Tuesday, August 12, 2008
When to Engage, When Not to Engage
Because of summer business and travel, I am woefully behind on .. well, a lot. I'm going to take a day off from work (if the boss agrees :) lock myself in a back room and just answer emails and deal with an amazing number of great issues brought up by citizens.
But more immediately I owe my newsletter subscribers a report on something that came up in the last issue. I had sort of meant this as an aside, but it sure got a lot of reaction in the boiler that we call Lakewood politics.
What follows are my comments in the newsletter:
Many of you will be aware, of course, that a lot of angry emails have been sent out about some of the latest political issues in town. I debated answering some of these emails. But ... you know, the longer I am in Lakewood politics, the more I think that such back and forth is not productive.
I think it just takes away time I could spend working proactively on your behalf on things like museums, public safety and economic development. Here's my latest thinking:
If you come from the Lakewood CARES perspective, you think the city of Lakewood is an unholy mess run by the corrupt and profane. You are simply not going to believe whatever I say. You just won't, because my responses won't fit your compass point which says that the city is always trying to put something past you.
And if you don't come from that point of view, you know that life in Lakewood is actually pretty good, and a lot of folks generating email in Lakewood are fueled by anger, spite and anger. And so you read all those emails in the context they come from anyway. But maybe I'm wrong .. if my readers who keep things in perspective tell me that you want to see some responses to the stuff out there, hey, I'm here. Let me know.
Well, of course I should have realized Lakewood CARES would respond! More on that in a second. But here's a selection from the more positive folks that are my usual readers:
Thanks for the email; I, for one, would like to hear more from you and others to counter the negative responses my mailbox is always getting from CARES and (a well known letter writer who often launches strange personal attacks). They are things in Lakewood that I would like to see addressed (particularly the education system and the casinos). However, overall I am pleased with the city and feel good about living here and raising my family here.
I've been a fan of yours for years. You are absolutely right on target when you recommend not responding to the angry, ill-mannered e-mails you receive. Too many people too lazy to do their own investigation choose to believe rabble-rousers whose goal is lining their own pockets or worse. My observations are that we were very fortunate to have the city leadership we had from our very beginning as a city, which set the traditions of the city firmly on a reality base. In time, of course, everything gets corrupted and must be re-thought, but at least we have the traditions to fall back on for guidance.
Good for you Walter! I am so sick and tired of those idiots! Thank you for speaking up.
I like the fact that you and other elected officials list ideas, educate yourself and citizens of the issues, and decide where we are going. Not everyone will ever be 100% happy. I feel the City of Lakewood is going in the right direction and I look forward to more decisions being made on our(citizens) behalf. Thanks you for being in an elected position, stepping up, and making tough decisions.
My opinion regarding negative press.......... you're doing it right ..... it will go away with time ........ it's just part of the process and I think you give it dignity and credibility if you retort!
Now as I said .. CARES had a whole different perspective. From John Arbeeny:
If you have learned nothing about Lakewood CARES, you should know that this council's action/inaction may have awaken a sleeping giant and the next council election is only a year away. The current initiative campaign to ban gambling is only the first shot in this struggle and we the people are nothing if not persistent.
Apparently you still need to lead off with a boogie man in order to stampede readers into your way of thinking in the absence of any substance to your arguments. What exactly do you stand for Walter, or do you just wait until the wind blows to figure it out?
How appropriate that you have been nick-named, whether you know it or not......Walter Nearly.
John forgets he has told me that nickname before. I don't blame him repeatedly for telling me because I am sure he thinks the nickname is clever.
I've said before there are times I really admire John, and I do here. I mean that, because he's generally more open than the rest of his political allies. He's being honest. And he is being honest that Lakewood's current political battle du jour is about far more than minicasinos .. The current initiative campaign to ban gambling is only the first shot in this struggle ... it's the same old blather about trying to take over the council for God-knows-what.
CARES had three seats on a seven-member council for awhile, including John. Nobody could ever figure out what they wanted because it always seems to involve doing the opposite of whatever the other incumbents want to do because whatever anyone else wants to do must be bad.
When they will disagree with whatever is said .. what's the point of saying?
Anyway .. I dunno. I could respond point by point to all the negative stuff in the emails of the last several months but .. I still have my gut telling me it's best to reply not with acknowledgment of balderdash but the promotion of good. I could be wrong. But that's where I want to come from now. So .. let's move on. I could stay and write responses, or I could post this and head off to the marking committee of a nonprofit group trying to build community in Lakewood. The choice is pretty clear. I'm grabbing my notepad and going off to the meeting ...
Forward this post
But more immediately I owe my newsletter subscribers a report on something that came up in the last issue. I had sort of meant this as an aside, but it sure got a lot of reaction in the boiler that we call Lakewood politics.
What follows are my comments in the newsletter:
Many of you will be aware, of course, that a lot of angry emails have been sent out about some of the latest political issues in town. I debated answering some of these emails. But ... you know, the longer I am in Lakewood politics, the more I think that such back and forth is not productive.
I think it just takes away time I could spend working proactively on your behalf on things like museums, public safety and economic development. Here's my latest thinking:
If you come from the Lakewood CARES perspective, you think the city of Lakewood is an unholy mess run by the corrupt and profane. You are simply not going to believe whatever I say. You just won't, because my responses won't fit your compass point which says that the city is always trying to put something past you.
And if you don't come from that point of view, you know that life in Lakewood is actually pretty good, and a lot of folks generating email in Lakewood are fueled by anger, spite and anger. And so you read all those emails in the context they come from anyway. But maybe I'm wrong .. if my readers who keep things in perspective tell me that you want to see some responses to the stuff out there, hey, I'm here. Let me know.
Well, of course I should have realized Lakewood CARES would respond! More on that in a second. But here's a selection from the more positive folks that are my usual readers:
Thanks for the email; I, for one, would like to hear more from you and others to counter the negative responses my mailbox is always getting from CARES and (a well known letter writer who often launches strange personal attacks). They are things in Lakewood that I would like to see addressed (particularly the education system and the casinos). However, overall I am pleased with the city and feel good about living here and raising my family here.
I've been a fan of yours for years. You are absolutely right on target when you recommend not responding to the angry, ill-mannered e-mails you receive. Too many people too lazy to do their own investigation choose to believe rabble-rousers whose goal is lining their own pockets or worse. My observations are that we were very fortunate to have the city leadership we had from our very beginning as a city, which set the traditions of the city firmly on a reality base. In time, of course, everything gets corrupted and must be re-thought, but at least we have the traditions to fall back on for guidance.
Good for you Walter! I am so sick and tired of those idiots! Thank you for speaking up.
I like the fact that you and other elected officials list ideas, educate yourself and citizens of the issues, and decide where we are going. Not everyone will ever be 100% happy. I feel the City of Lakewood is going in the right direction and I look forward to more decisions being made on our(citizens) behalf. Thanks you for being in an elected position, stepping up, and making tough decisions.
My opinion regarding negative press.......... you're doing it right ..... it will go away with time ........ it's just part of the process and I think you give it dignity and credibility if you retort!
Now as I said .. CARES had a whole different perspective. From John Arbeeny:
If you have learned nothing about Lakewood CARES, you should know that this council's action/inaction may have awaken a sleeping giant and the next council election is only a year away. The current initiative campaign to ban gambling is only the first shot in this struggle and we the people are nothing if not persistent.
Apparently you still need to lead off with a boogie man in order to stampede readers into your way of thinking in the absence of any substance to your arguments. What exactly do you stand for Walter, or do you just wait until the wind blows to figure it out?
How appropriate that you have been nick-named, whether you know it or not......Walter Nearly.
John forgets he has told me that nickname before. I don't blame him repeatedly for telling me because I am sure he thinks the nickname is clever.
I've said before there are times I really admire John, and I do here. I mean that, because he's generally more open than the rest of his political allies. He's being honest. And he is being honest that Lakewood's current political battle du jour is about far more than minicasinos .. The current initiative campaign to ban gambling is only the first shot in this struggle ... it's the same old blather about trying to take over the council for God-knows-what.
CARES had three seats on a seven-member council for awhile, including John. Nobody could ever figure out what they wanted because it always seems to involve doing the opposite of whatever the other incumbents want to do because whatever anyone else wants to do must be bad.
When they will disagree with whatever is said .. what's the point of saying?
Anyway .. I dunno. I could respond point by point to all the negative stuff in the emails of the last several months but .. I still have my gut telling me it's best to reply not with acknowledgment of balderdash but the promotion of good. I could be wrong. But that's where I want to come from now. So .. let's move on. I could stay and write responses, or I could post this and head off to the marking committee of a nonprofit group trying to build community in Lakewood. The choice is pretty clear. I'm grabbing my notepad and going off to the meeting ...
