Election Day 2007-I am running for Fishers Town Council

Thank god it’s Election Day so we can get back to our favorite commercials on TV. I am so tried of the 9th district bashing; I still have no clue what either man stands for.

Oh well, bring on the eight different car commercials within one newscast. So I can zoom zoom to mute while they race by.

But I know some of you are having electron day commercial withdrawal and I feel sorry for all of you so I wish to announce my candidacy to Fishers Town Council if those rotten-to-the-core politicians annex us. So Scott, here is what you have to look forward to if you annex my property on Geist.
You see if you annex us I will have to get a job to pay for my increased taxes and I figure $12,500 a year working for the Town should be just about right. It will cover my tax increase and gas money to get to the Town Meetings. I am retired and on a fixed income, so my choice was becoming a greeter at Wal-Mart or getting elected to Town Council. While the Wal-Mart job might be easier I always liked a challenge.

My platform –
I will vote against every forced annexation. I would only vote for an annexation where the citizens of an area came to the city with a request to be annexed and only when 75% of the citizens in that area ask for it. What I truly can’t understand is why the Town Council annexed the Geist lake bottom unless they were looking for the fish vote.
I will vote to stop the practice of forcing developers to approve annexation of new developments for sewer hook-ups. Only after 50% of the land is sold, the citizens who live in that new area can then request to be annexed. The city can charge for sewer hook ups with a service charge but cannot use blackmail.
I will vote against any increase in government spending unless it has a direct positive effect on the citizens. For example: Build a new city hall –NO, Buy a fire truck or police car – YES. Also I will vote for the purchase of a back-up gavel for Town Meetings just in case the Council President breaks another.
I will vote against any road construction that does not make full use of alternative funding such as Federal Highway Funds or additional state funds. For example, 116th street did not use available Federal Funds.
I will vote against any new commercial strip malls until all current ones are at least 90% leased. We do not need more nail shops and dry cleaners on every corner. We are a town and not New York City.
I will require the Planning Commission to come up with a comprehensive plan for the Town’s growth and development. This must include a look inward instead of only growing outward. We do have older neighborhoods that are forgotten by the current town leaders.
I would push for making our Town a City; it is a city, looks like a city and should be a city. This might have an impact on state funds to the city and would have an effect on the structure of the government. Maybe that’s why the current leaders don’t want it to become a city; they could lose some of their power.
I would endorse that the Town become smoke free, in all businesses, all public places and on all city property. Most important of all, city employees must not smoke on the job or even at home as a condition of employment. Why? To reduce the cities insurance bill. By being smoke free we would get a large reduction in insurance premiums and a reduction in sick days. In Pueblo, CO the city went smoke free and found a 25% reduction in heart attacks among all its citizens. If bar owners are upset, too bad, maybe you should focus on being smoke free and draw in business you would never have had because of the people who could not see the sports action on your TVs due to the clouds in your environment. Also when visiting a restaurant with our children and grandchildren we should not have to endure second hand smoke that will shorten their lives, we should not have to reduce the lives of our young people who have a job working in those restaurants. If our town leaders don’t have the guts to stand up for the majority who do not smoke, don’t elect them.
Speaking of environment I would introduce legislation that would require any trash pick up company working within the limits of the Town would have to provide recycle pick up at no cost to the citizens. Recycling makes money, so why should we have to pay them for pick up? Why should we have to drive to the County Fair Grounds to take papers for recycle? This is just one of those common sense items that our town leaders don’t seem to have.
I will move to stop the practice of pre-meetings of the Town Council, it seems that before every Town Council Meeting they have a working session to make sure they will be no problems at the Town Council meetings and look like they all agree. They don’t really take minutes and while its an open meeting, its held in a very small room, they real question is why? Since it is held just before the real meeting. Working sessions should be rare and use for real working efforts such as a session to rewrite a lengthily town ordnance and not to discuss what they are going to discuss at the town meeting. We need to have open and frank discussions at the Town Council Meetings, not rubber-stamping.

So if I get annexed look for me to run for office and I hope some others will also run and we will run on the Broom Party Platform of a Clean Sweep of the Fishers Town Council also known as the Old Boys Network.

My name is Joe and with great delight and joy I approve this message.