Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Just vote "no" to the 3rd District's ongoing city council embarrassment.

Louisville's Courier-Journal opted out of reporting on last evening's first of two city October council meetings, and so we turn to our hometown newspaper's Tuesday edition for coverage, in City could face fines for stormwater, by Amany Ali, Tribune City Editor.

Here are excerpts:

Last night, the New Albany City Council heard from stormwater advisory board members who want a proposed ordinance to establish fees to fund the plan to be postponed. Mayor James Garner, on the other hand, emphasized the importance of the May 6 (federal) deadline. City Council member Beverly Crump pointed out to the council that it could face penalties of $25,000 a day if it misses the deadline ...

... The council ultimately approved the first reading of the ordinance with a vote of six for and two against. Kochert, Crump, Seabrook, Donnie Blevins, Jack Messer and Jeff Gahan voted for the ordinance. Coffey and Steve Price voted against the ordinance. Council member Bill Schmidt was absent.

For a far more detailed rendering of council events on Monday night, blogger Volunteer Hoosier (Randy Smith) is not to be missed:

Why does Steve Price continue to vote against everything the consituents of the 3rd District want? Given the opportunity to renew the Urban Enterprise Zone that essentially defines his district, Mr. Price voted "no." What's the plan, Steve? Scare off a few more neighbors and convert their homes to flophouses? Importing new registered voters may be your only hope for getting a respectable 26% in the Democratic Primary.

The selected excerpt is from Government in Abstentia, etc.

A "no" vote from the 3rd District's accidental councilman has become as common an occurrence as a George Steinbrenner tantrum or unkempt rental properties (see Cause for Alarm in today's Diggin' in the Dirt blog).

But, of course, there are the ones who seem to be cash cows for the landlords. There's little or no maintenance performed. The grass only gets cut when it's approaching knee-high. And because the landlord obviously doesn't care about the condition of his property and its negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood, neither do the tenants.

Back now to the rental property owner in question, CM Price. How many times has he voted "no," or abstained, when called upon to represent the views of his 3rd District constituents?

We're not sure, either, but when there's time for diggin', the minutes of city council meetings are available on-line, and there's still a whole year and a half for us to begin compiling the evidence that will illustrate in abundant clarity why Mr. Price needs to return to the private sector.

Of course, there's always a chance that our folksy half of the Siamese Councilmen will come to his senses, reach down deep for a previously untapped reserve of sense and sensibility, and stage a comeback.

Until then, is anyone reading a resident of the 3rd District, and interested in running for city council in 2007 with the simple platform of expressing and voting to uphold the progressive views of the district's residents?

Let NA Confidential know, confidentially, and the necessary work can begin. As of this moment, such editorial policy as this blog possesses is dedicated, at least in part, to ridding the home district of its current council embarrassment, and restoring some semblance of representation to a group of voters who currently are receiving little to none.

5 comments:

The New Albanian said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The New Albanian said...

Randy may have one at the bookstore, if you're willing to risk being seen in a "suggestive" setting of education and literacy.

Remember to wave at the hidden cameras.

maury k goldberg said...

I thank you for the opportunity to set he record straight.
Yesterday,10/03/2005, at sundownthe Jewish New Year started. Mr. Hersberg,the Courier-Journal reporter and I were at the Synagogue. Lets not say his absence was due to other factors. The question to ask is "Why the Courier-Journal did not send a reporter in Mr. Hersberg absence."

The New Albanian said...

Thanks, Maury. I read about the Jewish New Year yesterday (at the C-J site, no less) and suspected that was the reason. Like you, I question why someone else wan't sent.

The New Albanian said...

Tim, congratulations on your appointment and condolences that you'll have to be working alongside people whose fundamental bias is against the work you do, and against those aspects of human reason that make such work possible, which is to say, the anti-intellectuals whose position is best trumpeted by your friend Steve.

If indeed you are friends with him, might you consider speaking with him about the obvious irrationality of his publicly stated positions, about his bias against the people of his own district -- about his obvious hatred for education and everything that education brings to the world?

Because, Tim, that's what it is. It's vicious, it's reactionary, and it's opposed to every strain of rationality that might be deployed to make this a better place.

CM Price consistently speaks against everything good that people like you, Tim, try to achieve with your many volunteer efforts.

What does Steve Price have against the interests of his own district?

Why does he hate education? Is it just because he doesn't have it?

That's the politics of envy, nothing else -- and it's plain wrong.

Good luck.