{"id":1779,"date":"2018-03-16T20:05:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-17T01:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1779"},"modified":"2018-03-16T20:05:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T01:05:33","slug":"no-matter-how-you-spin-it-we-still-have-to-wait-to-hear-the-terms-of","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1779","title":{"rendered":"No Matter How You Spin It We Still Have to Wait to Hear the Terms Of"},"content":{"rendered":"

No Matter How You Spin It<\/strong>
\nWe Still Have to Wait to Hear the Terms Of<\/strong>
\nThe Wind Turbine Lawsuit Settlement<\/strong>
\nBy Susan M. Halpern<\/strong>
\nFormer Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As I predicted, those who would divide us continue to beat the wind turbine lawsuit drum, desperately searching for some way to spin the settlement into negative dialog, always with the goal of attacking the current council.\u00a0 Remember, these folks view every issue through their \u201cus-versus-them\u201d glasses, and that colors everything they say.\u00a0 In their view, if it isn\u2019t their idea, then it must be a bad idea.\u00a0 If it isn\u2019t their solution, then it must be a bad solution.\u00a0 Anyone who isn\u2019t them is awful.\u00a0 No matter what the subject is, if it\u2019s not them, it\u2019s bad and they attack it.<\/p>\n

And so, every year during election season, they invent an issue in an effort to manipulate and influence potential voters.\u00a0 I\u2019ve written about the formula.\u00a0 It typically involves misrepresentations and half-truths, attacks on present and prior staff, and always the suggestion that only the negative dividers can save Addison.\u00a0 Then they seek bad publicity for Addison.\u00a0 Then they argue that the bad publicity that they drummed up must mean that the issue is important.\u00a0 Or maybe that they somehow must be right.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 It\u2019s all circular and it\u2019s all nonsense.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, they claimed that Addison\u2019s financial records were inadequate.\u00a0 But, when City Manager Lea Dunn wrote a memo refuting these claims, they suppressed it and hid it from the public. When we finally got the memo after the election, we established that (a) they had no right to withhold it, and (b) its contents unquestionably exposed their campaign of lies, confirming that they had hidden the memo in order to run that campaign of lies.\u00a0 In other words, everything government isn\u2019t supposed to do.\u00a0 We also discovered that literally the day before issuing his report about Addison\u2019s financials, the ex-mayor\u2019s hand-picked shill accountant was on the phone with the ex-mayor, discussing the contents of his report.\u00a0 Sound objective to you?\u00a0 Knowing that, how could anyone have been surprised that the same accountant obediently trashed former staff and management at a council meeting.\u00a0 His work was a political hit, all paid for with our tax dollars.<\/p>\n

Last year, the faux issue was term limits.\u00a0 We saw our email list used by the ex-mayor to try to convince voters that Mayor Joe Chow and Councilmember Tom Braun might be ineligible.\u00a0 The premise of the argument was utterly false.\u00a0 Indeed, it should not surprise you that in discussing this issue, the ex-mayor omitted (a) the critical language of the term limit ballot proposition that left no doubt about what was meant, and (b) the fact that Addison\u2019s attorney had opined that both Mayor Chow and Councilmember Braun were clearly eligible to serve on the council.\u00a0 Those facts mattered a lot, but they were withheld.\u00a0 That\u2019s how these folks work.<\/p>\n

And so it is with the wind turbine lawsuit.\u00a0 Once again, the negative spinners are trying to foment some controversy so as to attack the current council.\u00a0 And again, it is half-truths and misrepresentations.\u00a0 Remember, these are the folks who claimed that the judge was peeved because the council wasn\u2019t at the summary judgment hearing.\u00a0 It was utterly false, and they were corrected by City Manager Wes Pierson who was present at the hearing.\u00a0 Honestly, these folks will say anything.\u00a0 And I, for one, will continue to challenge them.<\/p>\n

So, on the settlement issue, there is no secrecy.\u00a0 No one is hiding anything.\u00a0 This is a council that inherited a lawsuit filed by the prior administration.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t choose the claims.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t choose the strategy.\u00a0 They simply managed it as best they could, and we will soon find out how well they did in settling it.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I hope the candidates will focus on how Addison will continue moving forward.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n