Neighbors of Easton, in partnership with Boys & Girls Club of Easton Teen Center and the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership are putting on our very own West Ward City Council Candidates Forum on Friday, May 15th, 7:45 p.m at the Boys & Girls Club Teen Center at 1101 Northampton! This is a very important forum for us for a couple of reasons:
1. This is the first year that the West Ward will get to elect its own representative to City Council!
2. Because of redistricting under the Home Rule Charter, as most of you know, the electoral map of our neighborhood has changed so that neighbors that live North of Pine and South of 10th Street will actually be voting for College Hill/Downtown candidates.
Now, while that may seem crazy, there is an upside to it all, which is that in this election, the West Ward has more of a political voice than ever, because we will have a strong presence in the elections of TWO City Council representatives, not just one. So we have gone from having zero input and representation to having a major voice in this election. This could mean a lot of progress for our neighborhood, if we elect the right people.
Running for West Ward City Council Rep are:
1. Dennis Lieb (D)
2. Mike Fleck (D)
(no Republicans, unfortunately--I like a full ballot--oh, well--next year!)
Running for College Hill/Downtown City Council Rep are:
1. Peter Koehler (D)
2. Reno Pesaresi (D)
3. Roger Ruggles (R)
(Ruggles is running for re-election)
One important point I would like to make--just because you don't live in an area of the neighborhood that can vote for one candidate or another, doesn't mean that you can't have an effect on both elections, and in fact, it's very important that we do. Every vote counts, it's true, but for every person you convince to vote for a candidate, you multiply your power in an election. If you just vote, that's good, and you count as 1. If you vote and convince 5 other people to vote, you count as 6. With this is mind, regardless of what area of the West Ward we live in, we should be paying very close attention to ALL five candidates, and convincing our neighbors to vote for the ones who we feel will most benefit the West Ward. And we will be able to start deciding who that would be at the forum this Friday.
We have scheduled the forum at 7:45 p.m. to accomodate all neighbors who commute long distances to work, so please try your best to come--bring the kids if you don't have a babysitter! This is an important part of the democratic process for them to witness too. There will be teens on hand from the Boys & Girls Club to assist in the presentation. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. so that we can get everyone seated so we can start at 7:45 sharp. Get there early and have some cookies!
See you Friday the 15th--and feel free to post here any questions you would like me to ask the candidates!
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6 comments:
Mike Fleck is running again? Doesn't he run every year? I'd be scared if he got in. He is crazy.
Mike Fleck, death and taxes are sure things. I give him credit for wanting to serve but I believe he does it for all the wrong reasons. Proposing $20 million in new spending shows he is out of touch with reality.
I want to hear what he will do for the West Ward. Why is he against the ban on teenagers in West Ward parks? Has he asked anyone who lives next to the parks their opinion? He needs to know that he is running as the representative of the West Ward and has to focus on issues that are important to us.
I am casting my vote for Dennis Lieb, a person of great knowledge that I believe will be an asset to our neighborhoods. I have worked with Dennis over the past years and believe he is the man who will best represent us in the future.
A question that I would have is how would they address the major parking problems we have in the west ward. I know for me I really didn't care much about parking until the city threatened to take my off street parking away. I think it's a major problem in the WW and it would be great if someone had any feasible suggestions!
Parking is an issue that a lot of neighbors have brought up to me, so I will add it to the list of questions coming in via email.
If anyone else would like to submit questions here that you would like asked of the candidates, please post a comment with your question. I will be posing the top six questions on neighbors' minds.
I will be Dancing on the Thirds in Downtown Easton on Friday night. The event takes place from 8 PM until 11 PM at the Third Street Alliance. I am so thankful to the West Ward residents for putting this forum together. I am sorry that I will be unable to attend.
Fleck vs. Lieb is a tough call - there were so many other candidates that I would have voted for but they live out of the district. So, I gues I will go with Lieb. Very bright, smart and has the neighborhood grass roots I like to see in a candidate. Fleck is really out of touch. He was divisive and an obstructionist the last time he was on council and he doesn't seem to have matured. One good thing - he hasn't littered our WW with political signs like the last time. But I will wait to see on Friday night. thanks for sponsoring the event.
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