. I have been approached to once again consider running for office. I am considering all options and will announce a decision in the coming weeks. Regardless of my decision on whether to officially re-enter the political arena, I have alread made the decision to once again opine at will on whatever issues are on my mind. Since I pay for this space there is no good reason to waste it. World beware - I'm back!
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