Little Columbus WI in the news AGAIN!!

Gotta love Columbus. 

Let's see.  We had a bank employee stealing money, then we had a computer fix-it place steal hard drives and then the entire computer (next to The Cage), then the Chiropractors Wife allegably was caught using money from the St. Jerome Parish (like hundreds of thousands) to do all sorts of fun things (for her), then someone throwing rat poison onto peoples yards to kill their dogs and then Saturday the City Admin resigned abruptly because his enemy (and many peoples it seems) found some past dirt on him (reasons that are still unknown but I'm sure it will be very interesting) and now it seems Mama Mia's Restaurant (across from The Cage) is closing because it seems the owner was selling cocaine from his restaurant.  I KNEW those meat balls made me extra peppy and numbed my mouth!!

Next thing you will hear is that three people are running for City Council and another one for Mayor.  WAIT - That is actually happening?   Three mostly leaning red right Council members are being challenged by blue leaning common people?  A blue town with a red City Council just seems weird. 

At least that is what I have been told.

What an exciting little city we have here.     

So why am I running for City Council?  Am I crazy?  OH, yes, I AM just crazy enough to run for Council, I think you have to be a little crazy. 

Here is the thing.  Ever since I moved here I have been the #1 cheerleader for Columbus.  From a blog that had 10,000 hits a day from 71 Countries to speeches in front of the CDA and The Odd Fellows and columns in the newspaper that stole every-bodies money and Letters to the Editor in the current newspaper.

I've been pretty outspoken on my views of Columbus.  Saying things like how this town is NOT the weirdo backwards place that people seem to think it is.

Five years ago I said that there is a large silent majority that is just waiting and building momentum.  I knew this because people would come up to me and tell me this.  Over and over and over.  They would say it's so nice to hear from someone that is not of "the old guard". Someone with a fresh perspective, no grudges from the past and yada yada yada.

SO - after I received some phone calls because my name kept coming up in conversations and then Assembly Woman Mary Arnold calls me and asks me if I would run. . . . 

WELL - perhaps it's time I got off my ass and did something for this town (besides getting 17, mostly out of town people to paint the train station). 

Columbus has a pretty interesting governmental history, bizarre is another word.  From the youngest Mayor in US history (people hated the mayor so much they literally voted for anybody) to the Councul buying a bank for $1 and moving it 2 blocks for a few hundred thousand dollars and finding out it was unusable, or buying another building next to City Hall and moving it a couple blocks (now a day care). And don't forget something like 10 straight 1 term Mayors and mayors being kicked out of office and all sorts of squabbling.


Maybe it's time we had some common sense sitting in one of those super polite stiff chairs. Yes Mr. Davidson, that is so astute of you Ms Perkins, Well said Mr. Sneath.  Good God people, this is a town of 5000 where everybody knows everybody. Do people really talk this way?   Hello Mr. Adams may I have a Campfire Porter please, Why yes Mr. Melotte Thank you Mr. Adams.

Yes - City Council is an important place but perhaps we would not build barriers around each other if MAYBE we could talk as friends?  Not foreign diplomats!  Maybe we should all wear wigs (that would ROCK).    

The problem with being on the City Council is that you can't win. Most of the time every decision will cost the citizens money somehow.  You have to look at the future knowing that whatever you decide will piss someone off.  They will never see 10 years from now how your decision 10 years earlier saved them money.   

For instance - when times are tough, THAT is the time for the City to decide on things like a new school.  Sooner or later Columbus needs a new school if it wants to grow.  Families looking to relocate want a good school system.  Things are cheap now, labor is cheap, building materials are cheap.    Of course what will happen to the old school (no one has answered that yet).

When  the economy is running full steam, that is NOT the time to make bold moves and spend all that excess money.  When labor is expensive, land is expensive, materials is expensive?  Buy High?  No!  If you can save that money save it for the future - but many politicians (of which I am not) believe that is when you should spend money because they might not be around later.  

At least in theory. 

As you know I have zero actual experience in city government but I do have common sense and the ability to look at multiple sides of the problem AND make a decision that is not just going along with everyone else because we have always done it that way.

And that is my spiel (to utter, express, or describe volubly or extravagantly).

RM