I haven't blogged much recently. I became a little bored with some of the discussions and had other things to do.
A couple of days ago Joe Parise asked me to post this for him and I am happy to oblige him.
From Joe Parise:
I asked for this time so I could officially announce to all of you that I am going to run as a WRITE-IN candidate for Mayor and Alderman.
I am running for both because I want to try to be sure to be on the Council to intercede when the boundary issue comes up again. It seems that whenever an issue comes up with the Township we are ready to capitulate to all of their wants and desires to the exclusion of what is best for the city.
Also, I feel it is important to have ready access to the Mayor, especially a Mayor who stays abreast of City Council business and does not always have to defer to an alder person or committee person for answers.
When I was Mayor I was in the Mayor's office every working day morning. I was always available to the city offices, staff and public works. I was always available to the citizens if they had an issue to discuss. I always tried to be current on city business whether it was bike paths, sign ordinance, school, parks or taxes. I always had my cell phone on and was available day or night.
Mayor Mirr made it clear the job was not going to be his life and he had kept that promise. The mayors office requires more than an occasional presence. The mayor should be readily available and I am willing to put in all the time necessary.
Some may argue, as they did for my last bid for mayor, that I was not born here and that somehow precluded me from caring about the city. Well, think of this. I moved here by choice. I moved here because I love this city and care about it. I am not here because I was born here.
I want to be mayor of Green Lake so that I can be a watchdog over city spending and by extension taxes. When the entire country is facing financial ruin it behooves us to be frugal and count our pennies. We cannot continue to increase spending(and taxes)
while our citizens, many of whom are retired, experience income reductions. The median income in this city is approximately 32k/year but we tax them like they all live on the lake. We need to watch our spending and this council seems to give money away. Since Donna Moore left there are currently only two alder persons who stand up the citizens against unwarranted spending. Taxes have gone up the last three years. Our contingency fund is gone. When I was mayor I first reduced spending and then held taxes.
I am available to answer your questions and if Mayor Mirr would like a public debate I would be happy to oblige him.
Thank you,
Joe Parise