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Waytago
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Posted: Oct 5th, 2006 01:06 pm |
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Skiddles wrote: Power is in education.
Jim you are absolutely correct... look at where we need go, set goals and head that way. Every little bit helps. We certainly can do this with honesty and with class.
I agree with Skiddles comment, but will state it a little differently.......Knowledge is power.
The above comments are exactly what we need. A grass roots campaign to overcome the forces that are negatively impacting our fine town.
As Jim states, an objective is needed. This will take an organized effort, much like the "Concerned Citizens" pulled off last year. Except this group of "concerned citizens" needs to be for real, not the phonies of last year.
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Skiddles
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Posted: Oct 5th, 2006 02:58 pm |
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Waytago wrote: ...Knowledge is power.
... A grass roots campaign to overcome the forces that are negatively impacting our fine town.
This will take an organized effort, much like the "Concerned Citizens" pulled off last year. Except this group of "concerned citizens" needs to be for real, not the phonies of last year.
Waytago, Waytago... I believe you said it even better!
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DOGGETTJA
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Posted: Oct 5th, 2006 10:46 pm |
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| So how do we put the positiveness back in Summerfield? How do we form a grassroots group. Are there enough core people to get it started?
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Waytago
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Posted: Oct 5th, 2006 11:35 pm |
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Only one way to find out. Get one going. Do it very publicly.
Give the group a very positive name, ie Pro Summerfield. Keep all objectives positive, keep all behavior positive, but that doesn't mean to sit with a smile and keep your hands folded in your laps.
Be aware of the magnet theory, ie opposites attract, like repels.
Ensure CC's are invited to the meetings so they'll be sure not to show.
Don't duck from controversy, meet it head on, in a positive way.
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Jim Flynt
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Posted: Oct 5th, 2006 11:50 pm |
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DOGGETTJA wrote: So how do we put the positiveness back in Summerfield?
My question to you is, what is your objective in taking any action?
Obviously, to suggest, what can be done to put something back, advocates for a change from the status quo. Therefore, are you clear in that your message is for change? And what changes would you/do you advocate from the status quo?
David Campbell of the Center For Creative Leadership in Greensboro wrote a book once entitled, If You Don't Know Where You're Going, You'll Probably End Up Somewhere Else.
As well, at the Center for Creative Leadership, it is a given fundamental, that the one essential, vital characteristic of every leader is that the leader must have followers. Without 'followers' there are no leaders and there is no leadership with even the greatest of ideas or principles.
Where is it you would go? Where is the 'promised land' you would lead to, so to speak? Do a majority of citizens (read: voters) want you to take them "there"? How do you know that? Seriously? Have you conducted any type of indepth polling or attitude survey? Isn't it fair to say that the assessment made prior to the last election in Summerfield of voter attitudes was in fact terribly misread by those in the status quo? Be honest now in answering that.
So, my question to you, is have you identified your 'followers' whom this group would serve to 'lead' and have you 'polled' them as to where it is they want you to lead them to? Simply to slap together the newest 'committee' simply to restore positiveness serves no useful function other than to satisfy the urge to react.
With all of the great university resources available to citizens of the Northwest part of Guilford County, it occurs to me that perhaps one of the political science departments or classes at UNC-G, Wake Forest or Guilford College would be glad to assist in writing and then conducting an indepth telephone survey/poll of attitudes, wishes and needs of the Summerfield citizens.
On top of providing a yardstick of measuring whether or not the larger group of voters/citizens might or might not agree with what you as a group/ leader might think their attitudes, wishes and needs are, this would greatly assist you in preparing an objective roadmap to whatever objectives and/or goals the larger consumer audience (who just happens to vote by the way) and your 'leadership' group can agree on.
Like it or not, in the game of politics, it is only those 'leaders'* who win who will have power to make change. And if you're not playing to win, then by default, you're playing to lose. And by so doing, you're simply rolling over and handing over the power to effectuate change, to those with a different agenda.
So, in the end, I suggest to you that David Campbell is in fact correct. If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else.
*(Note: Whether or not you personally believe the 'other side' deserves to be called 'leaders' is understandable, yet the fact remains, when any voting group of 'followers' has their say in the voting booth, the 'leaders' winning the most votes has in fact, captured and perhaps shares the self interests of the larger group of followers. They become the leaders and the other candidates, become by default, the losers. At least in that election cycle.)
Last edited on Oct 6th, 2006 12:23 am by Jim Flynt
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Waytago
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Posted: Oct 6th, 2006 12:40 am |
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Jim Flynt wrote: As well, at the Center for Creative Leadership, it is a given fundamental, that the one essential, vital characteristic of every leader is that the leader must have followers. Without 'followers' there are no leaders and there is no leadership with even the greatest of ideas or principles.
Where is it you would go? Where is the 'promised land' you would lead to, so to speak? Do a majority of citizens (read: voters) want you to take them "there"? How do you know that? Seriously? Have you conducted any type of indepth polling or attitude survey? Isn't it fair to say that the assessment made prior to the last election in Summerfield of voter attitudes was in fact terribly misread by those in the status quo? Be honest now in answering that.
I agree there must be clear goals in order to have a firm direction. (Was it Forrest Gump?? - If you don't know where you're going, how are you going to know when you get there??) The initial goals need to be something along the lines of re-establish stability in our town, and support the TC members who feel like they're battling the devil. A year from now, the goal needs to be keeping votes 3-2 in Summerfields favor with pro Summerfield candidates.
There needs to be more rounds of applause like the other night when the right things are done, in spite of the naysayers. Right now, people seem hesitant to show support.
In this case, the groundswell are the ones at the TC meetings. It's pretty obvious from the facial expressions, the rolling eyes, the disgusted looks, there are few supporters in the audience of the loose cannons at the front table.
Voter attitudes may have been mis-read last time around, but let's not forget, voters were being fed a steady stream of lies & misrepresentations. Many people are realizing their votes were mistakes.
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Jim Flynt
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Posted: Oct 6th, 2006 12:52 am |
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Waytago wrote:
Voter attitudes may have been mis-read last time around, but let's not forget, voters were being fed a steady stream of lies & misrepresentations.
Ah, but therein lies the rub. Such is the nature of modern political campaigns. How do you think Jesse Helms continued to win election after election?
Misrepresenting your opponents views or distorting their voting record is de rigeur in political campaigns and contests all over America. You may not like it (most polls show that most Americans don't), BUT, in fact, most voters go on to respond to and vote based on those misrepresentations and half-truths. I am not saying you have to be comfortable with it nor embrace it, but a candidate cannot afford to be unmindful of that reality, and still expect to win.
How many political ads have you ever seen on television or heard on the radio, where you said to yourself, gee, now there's a guy who's telling the truth?
We all tend to see and perceive things through the lens of bias of our own filters.
Last edited on Oct 6th, 2006 12:56 am by Jim Flynt
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Waytago
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Posted: Oct 6th, 2006 02:23 am |
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Not sure about all that..........but fear of future pols campaign tactics is not a reason to sit back and accept the current deceivers shenanigans. The non-deceivers deserve support for doing what's right.
And I truly believe Dena, Mark, Bob, and Carolyn did not run a campaign of mis truths, I think they are good grass roots people with a pro Summerfield stance. Their voting records prove it.
Voters overall are intelligent people, their opinions are only as good as the information they receive or seek out. The "seek out" variety are those seen at TC meetings wanting to see things for themselves, or asking good questions in the right way.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Oct 6th, 2006 01:19 pm |
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So much o' this whole thang in my opinion depends on how you define "win" an' whether that end justifies any means. Whatever goal you set out to achieve, if you try to get there by lyin' to people whose only value to you is in their usefulness as pawns in a game, then I b'lieve you've already lost, even if you win.
Votes or voters, which is more important? Are they the same?
Naive? Not necessarily.
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Steve Adkins
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Posted: Oct 6th, 2006 04:14 pm |
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I think we're actually talking of setting a tone and a direction.
In terms of "winning", we're already winning. We have a park that people fought against, the decision making process at the TC meetings is still pro-Summerfield thanks to 3 - 2 votes. The question is, can we set a tone to keep winning, or sit back & watch the votes swing to 2 - 3 after the next election?
The basic foundation is being chipped away with the loss of good qualified staffers, and basic behavior of one TC member. Reminds me of a car battery.....you might have 6 good cells, but if one goes bad, it drags the other 5 down with it. We can't let that happen
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FatPappy
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Posted: Oct 7th, 2006 12:31 pm |
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| I hear what yer a-sayin', Steve, but I reckon yer math's off by one. I count two bad cells a-leakin' acid.
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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.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Oct 8th, 2006 04:46 pm |
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Jane or somebody, Pappy's got a question.
We hear accusations an' insinuations but we rarely hear the outcome. Fer example, in the last meetin' Citizen Dunham accused the town of ignorin' her request fer a copy o' the town charter, leavin' the implication, intentional or not, that her request had been ignored an' her rights had been denied.
How is it possible fer the average citizen to find out the truth of the matter? I think in all fairness, the answer should be made as public an' prominent as the accusation.
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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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DOGGETTJA
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Posted: Oct 8th, 2006 05:44 pm |
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Pappy there are several problems with the lies and insinuations. The CCs fronted by MOM have requested probably at this point thousands of documents going back to the chartering of the town looking for I am not sure what. I guess to prove that Bill Peterson and all the council since him were crooked and misspending the tax payers money. This has been going on for 3 or 4 years. The Town spends a tremendous amount of time and machinery to copy all these documents ie tax payers money. They do pay a copy fee. We are now down to 2 employees so which one stops his or her job to accomodate the Freedom of information act requests that in this case are pure harassment. To my knowledge in the 10 years that the Town has been in existance there has been only one enity rmaking these reqests ie Concerned citizens in the form of Mom, BS and DC. I think the requests are a blatant abuse of power on the part of the CC and done purely to impede the Town from conducting its business.
So did she request the charter under the freedom of Information act? It would appear she did? Has she been denied her rights it would appear not? It is a matter of how important is the request in the course of everything else these 2 people have to do.
The request for the charter was the latest of the things Mom complained about. Maybe we should make sure and start checking out all her insinuations to see how true they are.
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FatPappy
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Posted: Oct 8th, 2006 06:15 pm |
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Much obliged, Jane. Sounds like they have their own Freedom of Insinuation racket goin' on.
I'll add it to my list.
Hey, did I just insinuate somethin' by sayin' that? Hee hee!
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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.
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Waytago
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Posted: Oct 8th, 2006 10:40 pm |
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DOGGETTJA wrote: The Town spends a tremendous amount of time and machinery to copy all these documents ie tax payers money. They do pay a copy fee. We are now down to 2 employees so which one stops his or her job to accomodate the Freedom of information act requests that in this case are pure harassment.
Another close parallelism to Union Campaigns. Keeping the town management tied up with useless non value added activities while the troublemakers continue their shenanigans.
Seems like the town needs to raise the fee charged for copying, to see if all these important FOIA requests remain at a higher fee.
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