{"id":1200,"date":"2016-04-22T21:06:12","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T02:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1200"},"modified":"2016-04-22T21:06:12","modified_gmt":"2016-04-23T02:06:12","slug":"theyre-still-at-it-and-the-forum-was-still-theater","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1200","title":{"rendered":"They\u2019re Still At It\u2026 And The Forum was STILL Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re Still At It\u2026
\n<\/strong>And The \u201cForum\u201d was STILL Theater
\n<\/strong>By Susan M. Halpern
\n<\/strong>Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s a shame we couldn\u2019t have had a real forum and an election in which the candidates would actually discuss the issues.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that hasn\u2019t happened.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a shame that there can\u2019t be a dialog of real issues, rather than all these efforts to rewrite history in an attempt to bolster the tax-and-spend incumbents.<\/p>\n

I find it utterly fascinating that folks writing a faux \u201cnewsletter\u201d were provided with more information about this past Monday\u2019s event than was shared with Paul Walden, Jim Duffy and Al Angell.\u00a0 Direct questions posed by these candidates were continually left unanswered, nor was there even the slightest consideration given to their scheduling conflicts.\u00a0 They were given ZERO input regarding any aspect of the event.\u00a0 That included a format designed to make unqualified candidates appear more qualified by providing them with the questions in advance.\u00a0 Sorry, but it wasn\u2019t a forum.\u00a0 It never was.\u00a0 It was always an event for the incumbents.<\/p>\n

In the end, these folks are confirming that the whole thing is a PR SCAM.\u00a0 Here\u2019s how it goes.\u00a0 First, they set the event up without regard to the schedules of Walden, Duffy and Angell.\u00a0 They ignore all their questions and concerns, and hide all the details.\u00a0 That includes who will screen questions, who picked those folks, and what criteria they will employ to do so.\u00a0 And by the way, there\u2019s still no mention of who the mysterious organizer was, likely because he\u2019s so closely connected to the current regime that what I\u2019ve said all along will be confirmed!<\/p>\n

Is it so hard to see that if this was a real \u201cforum,\u201d ALL candidates would have had the opportunity to have input into its planning, its staffing and its format?<\/p>\n

But back to the fiction of the event.\u00a0 Next, they try to create legitimacy by falsely claiming \u201cit\u2019s always been done this way,\u201d when that isn\u2019t true at all.\u00a0 The event has been held sporadically, and it has always had a troubled and controversial history.\u00a0 I, for one, have protested the deceptive format for years.\u00a0 Anyway, next they get sponsors, who I can almost guarantee were not told about the inappropriate tactics and all the controversy.\u00a0 That becomes a circular argument: you deceive them to obtain their participation, then argue that their participation somehow means it\u2019s all legit.\u00a0 Clever.<\/p>\n

In the end, the point of all this always to drive away the \u201copposition\u201d candidates, and then use their absence to run the smear campaign we are now witnessing.\u00a0 And, of course, the inevitable claims of how Walden, Duffy and Angell fear debate??\u00a0 It just isn\u2019t true at all.\u00a0 But, riddle me this: what do you call candidates who have to have the questions in advance??\u00a0 Talk about fearing a debate!<\/p>\n

I predicted all of this more than a month ago, when the maneuvering began.\u00a0 If it walks like a scam and quacks like a scam, it\u2019s a scam.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Add to all this the fact that the rhetoric is becoming even more shameful.\u00a0 \u201cThree white guys?\u201d\u00a0 Seriously?\u00a0 And a letter sent to Republican primary voters claiming that those supporting Walden, Duffy and Angell are a bunch of Democrats?\u00a0 What\u2019s next, a letter to Democratic primary voters claiming the same folks are a bunch of Republicans?\u00a0 It\u2019s incredibly offensive and inappropriate on many levels, including the fact that Addison elections are non-partisan.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Addison\u2019s taxes have been on the rise since these folks took office, and they\u2019ve overspent the budget the last two years.\u00a0 Our tax rate has been mismanaged to the point that it was set above the rollback rate this year for the first time in our history.\u00a0 They ignored the overwhelming opposition to the Sam\u2019s redevelopment, instead adopting a pre-arranged, pre-scripted motion that was set in stone in advance of the public comments, and obviously without regard to those comments.\u00a0 After which, they voted $6.5 million to the project without any idea where it would come from.\u00a0 And are now disparaging the history of Addison, including prior management and staff who worked tirelessly for years to create the beauty you see around you.\u00a0 Issues, anyone?<\/p>\n

And, by the way, while all this is going on, Meier and his cadre continue to conceal from the public the 19-page memo written by Lea Dunn in January 2015 that will undoubtedly undermine the recycled, two-year-old claims of accountant Larry Kanter.\u00a0 That\u2019s the new brand of \u201ctransparency\u201d these folks have adopted.\u00a0 They provide one side of the story and hide the rest.\u00a0 What an outrage.<\/p>\n

Addison deserves honest dialog on these and so many other issues.<\/p>\n

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