Show of Hands - TWDC Election 2009

Submitted by Jeff Schuler on Thu, 01/29/2009 - 22:26.
Show of Hands - TWDC Election 2009

going through the motions

guy 1, nope (by jeffschuler)
Guy Templeton Black

henry (by jeffschuler)
Henry Senyak

who are these people and why are they raising their hands?

Captions please. What happened?

TWDC Election Results Count

164 ballots cast.

President:

Tom Cook 95
Henry Senyak 15

Board:

Christopher Alvarado 122
Jason Beudert 65
Kathryn Bulava 103
Guy Templeton Black 38
Herb Crowther 67
Dean Malaker 97
Karen Gabriel Moss 84
Eric W. Russ 91
Susan Coy 98
Bac Nguyen 57

Quorum, interrupted

russo / harvey (by jeffschuler)
Tim Russo behind Adam Harvey

Tim was there, videoing much of the lengthy process. From his blog, TWDC meeting held in drama free, quorum free environment:

Only 149 or so members showed up. Which wasn’t enough for a quorum. The president of TWDC, Tom Cook, held a vote to carry on with the meeting without a quorum. Cook explained that if the meeting carried on without a quorum, a vote would be held anyway on the new board, the results would not be binding, but would be handed to the current board [...]

the one you feed

jc (by jeffschuler)

Councilman Cimperman told a story he'd read recently in the PD, a Cherokee fable quoted by Connie Schultz:

"One evening, a grandfather was teaching his young grandson about the internal battle that each person faces.

" 'There are two wolves struggling inside each of us,' the old man said.

" 'One wolf is vengefulness, anger, resentment, self-pity, fear. The other wolf is compassion, faithfulness, hope, truth, love.'

"The grandson sat, thinking, then asked: 'Which wolf wins, Grandfather?'

"His grandfather replied, 'The one you feed.' "

what?

he didnt say anything about grEEd?

Update Democracy Tremont Style

I have to admit TWDC was caught up in a true Catch 22 that no one was prepared for which means we do need real change.

I caught up with one of the counters in the parking lot. I guess there was another issue. Does one question why 164 ballots were cast? But only 110 tallied for the office of President? Unfortunately several on the ballots that had my name written in as a candidate were disqualified because the member did not color in the box next to where it said "Write in".  (Small fix for next year – clearer instructions printed on the ballot)

I did not ask how many, that would be unethical. This was an effort in democracy with me. I did not take this serious, nor did I lobby the crowd. I just wanted to see the looks on people’s faces, and who would put up the roadblock. That was the fight I was looking for.

I clearly do not fault Becca Riker for asking for clarification at all. I am actually glad she did, and we went forward, it sets a precedence, well at least until they change the by-laws, but I would guess now I am grandfathered in.

Tonight should hopefully lead to more block clubs sending ex-officio's to the Board of TWDC. And that an Ex-officio could be taken seriously just like any others.

I am too tired to comment on the defacto election overall. It was actually fun to participate but some candidates were really disenfranchised in the process.

The main issue is 164 people did show up and wanted to vote. The vote is moot, I bet you 155 of the people that voted tonight does not know or did not care about the election process, the by-laws, or the violation of equal protection. They just wanted to vote I don't blame them.

I really wonder if this will be challenged? The vote that is. I have no thoughts to do so. The Board come February has a serious and delicate issue to deal with.

Well enough let’s talk the positives.

A) Election Monitors

B) Actual printed minutes read and approved for the first time since I have been going.

C) Ballot Instructions, and direction from the Nominating Committee personnel. (This does need to be refined) I did request of several people to not make their ballots until the presiding officer called for the vote.

D) Announcing the actual vote count to the membership.

E) Allowing discussion and debate in new business without prejudice. (No new business could be transacted, but it could be referred to committee per Roberts Rules)

Glad TWDC rolled with my idea for Lt. Hogan and station #21 they deserved the standing ovation. (Do you guys have any footage of that? If you do post it. They are great guys.

Firefighters Footage

Here is the video, Henry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnF6-83cBoI

(sorry its not the best)

Lets hope TWDC keeps up the progessive changes - good work!

Twilight Zone

  From IMDB.com: Rod Serling's seminal anthology series focused on ordinary folks who suddenly found themselves in extraordinary, usually supernatural, situations. The stories would typically end with an ironic twist that would see the guilty punished.

I am sorry Jeff S...don't be fooled by Cimperman's little morality story...I am sick of these stories.   Maybe, he is too young to have seen Rod Serling's Eye of the Beholder episode, but there's some morality there for Mr. Cimperman.

oil and water

What are you sorry for, Laura?

Are you sick of stories, or are you sick of the storyteller?
Where's the morality in this one, and in what manner have I been fooled?

One way of being fooled is always search for more fuel for a fire that you say you're trying to put out.

Stories

  Joe Cimperman is a good story teller.  Some of his stories are true and a lot of them are dramatized and some are flat untrue.  JeffS, you and I need to spend some time together offline and you can make up your mind on the morality of his stories and my stories.  We are both capable of seeing the good and bad in a person.  I don't mean to imply that you  "are fooled," but as I related to someone else who attended last night's meeting--I have been around this block for a long time. Right now, I am tired of the bad in Joe Cimperman, but I don't discount his good achievements.

 On a related note. I wasn't there last night, but I understand that a moment of silence was observed for Rosemary Vinci.  We know she was implicated in a lot of the deals going on in this city.  I am not making this up.  This is not my story.  The Plain Dealer acknowledges this reality.

What do we really know of her convenient death?  We do know that her death destroys any ability to decipher the truth on the network of dirty political dealings in NEO.

Kudos

To all of you who made the TWDC process more transparent and accountable and thanks, especially, for this coverage.

(Mr. Russo--you stole my Twilight Zone line...I forgive you...since you are just a flamin' blogger like the rest of us here at RealNEO...and what's mine is yours..thanks for the excellent video coverage...am I being too filthy for you? :)

he's such a wit!

my comments to Mr. Russo's "unbiased" reporting (he IS trying to get into the Tremont political club, afterall):

Very witty, Tim, but you fail to mention that The Flame War Bloggers agitated to bring about major changes in this years election (as Flame War Blogger #2 posted):
A) Election Monitors

B) Actual printed minutes read and approved for the first time since I have been going.

C) Ballot Instructions, and direction from the Nominating Committee personnel. (This does need to be refined) I did request of several people to not make their ballots until the presiding officer called for the vote.

D) Announcing the actual vote count to the membership.

E) Allowing discussion and debate in new business without prejudice. (No new business could be transacted, but it could be referred to committee per Roberts Rules)

I dont know about you, but I think these are all essential qualities in a democratic election. None of these things had ever happened prior and every year there have been complaints.
You also failed to mention Flame War Bloggers #4 Kelto and #5 Stop the Hate who posted vicious personal attacks on line.... oh- but then we dont know WHO they actually are - do we - they hide behind their moniker.

Good journalism, Tim.

Dbra nope I am Flame War Blogger #1

Get your facts straight.

Ignore this guy, I am glad he wants to speak for Adam Harvey too.

Meeting facts as best as I seen it.

 Diversity.

9000 people live in Tremont per Chris Garland. Lets say 164 voting members attended. Lets say 10% of the 164 were business owners that operate in Tremont but do not live here.

So lets guess 150 residents showed up.  I will ask for a copy of the sign in sheets, its a public meeting.

Lets make a educated guess at this!

150 Residents out of 9000 Tremont Residents. (About 1.5%)

115 out of 5500 Ward 13 Tremont Residents (About 2%)

35 out of 4500 Ward 14 Tremont Residents (About .75%)

How many Hispanics did you see in the Room? I saw TWO. - One was running for the board, and one business owner.

How many African Americans did you see in the room? 10, 12 max? -- If TWDC did not coordinate CMHA to bus Scranton Castle Residents. Actually how many would have been there?

Do you really think TWDC, especially Christopher Garland wants real diversity?

1.5% lets call it what it is terrible.

Do not think the long time residents did not see snide board members laughing at them along with the other “beautiful people”. I had 12 people come up to me from at least four block club areas and said they will never again participate in the Annual meeting or TWDC process. Most long time residents. This is exactly what certain elitists wanted.

Let me point out I also felt the Tom Cook and Sandy Yambor did the best they could do under the circumstances.

When I canvassed the room I seen most of the votes cast not to have a non-conforming vote were from residents and stake holders that lived in Tremont for decades. What I seen was mostly all the people with tax abatements raise their hands to participate in a non-conforming election and as I predicted in a early post that most of the CMHA tenants voted along with the tax-abated residents.

Point again being made is the regular taxpayer has no say.

MR. RUSSO, I have the facts. You don't. You have no idea of the history.

My Hispanic neighbors have a word for these people “Gringos”

Why don't you investigate HUD Tax funding benefiting the rich people and certain developers in Tremont?.

You should run for council in Ward 14, Speaking of getting flamed. I would leave you in the dust. The Real people that live in Ward 14 do not have the animosity that you and your newfound friends in Tremont have for me, they know my track record of activism.

I would like to see some of the people that attended last nights meeting actually do something than instead of lifting pints of their favorite swill.

TWDC does not tell you what I have done in this community. So I put my time and money where my mouth is.

Ask about the streetlight-canvassing project I did to report over 370 defective streetlights in all of Tremont. Or who really lead the Station #21 fight – Who was the media lightning rod.-  Neighborhood Cleanups. Drug dealers,  ETC.

So before you want to take me on, you have to ask one question.

You know a couple reporter associates of mine went and talked with another Russo, and some guy named Dimora.

Then the Feds went to talk with them too. The Feds went to talk with some Council people too.

Why was their two IRS agents at the TWDC meeting last night?You sat right by them, did you talk with them?

Sometime the poor people win too. I am glad you want to be with the beautiful people, did you go and drink with the rest of them after that perverted democracy we seen last night?

You talked with people you wanted to flame, this makes you a hypocrite.
 

you rest my case, Senyak.

you and your sycophants spend weeks harassing people on this blog, complaining about the process, making threats.

then you turn up at a meeting with no quorum, and happily participate in business that isn't even official, have your sycophants nominate you to stand for this unofficial election.

then you lose.  big.

then you even introduce "new business" at the end which is also unofficial and thus unrecognized.

then you come back here and start complaining how the lack of a quorum calls the whole thing into question, how TWDC is unrepresentative of the population, how every single thing about the process is somehow tainted because you lost.

this is what's known as phony.  if you somehow magically won, i'm sure you'd have a different view of the process. 

but you can't win, because frankly, your poisoning of this process is one of the biggest factors keeping people away from the meeting.  why should people come to see your circus?  it's completely inauthentic - the least you could do is live up to your big mouth and refuse to take part in a process so "compromised" and "unrepresentative." 

if you're gonna run a circus, why don't you guys at least do a trapeeze act?  maybe throw some balls in the air with your noses.  do some card tricks.  at least people will be entertained.  

instead, you make a mockery of the whole thing.  that's not entertaining.  it's just phony.  thanks for making my point for me.  utterly predictable.

TIM Russo

Edit

You are not worth my tim good by.

Mine either.

Mine either.