(Op-ed by Peter Children)
I see on this site where Jay Urdahl and Bookmeyer have hooked up, joined forces in order to find someone to run against Max Weaver in the Third Ward. It seems much like Latham in the First Ward, they are worried Weaver might just walk in and take a seat. So…in this case, what is good for the Goose is not necessarily good for the Gander.
There are issues at play here that I find perplexing; The first is why is Urdahl at play here, this is a guy who does nothing if it does not benefit himself. And secondly, this is a guy who does nothing if it does not benefit himself. Why is he involving himself in city politics? Is it because he wants to see Weaver defeated, what does he have against Weaver? And thirdly, if there is dislike between the two of them, Bookmeyer and himself, and this issue has surpassed whatever dislike that may or may not exist between them, then this supposed alliance could prove to be dangerous for Urdahl. He could find himself in an untenable position very quickly. He could find himself in over his head before he even knows he is in the water.
Bookmeyer is Bookmeyer, he is what he is, and thanks to North Iowa Today, and not the Globe-Gazette, the entirety of this city also knows what he is. He’ll serve the remainder of his term then fade away onto some barstool. After this term a cocker spaniel could beat him. I like to think he got in at night while the city was asleep. Truthfully the mayor would love it if Latham could just walk in and sit in Marsters’ chair, but he doesn’t want the same thing to happen for Weaver in the Third Ward. As for Urdahl, well that’s another story.
It has been said that Urdahl has served the county for nearly 25 years, that is the first astonishment in this veil of tears. Is he the Chuck Grassley of country supervisors? Looks like it.
I read body language, and in my business it is imperative to know how that works. I have sold product for close to fifty years. I have sat across the desk from buyers in some of the largest corporations in this country where I set up my dog & pony show. I could tell you in less than a minute if I was going to make a sale, just by the body language I was witnessing. If the buyer sat close to the edge of the seat it meant he was ready to get up, and I knew then my time was short. If he looked at this watch, or glanced up at a wall clock, my time was running out fast. If they squirmed in their chair and seemed uncomfortable it meant they did not want to be there. If they started to look around the room it meant they were not interested in what I had to say. But if the buyer sat further back in the chair, it meant he intended to stay where he was for awhile, that he was comfortable and intended to listen. Both feet on the floor meant he was serious about what was going on around him.
Now pull up a clip of a supervisor’s meeting and watch it closely. look at the clip showing the Board of Supervisors meeting; watch Urdahl and draw your own conclusion. Don’t just watch Urdhal, watch him in comparison to the other two supervisors who both are sitting there calmly. Urdahl looks like an addict suffering withdraw, he is screaming inside to get out from under the camera. It is only because of NorthIowaToday.com that these meetings are being brought to the attention of the general public….and take it from me, they do not like it. I am not implying that any of these people are misbehaving it is just because they operated in the dark for so long, now that the camera is pointed at them, you will see one of them is extremely uncomfortable. It has been said and witnessed as well that Urdahl is very close to John Skipper; this if true it gives Urdahl immunity from criticism in the Globe because Skipper is the gate keeper.
Can you imagine walking into a job that pays $124.00 a day, seven days a week, 365, days a year plus benefits and mileage and no one opposes you? Bookmeyer and Urdhal might or might not find someone to run in the third ward, but we already have a young farmer with his eye on Urdahl’s seat, in fact more than one is looking at it. One of these guys farms 650 acres with his father on land that is all paid for and they are running $750,000.00 worth of equipment over the land. Money is not a problem with these people and their spread is in Cerro Gordo County. He feels he has a better relationship with people in the county than someone who just loads trucks.
I was talking to Max Weaver and asked him to comment on this article; his only focus regarding Urdhal was to look at the North Iowa Fair grounds. He said it is under the auspices of Urdhal and it looks like a pig sty, all the buildings are run down, they could not pay their water bill, they have had bad management along with a number of other things. The Board of Supervisors puts all the blame on the Fair Board; instead of seeking a solution and working in a positive direction, one blames the other. The County owns the land, if they wanted to move that train wreck off that corner they could. Don’t forget they sold the land to Target, and they could sell that corner as well and with the proceeds build a better place and at the same time create jobs and tax revenue for both the county and the city.
As a resident, I am totally embarrassed by what is being offered as a Fair to the people of North Iowa. Small towns around us put on better Fairs than what is offered to us who live here. A progressive Supervisor would take action, do something besides pick up your check and squirm in your chair. Make it an issue, get one of those books that says; How to be a supervisor for dummies. This dog won’t hunt anymore.
Peter Children
