From: mark@ehle.homelinux.org
Date: Sat Dec 13 2003 - 04:40:04 PST
I disagree about little towns not wanting to waste money on lawyers. Battle
Creek, MI, recently wasted ~2 million dollars on fees and settlements to their
firefighters because they would not fire their racist, sexist fire chief. BC
settled but never admitted guilt and the fire chief kept his job. The proper
thing to do would have been to remove the chief, saving the tax payers
millions.
I faced a similar situation in a township just East of Battle Creek. My
solution was to move.
Mark Ehle
1970 AMG M35A2
Dowling, MI
Quoting Steve Grammont <islander@midmaine.com>:
>
>
> >It makes me wonder what is becoming of "The land
> >of the free"
>
> It is all what we make of it. If nobody cares a flying fig about how
> government is run, other than to bitch about it (not saying this about
> you Bill!), then it will go in whatever course it happens to go for that
> area. And anybody that complains without trying to correct the course
> should study up on what representative forms of government are all about.
>
> My suggestions are:
>
> 1. Get yourself elected as a councilman.
>
> OR
>
> 2. Get yourself an ally who is already on the council.
>
> Use this influence to propose different legislation or to amend current
> ones. Provided the issue isn't that big of a deal it is possible to
> affect change with such direct involvement. This is the "easy" route
> which might not be a viable option for you. So I suggest an alternative
> or complementary action....
>
> Start a "citizen's group". If you get enough people together, spell out
> your issues CLEARLY AND POLITELY, and start attending public meetings to
> keep the issue in their faces (POLITELY), you can affect change. Mostly
> because public opposition rarely develops because everybody is too
> apathetic to be bothered by something like this. In short, figure out how
> your local government works and work within the system.
>
> Loud mouth complainers who try to muscle their point of view do nothing
> than make themselves look like idiots in public and are (at least around
> me) routinely ignored out of spite if for no other reason. If you want
> things to go your way, make friends not enemies. Or at the very least,
> make people have respect for you. Standing up in a public meeting and
> hurtling insults, or sitting around at the local bar pissing and moaning,
> is akin to shooting your cause in the head with a .44 Magnum at point
> blank range.
>
> You can also try the legal challenge route. Personally I would make this
> part of your overall POLITE presentation if it clearly favors your side
> of the debate. Do not make it sound like a threat, simply mention it
> along with all your other reasons (support it with documented cases).
> Local governments (small ones in particular) hate the thought of pissing
> away money on lawyers. If they think you have a point AND there is a
> serious chance of a legal challenge, the easier course of action is to
> drop what they are doing instead of fighting you. Sometimes this is good
> for local government, sometimes bad (i.e. if a rich corporation threatens
> something that is indeed legal and beneficial the community).
>
>
>
> In a representative form of government, the people ultimately get what
> they deserve. If the people are short tempered, narrow minded, lazy,
> selfish, and generally apathetic people... guess what they'll get for
> leadership? Local government is the most directly accountable level of
> government. Personally I have found it VERY accessible where I live *IF*
> it is approached in the right way. I can't stress that enough. "Done
> right" might take more up front effort, but it takes less to maintain and
> is far more likely to succeed in the end. And it is the end that matters.
>
> Hope that helps :-)
>
> Steve
>
>
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