{"id":1774,"date":"2018-03-16T20:01:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-17T01:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1774"},"modified":"2018-03-16T20:01:54","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T01:01:54","slug":"1774-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1774","title":{"rendered":"Advancing Addison\u2019s Agenda Requires Positive Thinking\u2026 And Campaigning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advancing Addison\u2019s Agenda<\/strong>
\nRequires Positive Thinking\u2026 And Campaigning<\/strong>
\nBy Susan M. Halpern<\/strong>
\nFormer Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Addison has made great strides during the past year.\u00a0 Mayor Chow and the council have embraced the democratic process, and have worked hard to restore law, order, integrity, transparency and accountability.\u00a0 We have seen a council hard at work, conducting meetings that are about deliberation and decisions, not theatrics and gamesmanship.\u00a0 The days of councilmembers \u201cacting\u201d are behind us, as we watch seven people determined to do what is best for Addison.<\/p>\n

There is still much to do, and Mayor Chow is leading the council in the right direction.\u00a0 Addison must restore its reputation for being a great place in which to live, work, play and conduct business.<\/p>\n

One of the most important accomplishments of the current council has been to address Addison\u2019s long-neglected employee compensation problem. The prior administration neglected this issue, and essentially declared war on Addison\u2019s staff. \u00a0The results were predictable: Addison lost all but two department heads, seated four city managers in a span of just three or four years, faced critical staffing shortages in the police and fire departments (with no lists, and few applicants for testing), and lost countless other employees who fled the toxic atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The cost of such attrition is high.\u00a0 For police and fire personnel, Addison was quickly becoming an academy of sorts, paying for extensive training for new hires ($70,000 or so per person), only to lose them after 2 or 3 years to other municipalities that offered more lucrative compensation packages. And that\u2019s before you get to the impact of having literally hundreds of years of experience and institutional history walk out the door.\u00a0 The council\u2019s courage to address this issue after so long is laudable and, most importantly, it is in Addison\u2019s best interests as we move forward.<\/p>\n

The past year has also seen a return of true decorum to council meetings.\u00a0 Genuine decorum.\u00a0 Heartfelt respect.\u00a0 Honest deliberations.\u00a0 Make no mistake about it, developers and potential residents and tourists watch such things.\u00a0 Now, with no member of the council manipulating the process to force his agenda on the others, we have finally returned to a seven-member council that embraces the deliberative process.\u00a0 And, while the current council adopted rules designed to prevent some of the shenanigans and problems created by the prior administration, there has been little need for regulation of meetings.\u00a0 This council has just gotten its business done.\u00a0 Quietly, humbly, efficiently.\u00a0 How refreshing it has been.\u00a0 Bravo!<\/p>\n

And yet, we continue to hear negativity from those who would divide us.\u00a0 They attack and misinform, always targeting the current council and prior staff, most notably former City Manager Ron Whitehead, who tirelessly served our community for 32 years. \u00a0Never has it been more evident than in their decision to make the wind turbine lawsuit the faux issue of this election.\u00a0 I\u2019ve written about their formulaic approach to campaigns: create an issue, attack prior management and staff, seek bad publicity for Addison, etc etc.\u00a0 And of course, the attacks of these negative folks often target the current council, no matter what they do.\u00a0 It\u2019s a shame, and it doesn\u2019t help Addison.<\/p>\n

Never has the formulaic strategy of negativity been more evident than in the weeks since the council announced that an agreement in principle had been reached regarding the wind turbine lawsuit.\u00a0 The prospect of a satisfactory resolution of this situation sent the negative folks reeling and, of course, attacking.\u00a0 Even when they don\u2019t know the terms of the settlement.\u00a0 Even as the lawyers are preparing the documents.\u00a0 Even when councilmembers and City Manager Wes Pierson publicly confirm that the terms of the settlement will be announced once the documents are finalized.\u00a0 No, the negative folks always find something negative to say.\u00a0 After all, whatever the resolution of this lawsuit is, it\u2019s not their solution.\u00a0 And if it\u2019s not their solution, they attack it, by way of claiming that only they can get it right.\u00a0 No matter what the facts are or aren\u2019t, and even when the terms of the settlement are unknown.<\/p>\n

But these tactics have an important silver lining, because they really expose the \u201cattack-the-council-no-matter-what-they-do\u201d strategy.\u00a0 In turn, that allows all of us to see it for what it is and, even more importantly, to see the negative dividers for who they are.\u00a0 And that\u2019s important as we watch Addison move forward and away from negativity, into a bright and united future.<\/p>\n

And that brings me to the current election season.\u00a0 It will be interesting and enlightening, particularly regarding issues of negativity.\u00a0 Councilmember Paul Walden has committed to running a positive campaign, focused on Addison\u2019s future, and I hear that he has challenged other candidates to do the same.\u00a0 Will the negative folks comply?\u00a0 Or will we see a repeat of last year\u2019s horrible ugliness?<\/p>\n

We can impact it.\u00a0 We can demand positivity from candidates.\u00a0 We can insist that candidates focus on Addison\u2019s future, and how we move forward.\u00a0 If candidates go negative, we can ask them how that negativity helps Addison.\u00a0 Indeed, we should ask candidates pursuing negativity:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Will they approach council service in a similarly negative way?<\/li>\n
  • How will their negativity impact their ability to deliberate with other members of the council, if they are elected?<\/li>\n
  • Will they seek negative publicity for Addison, as its ex-mayor did in prior years when he apparently perceived it would help his personal interests?<\/li>\n
  • How has attacking the current council\u2019s resolution of the wind turbine lawsuit helped Addison?<\/li>\n
  • How have all the attacks on prior management encouraged Addison\u2019s employees to be creative and innovative, a trademark of the Addison I was a part of during my seven-year tenure on council?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The fact is that Addison enjoys a rich history of innovation and good governance.\u00a0 Addison should celebrate it and be grateful for all the employees and councilmembers who contributed to making Addison what it will become under good leadership.<\/p>\n

    And we must never forget that being on the council is about governance, and about being a POSITIVE contributor to a seven-member deliberative body.\u00a0 Service on the council must be selfless; negativity is selfish and incompatible with the requirements of the job.\u00a0 So, join me in demanding positivity during this election season.\u00a0 Reject negativity.\u00a0 Let\u2019s keep Addison moving forward.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n