Politics

I don't think my eyes have ever been more crossed than at the machinations that I have seen in the last few days.  My husband decided that he wanted to enter the arena of local politics and I supported his decision.  He is new to the process so while he was careful to make sure that every signature was properly executed on his petition he did not turn in his financial papers to the borough and that was a fatal mistake for which he will now pay for.  However, what really made me sick to my stomach is that because of a personal vendetta his petition would have been challenged simply because of who he was.  Yes we know and have figured out who was going to try and make him pull out of the election and I can't say I am surprised.

But what really made me pause was the scrambling that everyone was doing to try and knock each other off the ballot.  You know that old saying those who live in glass houses should not throw stones?  Well it applies in spades to this process especially here in Downingtown.  First of all petitions are to be circulated by a person of your party.  It doesn't matter if your wife or husband is doing you a favor if they are not registered to the same party that you are and then you sign it saying that all is legal and above board you have hornswoggled those whom you wish to represent and you have committed a crime especially if you have the forms notarized.  I also learned that financial papers need to be time stamped when turned into the borough, so not having that done is an offense that could get your petition challenged, and no amount of covering by other people makes it better if you don't have that done.

Another powerful lesson we have learned is that people can be a nice person, but a rotten public servant or politician.  That makes it so hard to see the good in a person when they step off the podium/board/soap box.  It also seems to emphasize the worst possible traits in a person.  Those who are not overly arrogant and condescending in real life become domineering and patronizing when swinging a gavel, and those who appear to have an "aw shucks" attitude shed their outer skin and will smile while they throw you under the bus.

My husband is the type of person where what you see is what you get.  He is a vet so he has seen more than many of us would care to and has come out the other side, he is not duplicitous in any sense of the word, he has handled financial matters for large businesses and worked with people with less than perfect credit, his family is his life and he loves Downingtown.  Maybe 12 years of the same old same old and the above attributes is enough.

Just A Thought

The more I sit here and think about this letter the more I seriously suspect that one sender could cull all those happenings into one single action.  Unless the letter were written by the couple that attend council meetings on a regular basis, Ginny, myself or my husband there is absolutely no way that this can be accredited to one author (if they be a true resident) unless the information was fed to them.  The reason that I say this is that the quotes that were used were not all from the same meeting, in fact they were from several meetings happening over months and unless it was written by any of the above no one in this town attends as many meetings as those I have pointed out.  I am sadly disappointed in the high school like antics of this council at times and am wondering if anything other than raising rates and taxes in the borough is going to be the legacy of this particular make up of council.

 

However, as the rumblings go in this town (when you live in a 2 mile square area you hear things) those who so far have made it known that they wish to join this circus frightens me almost as much.  Too many people see council and commission positions as fame and fortune so to speak and less for the fact that they want to help the borough and its residents.  All I can say is, residents please make sure you know who you are allowing to represent you, don't fall for smoke and mirrors, and make sure that you know their ultimate goal.  Don't allow those who are seeking headlines and notoriety to sway you into believing they care, because as it stands we have too much of that now and look where it has gotten us.....the recess yard in grade school where the popular kid calls the shy quiet one a childish name and everyone laughs until someone gets punished.

Council's New Year's Resolution

Anonymity is a strange thing, we as humans tend to hide behind it when we aren't brave enough to confront those we disagree with face to face.  Sometimes it's necessary so that a public persona is not damaged or if we are whistle blowing on a company we work for, but when it comes to political figures and elected officials why would someone want to hide their opinion?  Those people are in office because they won the majority of the vote and they are to speak for us.  If you disagree with a point, stance or opinion of theirs then it is your civic duty to let them know and do it "face to face." 

In the council meeting tonight a letter that had been addressed to each council person was about to be read in the open forum when the time came for "For the Good of The Order".  It started it out stating that the person had to do it anonymously and then legal council stepped in.  Once the smoke had cleared we all knew that the letter was not exactly praising staff as it was pronounced to be, but a letter to put down one specific council member.  Bet you can't guess who that might be...........

Before I go any further let me make this perfectly clear, I have not changed my position on many issues in the borough.  I am I tired of the legal wrangling that continues and do I now see a lot of what was started long ago as what I call "Council's Folly"?  Yes I do, but regardless of my position I have never hidden behind a wall of anonymity and I have never resorted to personal attacks that an official or staff member of the borough is evil incarnate.

For the Good of the Order, according to Robert's Rules for Dummies, is usually time set aside for members to offer comments or observations (without formal motions) about the society and its work, or time to offer a resolution to bring a disciplinary charge against a member for offenses committed outside of a meeting.  Normally in a borough council meeting notices of happenings in the borough are stated and kudos and "shout outs" are given for good deeds and events.  So as you see it is rarely used properly in this particular forum and again tonight it was misused.  The letter apparently contained slurs against one specific council member whom is disliked by many.  I will go on record that while my views on borough activities, ordinances and regulations most likely will be on the opposite side of the fence from this particular council person, she is not an evil woman and I can honestly say I like her and if it is for the betterment of the community I will willingly work with her.  However, there are just some people in this community that will not put differences aside.  You don't have to agree with the person, you don't have to even like them, but to constantly find ways to undermine and belittle them make you look small.  Making sure that this person does not get a chance to have her say, ask her questions and try to make her look more like a nuisance than someone who is trying to do the best that she can is shades of what we have in Washington DC and we can all see how far that has gotten us....right up to a cliff is where it has gotten us.  Do I agree with this person every time?  No.  Do long winded questions bother me? Yes. Do I and quite a few other people need to learn patience and humility?  Oh my yes.

I am asking as a citizen and resident of the Borough of Downingtown that the animosity stops here and now.  I am asking that chairpersons and presidents not let a little bit of power go to their head.  A little bit of decorum needs to be infused and a lot of humble pie needs to be eaten if things are going to get done around here.  Now is the time...it's a new year...let that be your resolution.

I Was There

You chose to take Me out of the place where I was needed most today.  In fact you have chosen to remove Me from just about every place where I can most certainly be of service.  You have turned away from Me because you can do so well on your own.  But then when a day like today comes you ask Me, "Where were You God?"  I'll tell you where I was.....I held the hand of the little girl as she lay taking her last breath and whispered to her that everything would be OK and that she would be with Me soon.  I wrapped my arms around the mother who lost her only child to a violent act and held her while she cried.  I watched and placed a hedge of protection around those who could escape the mayhem and saw them to safety.  And yes, I did watch as a man unstable in a world that has made it possible for him to carry out the horror that resided in his head and I made sure that he took only those whom I needed home.

Now you are looking to Me and asking everyone to pray.  Why now?  Why not yesterday, why not tomorrow?  Because in time the memory will fade and the blame will be laid on the gun manufacturers or dealers, or the mental health field that didn't see this coming, or on schools not being safe enough and you will forget that before you pondered all that and more, you prayed.

Evil exists in the world you have created and yet you look to Me to stop what you have done.  I have asked many times over that you come to Me of your own free will and yet you refuse.  You scoff and complain that I don't exist, that I should not be allowed in the places I can do the most good.  My birth shall not be displayed because it might offend someone and forget mentioning me in mixed company.  Then a man or a woman succumbs to the evil that is brewing and you ask Me "Where were You?"  I was here watching and waiting for you to come to Me and making sure that no matter how bad it got you could go on.

One Big Turkey

I have many things to be thankful for one of which is I am a cancer survivor and many in my family have worked to beat this dreadful disease, some we have lost because the beast was stronger and some are still fighting the battle.   I am also thankful that the town that I live in supports so many wonderful events that help to fund research for things such as this, but with that said thankfulness went out the door this morning when loud music and voices traveled across the borough to awaken not only me, but many residents on a day where we should have had the choice to sleep in.  Today November 23, 2012 Downingtown held a Turkey Trot, to benefit West’s track team and two very worthwhile cancer charities, which in itself is a great idea, but when an event bypasses ordinances of said borough and awakens residents before 7am then I am not so sure that the idea is such a good one.

According to Code 173-6C "No mass gathering authorized pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be held or conducted between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.” yet I and several other people were rudely awakened before 7am by music and voices over loud speakers.  People began asking on JCG’s Facebook page what was going on and several were not exactly thrilled to have their day of rest arrested “173-6I. At no time shall music be played by mechanical devices or live performance which annoys, disturbs, endangers or might annoy, disturb or endanger the public's health, comfort, safety, repose and peace.”  Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but those of us who live in Johnsontown live at the very edge of the borough and should not have heard the loudspeakers like it was happening in our own neighborhood, and even people on the east end of the borough were able to hear the hullabaloo.

In addition to the noise, Downingtown officers who were on night shift were required to work from 7pm to 11am instead of the normal 7pm to 7am and then will need to return to work at 6:45 this evening to work until 7am tomorrow morning.  This means that they get no time with their families if they expect to be rested and ready to start their shift tonight which requires them to carry a firearm.  Public Works also had to work overtime for this event because the course went through parts of town.   West Chester had a Turkey Trot also this season, but they managed to have it without making it a nuisance at best and a non-holiday at worst.

To start with there was no reason that this event had to be held today.  Today is a day that should be spent with families and being thankful for what we have, not having our sleep interrupted by overly loud speakers spewing music and voices before 7am in the morning, having our officers and public workers spending extra time on duty and for people to say I did the Turkey Trot.  There are other days leading up to and after Thanksgiving Day that the event could have been held with the same amount of enthusiasm.

 Downingtown is known to be the place to have your event, but it shouldn’t be known as the place to have your event at the cost of the residents, officers and public workers and on a day that should be spent at a long table speaking to family we haven’t seen since last year and consuming food that could feed a small country, wondering if you are old enough to leave the kids table and being thankful enough that we are alive and for all we have.

The Election is Coming the Election is Coming!

On Tuesday November 6th you will get the opportunity to exercise a right that for some was a hard fought battle to gain.  I am sure by now we are all a little tired of the plethora of phone calls and the mailboxes full of propaganda for the candidates, I know I am.  I knew who I was going to vote for long before the final push, but I know some still seem undecided.

Today I got to hear a message that made sense and I would like to pass it along.  Forget your party affiliation....go read the platforms of the candidates, each of them.  Now for sure there will be some silliness in each because that is just an inherent part of politics, but take a look at which candidates share the most ideas and ideals that match up with yours.  If you are spiritual, don't look at what religion a person practices, but make sure that if, for instance you follow Biblical principles that the candidate that you vote for lines up with (voting record) the principles you hold dear.

That message along with taking a good look at experience and how a person handles themselves.  Make sure that when they make a statement that they can back it up with evidence.  Don't fall for the "I did this" statements when there is no possible way that they could have effected what they stated to be true.  Make sure that they have handled themselves while in their present position or office with aplomb and dignity.   Then maybe even take a look at the fliers and cards that flooded our mailboxes and see if their campaigns have conducted themselves above board making sure that they didn't find a loophole to sneak into.

Along with deciding who will be the leader of the nation, we also have local races that are just as important.  Here in Downingtown we will vote for our Representative in Harrisburg and our Congressman as well.  Make sure that when you fill in that dot that your candidate is not all flash, lights, smoke and mirrors, but has substance, leadership ability and experience.

Money Matters?

I hate this time of year and attending council meetings.  It's budget time and sitting through one of these meetings is worse than sticking a hot poker in my eye.  This year they actually had a budget committe and it helped the process limp along but not by much since what they were actually tasked to do got glossed over yet again by the same old same old.

After attending the budget committee meeting the night before I was lead to compose and read the following during citizens to be heard.

Last night I attended the last part of the budget committee’s meeting and I became very discouraged.  It appeared to me that most members and department heads seem to think that taxes need to be raised as a way out of the fact that the cost of doing business goes up each year.  What amazes me is that quite a few residents are able to make ends meet on commission based employment and understand that tightening our belts is a necessity in this economic climate, yet that understanding does not reach any higher.  It did not appear that anyone aside from Councilmen Winkler wished to try something different as what we have been doing doesn’t work.  I am sure that many of you have heard the saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.  I have lived in Downingtown long enough to know that we have the market cornered on insanity according to that colloquism.

I am aware that we share fire and police departments with East Caln.  I would be interested to see if the number of calls that East Caln requires and the number of calls required in Downingtown match up and if the percentages of money paid in by each are equal to the amount of utilization of each entity.  Ideas and explanations for ways to get more bang for our buck especially with equipment were met with a bit of disdain last evening.  For instance hiring two part time officers would save over $25,000 dollars and would meet the needs of both East Caln and Downingtown.    Has the possibility of merging both fire companies ever been discussed?  It was said that at least 110 second calls had to be scratched due to understaffing of volunteers.  Volunteers are also going to be at shorter supply once Robert’s Chevrolet opens their price point in West Whiteland as several techs are part of Minquas Volunteer Department.  The merging of Alert and Minquas lessen the burden of equipment for each company, but the amount of volunteers that are available increases exponentially.

I would also be interested to see how having so many events in Downingtown stacks up against man hours and overtime hours that are spent by police and public works and even possibly fire if needed and how much of that money is actually returned into the borough’s revenue and or is paid by each entity that has the event.  I heard a lot of vague numbers, but wouldn’t it be prudent to see actual graphs and or accounting sheets showing where there is,…. if there is….. a benefit for the borough to host the event?

As a resident of over 20 years I have to say I like living in Downingtown as a whole, but if we don’t find ways to stop the hemorrhaging of our budgets and raising taxes each year we will begin to lose residents hence we will lose revenue.  I would like to see Downingtown stay the place to be and even grow into a greater version of itself, but that is not going to happen if we do not try some things that are different and might work.  If they don’t, how much worse off will we be and if they do how much better could things be?  Thank you.

It was primiarily ignored as many things so often are with this council.  What I would like to know is how many times are we going to dance this same dance before more than one person has enough hutzpah to buck the failing system in D'town?  We as residents need to make it known that the same old same old is NOT working and we need to change.  We need to show up to council meetings and have our voices heard in "Citizens to Be Heard" so that it no longer is Citizens to be tolerated because we have to.  Nothing is going to change if we don't push our ELECTED officials to make the hard decisions.  I can't wait to see what is going to happen when the residents hear that taxes are going up.  I might stay away from Borough Hall in case there is a firestorm.......then again complacency seems to be the attitude of the day and that makes me sad.