These are dark days for Mason City; the announcement by Jeff Marsters declaring that he will not seek reelection is devastating for this community.
In previous articles I have warned about keeping the three seats that protect your tax dollars at the table; now there will be the need to find a suitable candidate with Marsters values that is willing to step up, this is not going to be easy. I have no idea who lives in Marsters ward, however there is still time…but not that much time.
It’s no secret that Bookmeyer is trying to load the council table to further his wants and needs ….but the one thing this bar rag has overlooked is the fact that the council table belongs to the citizens of Mason City as does the real estate it sits on. As an example; when Bookmeyer had Sandy Servantez removed from the podium by a police officer the citizens of this city were outraged and horrified. The fact that she was denied even a simple interview in front of His Holiness was considered a slap in the face of one of our citizens whose only intent was to continue serving (without pay) for the HR department. How much would it cost to have her sit in front of him for fifteen or twenty minutes that it might have taken to conduct an interview? It would have cost nothing. It was about power, it was done to show others who was in charge….and it was a major mistake on his part. The fact that this hard working housewife was mistreated; who had already served two years as a friend of the HR department without compensation, was only wanting to extent her willingness to serve without pay on the commission itself. The people of this city will not forget that. This girl has gained a lot of empathy in this community and one day she’ll cash that check and the citizens here will honor it.
There are some giant egos at work here, the need to “do it my way” by Bookmeyer. The unbelievable arrogance of Solberg, her desire to shut down the Hispanic church; what if someone wanted to close her church? I get the feeling she’s worried that some unseen person might revel to her constituents that she is inept. Turncoat lives in a world of make believe, he is alone in his mind thinking he’s the smartest person at that table. I have to take anti-nauseous pills before I watch him. Travis Hickey is proof of the old adage; “You get just what you paid for,” and they didn’t pay much.
There are legal avenues that could be pursued should the council attempt to circumvent a public referendum. Those attempting to turn on the smoke machine to circumvent a public vote could be charged with malfeasance. This equates to wrongful action by public officals. The only person immune from prosecution is the Country Attorney….all others can be charged, including council members and all other city personnel regardless of rank and title. If that were to happen this city would become a national spectacle much like the city in California where the city official’s paid themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you feel there is even a whisper of impropriety involving the formation of the Multi-Purpose Center, even the slightest fraction of a doubt, then there is the State’s Attorney General’s office in Des Moines that deals with these issues on a daily basis.
We The People…..is the way the Declaration of Independence begins, it doesn’t start as We The Council…… As citizens you have tremendous power the most important of course is the vote, the vote giveth and the vote taketh away. Next are the courts, whatever you do, never forget this; never put stock in any legal ruling emanating from City Hall no matter what it is, never ever, you’d have a better chance of justice coming from a third world country than at 10 First Street Northwest.
Politics are somewhat of an anomaly, the recent debt ceiling fight in Washington proved that. For the most part we have two political parties, Republican and Democrat; we vote for one or the other to go to the nation’s capital to represent the best interests of our state, and to consider at all times what is best for us back home. Does it always happen? No it does not. Our representatives join in with others to try and force measures through that could cause harm to a large part of our state’s citizens, both young and old. Some try and enact measures that could drastically cut social services, federal insurance, pell grants and the list goes on. Why do you think Delta is pulling out of here? It’s because of federal subsidy cuts; Grassley voted for that, but he did not touch farm subsidies because he’s a farmer. He took two million from big insurance, then voted against a drug plan, and voted to cut Medicare….he has his own plan offered by the U.S. Senate which of course your tax dollars are paying for. He got on national media and said they were going to pull the plug on grandma….that’s what two million gets you, a U.S. Senator…our Senator.
While there are no major corporations handing out big money here in North Iowa there are nevertheless agendas that are being formulated that are based upon the intent to profit personally. There are also the egomaniacs to deal with, who, like our representatives in Washington , will completely disregard the wishes of the constituents once they sit at that table. Be diligent, be patient, be careful before you decide just who will respect your wishes. I am certain, given the chance to do it over right now, Solberg, Turncoat and Hickey would be home watching these meetings on their television set. Have any of those ever held an open form like Marsters and Nelson frequently did? The answer is no; the reason is because they care little what you might want to say.
Peter Children|