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Sawdust
Member
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 01:35 pm |
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I have been following the "Concerned Citizens" for some time in amazement. I have witnessed them in action at council meetings as well as read about their recent requests under the "Freedom of Information" act. It seems to me they are not as "concerned" about Summerfield as they claim. They appear to be disruptive in meetings. They also seem to waste much of the councils time. Case in point - a bumper sticker. It appears hypocritical of them to want the "Freedoms"...speech, information etc. they ask for - even demand at times and at the same time want others to limit their freedoms. How much time has Michael Brandt and the lawyers spent compiling all of the information requested by Ms. Dunham? I feel strongly Mr. Brandt's time should be used more wisely than having to compile 280 pages of information that will most likely never be read or understood entirely by Ms. Dunham. I suggest a quiz at the next council meeting and if she can not answer questions from the documents then she is limited to only a few pages a week of information. Certainly I am joking about that, but I believe her focus is disruptive. They claim to want lower taxes, as we all do, but they are willing to waste time with their accusations and requests. I am sure Ms. Strickland and Mr. Crawford are able to contribute positively to our town but their tactics are questionable.
It is quite refreshing to see a group step up and work with the council positively. Already they are much more focused on the larger issues and encouraging change within the town. I believe the next election will show who truly is concerned about Summerfield and Ms. Strickland and Mr. Crawford will be sitting next to their mouthpiece - facing the council instead of the people they are supposedly "concerned" about.
I believe it is our "Freedom" and responsibility to question our leaders and hold them accountable, however, not to a point that is disruptive and impedes progress.
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FatPappy
Member
| Joined: | Oct 25th, 2005 |
| Location: | Summerfield, USA |
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 01:47 pm |
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| Oh, yeah! Welcome Sawdust!
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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Jim Flynt
Member
| Joined: | Jul 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Bermuda Triangle |
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 01:50 pm |
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Sawdust wrote: I believe the next election will show who truly is concerned about Summerfield and Ms. Strickland and Mr. Crawford will be sitting next to their mouthpiece - facing the council instead of the people they are supposedly "concerned" about.
Have you already forgotten the positive votes FOR the people of Summerfield that Strickland and Crawford along with Carolyn Collins cast on the last Armfield rezoning? It was these three town council members, it seems to me, who placed the best interests of the town and the citizens over the demands of developers and real estate interests.
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"Take no prisoners"
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Isabella
Member
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 02:42 pm |
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Jim-
Can you actually give ANY examples of positive behavior by any of the CCs? They are an embarressment to Summerfield and the only thing that appears to motivate them is their own narcissism. I refuse to bring my younger children to Council meetings because of the behavior exhibited by this group. Maybe at the next CC meeting you could suggest an etiquette class.
I'm not sure anyone would disagree with lower taxes and open government. But the CC have made a mockery of the principles behind the original incorporation, and they continue to make a mockery of Summerfield. Go out into Greensboro and tell people you live in Summerfield (ooops-forgot you don't) and see what the general reaction is...usually something like "it is so beautiful out there", followed by "what is goin' on out there with those people"
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"There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self." Hindu proverb
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FatPappy
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 02:43 pm |
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How can any rational person look at the situation in Summerfield without some measure of disgust for Crawford, Strickland and Dunham's actions? How can one vote, cast fer who knows what reason, erase the deceit, the abuse, the disruption these people are responsible for?
I'm not talkin' about what they say they've for, I'm talkin' about what they've shown time and again they're really for. Themselves.
____________________
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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Isabella
Member
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 03:36 pm |
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| Rock On Pappy!!!
____________________
"There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self." Hindu proverb
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Jim Flynt
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 03:40 pm |
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Isabella wrote: Maybe at the next CC meeting you could suggest an etiquette class.
Go out into Greensboro and tell people you live in Summerfield (ooops-forgot you don't) and see what the general reaction is...usually something like "it is so beautiful out there", followed by "what is goin' on out there with those people"
For the record:
As you point out correctly Isabella, I am not nor have I ever been a resident of Summerfield. (Although I did attend elementary school there for 5 years and had and have other Summerfield connections, yet I do share your larger concerns and care for the community's future).
I am not nor have I ever been a member, associate, agent, contributor, donor, conspirator, advisor, counselor, supporter, or patron of the Concerned Citizens, and can assure you that I never will be.
While I am not a resident of Summerfield, l am a resident of the Northwest (Stokesdale) and also a frequent visitor (and long time former resident) of Greenboro. From my contemporaneous conversations on an ongoing basis with a large cross section of Greensboro residents, I doubt a majority of Greensboro residents even know where Summerfield (or Stokesdale either for that matter) is, much less know, or care, to keep up with our local government actions in the NW communities. I think your fears are greatly exaggerated to any real concern that Greensburghers might know or care more about our civic problems than the more pressing and embarassing ones they face in their own community.
I am a strong advocate for representational diversity and that includes diversity of opinions and differing political viewpoints, and I do agree that the rude and childish and amateur words and actions do and will indeed diminish the very possibilities of the Concerned Citizens bringing to the table and presenting other viewpoints which could be helpful if not vital to the maintenance of democratic government in the larger community.
I further agree, by their very churlish actions, they squander both voice, viewpoint and opportunity in sacrifice for the far lesser prize of egoistic comedic theatre. And that is a shame, for them and for all.
Last edited on Feb 24th, 2007 03:49 pm by Jim Flynt
____________________
"Take no prisoners"
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FatPappy
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 07:35 pm |
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Isabella wrote:
Rock On Pappy!!!
Right back atcha, Isabella!
____________________
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
--Abraham Lincoln
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S. Smith
Moderator
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Posted: Feb 24th, 2007 11:04 pm |
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Sawdust wrote: I believe the next election will show who truly is concerned about Summerfield and Ms. Strickland and Mr. Crawford will be sitting next to their mouthpiece - facing the council instead of the people they are supposedly "concerned" about.
Hi Sawdust, and welcome to the forum.
I just wanted to point out here that Summerfield council members are now elected for 4-year terms which are staggered. Since Dwayne Crawford and Becky Strickland were just elected in November 2005, they won't be up for election for a couple more years.
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Cracker Jax
Member
| Joined: | Oct 23rd, 2005 |
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Posted: Feb 25th, 2007 12:15 am |
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Yes Sandra... we can't do anything until November '09 (and I'm sure hoping that people do opt for a change....) and then they're still sitting council members until January 2010. That's a depressing thought.
By my calculations, that's 1051 days, 22 hours, 14 minutes and too many seconds... 
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Opinions in this post are mine. Do not copy, distribute, mass mail or quote out of context without my consent.
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LottieDottie
Member
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Posted: Feb 25th, 2007 02:59 am |
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I'm still unclear as to why the Town Council does not appoint/nominate a Sargent of Arms to handle disruptive behavior at the meetings.
Lottie Dottie
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Steve Adkins
Member
| Joined: | Oct 14th, 2005 |
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Posted: Feb 25th, 2007 01:12 pm |
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Sawdust wrote: It is quite refreshing to see a group step up and work with the council positively. Already they are much more focused on the larger issues and encouraging change within the town.
Thank You Sawdust for the positive comment on the Friends For Summerfield.
You are extended an invitation to join us, if you haven't already, and enjoy the benefits of a group that truly has Summerfields best interest in mind. See website on my signature line below.
And you're right, FFS is focused on the big picture.
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Hairbrush
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Posted: Feb 26th, 2007 12:58 pm |
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| Jim, are saying one vote on one zoning makes Strickland and Crawford a friend of Summerfield and makes Barnes and Williams not friends of Summerfield?
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Jim Flynt
Member
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Posted: Feb 26th, 2007 03:10 pm |
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Hairbrush wrote: Jim, are saying one vote on one zoning makes Strickland and Crawford a friend of Summerfield and makes Barnes and Williams not friends of Summerfield?
Hairbrush, I think if you go back and reread my post, you will find that I did not say that which you imply.
What I did say and repeat for clarity, is that on the Armfield vote, Crawford, Strickland and Collins were on the side of the Summerfield community and Summerfield citizens rather than the side of developers and real estate interests. If you wish to conclude that the other two council members are or were on the side of developers and real estate interests, based on the Armfield vote, that is certainly your prerogative. I can clearly see how one could reach that conclusion based on the Armfield vote.
I don't think that the Armfield rezoning and Armfield vote was any small matter nor was it an inconsequential land use decision. To me at least, this was a signal case with far reaching consequences which go well beyond this one rather large property. I am doubtful, that the Summerfield Town Council has ever dealt with a land use matter of greater significance nor one of greater impact to citizens, therefore, the individual votes of elected officials send signals of great import to citizens of which 'side' of the development equation an official is likely to fall: for the community at large or for the real estate and development interests.
There are both locally as well as nationally, many citizens and voters who are solely motivated on and by single issue politics and political decisions. Whether that be land use policies, taxes, education, capital punishment, the Iraq war, abortion, gay marriage, or any number of myriad other issues. For those voters, a single vote on a single issue may well be their sole motivation to vote FOR or to vote AGAINST an elected leader in the next election cycle. I am not unmindful of that historical pattern of voter behavior, and am not reluctant to believe that it will continue into the future.
For me at least, land use policies and decisions are extremely and vitally important, and I daresay, they would constitute for me, the number one issue in determination of how and for whom I vote come election day. I could and would overlook other voting decisions or decisional judgments on other issues of little or no importance to me by an elected official, so long as I felt that official maintained a similar viewpoint to my own in their approach to examining and voting on land use matters. Surely, there are those other voters opposed to uncontrolled growth and unbridled sprawl who would feel the same and would exhibit the same voting priority and pattern such as my own.
Last edited on Feb 26th, 2007 04:22 pm by Jim Flynt
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Hairbrush
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Posted: Feb 26th, 2007 03:21 pm |
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Jim, thank you for your explanation. I too have core values that will always determine for whom I vote. I happened to think that in this case all the council members did look at the land use ordinances and they came to different conclusion, so maybe that means that the Town of Summerfield needs to re-visit some of these ordinances.
I also don't happen to think just because you voted on my side of the fence makes you the right person for the job.
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