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Post Info TOPIC: Recall. No confidence votes, School Boards and Deals


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Recall. No confidence votes, School Boards and Deals
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Scott's show today was about Canadian voter's ability to recall elected officials. Scott thought that would be a good idea here. I do too. Good luck though, especially in New York State and particularly Niagara, the county once beautiful.


The conversation of the show then went in two directions that actually merged down the road again, later in the show. I called in after Scott asked who the listener would vote "no confidence." I thought, that's a pretty interesting topic, so I called. Now Scott was also talking about schools and his old alma mater and others in Niagara County including Lockport and the vote last night to increase Starpoint superintendent C. Doug Whelan's salary ($154K) by about $679,000,005,000.35 per year going back retroactively to when he first graduated elementary school in the 1880s.  ;*)


Another caller was concerned about illicit drugs being in Niagara Wheatfield--another problem in NC schools. Scott said too much money and nothing to do was a culprit--I said look at who was in charge for years there and then went on to be a legislator (How[dy] Bill).


I inferred that C. Dougs's raise might be associated with the health incident last winter causing 30 kids to be taken to hospital, his minimizing and squelching of information about the nearby waste sites and many millions of dollars of housing new builds in his district (well, if I didn't infer all of this, I am now). Even more information has 'surfaced' (to come here) linking the kid victims with what's near-by and schooll officials don't seem too overly concerned.


I called into Scott's show with my opinion of who I think should be recalled and why. Listen to the entire PodCast to find out what I said.  ;*)


We already know that I don't like the Industrial Hygiene Department--Oops, the niagara county health department (de-emphasis with cause). I mentioned that the health people have turned a blind eye to what nasty things are near to or buried under our schools.  We were the radioactive materials capital of the free world.. I mean, come on, after all.


Doug at Starpoint gets a raise and Mr. Ross retires with full military honors (pensions, health insurance, bonus buyouts, lifetime hair-care, a jet-flyover, etc.)--Still collecting $$ and making decisions for Niagara, the county once beautiful, through his legislative seat. Generationally disfunctional. My call.


Niagara County--Where we all know the streets are paved in gold and all good men-women have every opportunity that can be offered in the United States in the pursuit of happiness, life and liberty. (Someone slap me for that last sentence.)


The above of course, would depend on who you are related to, what family member you have working in the school system, what 'dirty' info you've got on whom, who've you contributed to politically, if you are willing to "go along" and that  kind of thing. Doug must have done a really good job for his raise and longevity clause. Nice, a guarantee (from the same taxpayers that work[ed] at Delphi) for his employment right up until retirement!


Nice magic carpet ride with a parachute (for his cooperation-silence?)


Cheer and peace,


Nuclearlou



-- Edited by NuclearLou at 12:47, 2005-11-29

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Lou,

Thanks for the great setup. I'm hoping others pile on.

I'd cast my first vote of "no confidence" for the Starpoint School Board. At least the 7 members that voted in favor of Whelans raise and extension. They obviously don't "get it" and are part of the problem. Remove them and start fresh.

My second "no confidence" vote goes to the Newfane School Board. Just cause they've been quiet down there for a while doesn't mean their past sins are forgiven. They're vengeful and vindictive. And they gave their superintendent a raise cause he squeezed more money out of the teachers. Lemons. All of them.

Next "no confidence" goes to the Niagara County Legislature. The whole damn thing. There are a few members I like ... but they're ineffective and bogged down by "the leadership." All 19 of 'em need to be replaced. Find 19 homeless people to do the job. The fact that there are 19 homeless people in Niagara County is all the evidence you need that the NC Legislature isn't any good.

Finally, a "no con" to the NCIDA. Since the legislature's out, might as well remove their tax-break-weilding arm. And don't get any new IDA members. Just get rid of it all together. Since the 19 homeless people will be running a more cost-effective goverment, we won't need to give tax breaks to even the playing field.

What do YOU think?

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Anonymous

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NOW YOU'RE TALKING!! START RIGHT HERE.


REMOVE THE PORK, REMOVE THE BACON DO THE JOB OR CHANGES WE'LL BE MAKIN!



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Anonymous

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Scott and NL. It looks like the Dunderheads just don't care anymore. Status and Quid Pro Quo for all. Just what you numbknotts deserve. Something in the water there?

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Anonymous wrote:

Something in the water there?



Well, yeah. But not if you ask the Department Of Health (DOH!!!)

But the rest of your post perplexes me. We deserve morons in office? Explain.

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Probably should have put this one in the members only section. I think no one has really answered because alot of the lemons have already been covered on Scott's show. But here's a short list: Niagara County IDA, Vince Anello, Lockport School Board, Starpoint School Board, Newfane School Board, NC Health Dept., oh and how about the DEC while we're at it?

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Anonymous

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I think we could benefit from a recall election. Look at how well it worked for California. Hey, maybe we could get Grandpa Munster to run again...

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I wouldn't be too quick to embrace the concept of the Recall Election. It sounds nice on the surface: Hold a big election and get a bad criminal out of office immediately. But our system of government doesn't lend itself to quick responses, to anything. Besides, what happened in California was that the economy turned and they got rid of their governor. This precedent of replacing an elected official with a recall when things don't go as you like is pretty dangerous for our country & our democracy.


What happened is the dot-com bubble burst, the airline industry went south, we fought a couple of wars overseas, then DICK Cheny and his pals in the energy industry helped Enron gain the energy market and that cost the state Billions of dollars. None of that can be attributed to Gray Davis. And it's dangerous because between the impeachment of Clinton and the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the conservatives have shown that they will do ANYTHING to win an election--except, of course, to get the most votes.


So if the next election doesn't go their way, what's to stop them from recalling other governors, or congresspersons--or even the president?



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MC,

What if you buy a car and the dealer says you get 30 miles to a gallon ... but after a month of using it, you realize you're only getting 12? You take it back, right? You bitch, complain, etc and demand they fix it.

Now let's pretend it's not a car, but a politician. What if they campaign that they're going to do one thing, but instead do something else. You have no recourse until they're up for re-election. What the **** is that?

We need a political lemon law. There should be due process, but almost every country in the civilized world has the ability to "recall" their elected officials ... but we're just stuck with 'em.

"No Confidence."

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Ahhh, but who's to decide whether a politician is a lemon? Other politicians? If we have to have to show them a signed petition to make them realize that we're unhappy with a crappy official, we should just switch to another form of government. I hate to make it sound like an 'us versus them' situation, but most of the time, politicians have little or no connection to the people they represent. When the populace does raise it's voice, it falls on deaf (or indifferent) ears. And the few good politicos are mired by the majority of self-indulgent weiners we have on the public payroll. I fear all a recall election will accomplish is that we rotate the losers in and out faster.


Our hands are tied in this country because of due process. Our beloved democracy is more like 'mob rules' than anything else, and it moves at half a snail's pace as it is. It takes years just to pass a law in this country. Everything has to be voted on and discussed and fillibustered to death, then vetoed, then re-introduced, discussed some more, tweaked, compromised, and don't forget to clutter the issue with pork and finally it passes. We should have recall elections on laws while we're at it. I'd like to see how a vote on the estate tax would turn out...


Man, color me cynical today, but I find it hard to feel otherwise...



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Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes... If you choose any truth and follow it blindly, it becomes a falsehood, and you, a fanatic.


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MC,

A vote of NoCon is a vote of the people ... and should be instigated by the people.

And you're right, we should be able to recall laws, too.

We're disconnected and disjointed and we need to be part of the process more.

And frankly, if all we do is rotate them through faster, that's okay with me. As I said on today's show, if we prevent them from getting traction, we prevent them from screwing us too deeply.

If you want to be cynical, fine. If you want to **** on my idea, that's okay too. I'd gladly entertain other ideas.

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Anonymous

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Speaking of school boards, I think we should start looking for good qualified candidates now. May elections will be here before you know it. Newfane has 2 board seats up for re-election, anyone interested?



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I didn't mean to **** on your idea, and I'll be the first to sign your petition when GWB's recall comes up. If nothing else, I find it difficult to imagine a more destructive, backwards, and embarrassingly stupid president in office. We just need to eject him like a Michael Bolton cassette.


I agree the people should initiate the recall, we should nominate our own candidates as well. The people don't want what the parties have to offer us. Therefore, I nominate Scott. Al Franken would make a good running mate.


A friend of mine once suggested a hitman should follow the president around during the day, hidden among his secret service agents. When the people became so disgusted with the president that it was time to take him out, the hitman would do so. I guess the premise is that if the constant threat of being shot in the head were part of the president's daily routine, he might think twice before lying to the people, or handing their money over to corporations or sending their children to die overseas. Not sure I subscribe to that plan, too many holes.



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Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes... If you choose any truth and follow it blindly, it becomes a falsehood, and you, a fanatic.
Anonymous

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TOWN OF LEWISTON
Board acts on land sale to develop golf course
By NANCY A. FISCHER
NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
11/29/2005




LEWISTON - The Town Board on Monday took the first step to bring a privately developed championship golf course to the town by agreeing to a selling price of $147,000 for about 11 acres of town land.

The price, well over the $2,000-per-acre cost of the land, will allow the town to recoup all the engineering costs the town had originally spent for planning an 18-hole municipal golf course.

For several years, the Town Board toyed with the idea of a municipal golf course on 250 acres of land bounded by the Robert Moses Parkway and Pletcher and Creek roads.

Developer and local attorney Michael Dowd formed Old Creek Development to manage the planned development.

Old Creek Development also owned a majority of the property and had plans for upscale housing attached to the project.

The town had already put more than $125,000 into engineering plans for the golf course but several months ago learned that Dowd was negotiating with an unnamed third party to take over the development of the course.

Board members agreed this would be a positive development, allowing the course to go on the tax rolls and allowing a higher investment in the quality of the course than allowed by town investment.

Rumors flew that the Seneca Nation was that partner, but Dowd has called the negotiations private and would not reveal the name of the partner.

Supervisor Fred Newlin applauded the plans to sell the land, saying, "This relieves the town of the responsibility for upkeep and puts the land back on the tax rolls."

A public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 12 before approval is given to sell the land. Nearby homeowners will be invited to attend.

In another matter, the board tabled a plan to discuss fees for accepting treated leachate from Chemical Waste Management.


 


 


DOES THIS INCLUDE TOWN BOARDS?



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Anonymous

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If you continue to vote the same nimrods into office and then do nothing to remove them once you realize that you're being fleeced, I guess that the status quo is what's deserved by county residents.

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I am not to sure this recall thing would work around here.  Yes, I believe we (taxpayers) should have the right to remove someone from office if they are not doing the job.  The problem is, we just had an election and what changes really took place.  The NC Legislature for the most part remained the same, and depending on how you look at it - worst.  The City of Lockport did not make one change.  On a side note I applaud the voters in the City of North Tonawanda – they got it and they voted against the machine!


 


Our elected officials are not in touch with the community, they have an agenda, unfortunately, and many times it’s not best for the community - Too many deals, bad policy and the same old games year after year.  Scott has mentioned many times about how power corrupts and absolute power which we have in the county – well time will only tell!


 


To have an opportunity to recall someone – sounds great, but would the voting public really make the correct choice?


 



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