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November 9, 2005

Ward 6 appointment

Congratulations Ward 6 residents - you finally have the representation you have been longing for.

I'm Kory Dodd the N&R High Point Bureau's new city council and courts reporter. In the last few weeks I've seen many residents complain about decisions being made by the council in your ward despite the lack of a ward representative.

After Owen Strickland resigned in July the council said they would not appoint anyone to fill the Ward 6 seat.

But with Lisa Stahlmann's election to the Ward 6 seat by a clear majority, Mayor Becky Smothers said Tuesday night that the city council will appoint her to finish the term.

I just received notice that the city council will appoint Stahlmann to the Ward 6 seat at 9 a.m. Thursday (Nov. 10) morning.

Do you think that's a good idea or is it too little too late? If appointed, Stahlmann would only attend two city council meetings before the term ends (that includes the meeting in which she is sworn in). Any other comments?

Posted by at November 9, 2005 2:26 PM

Comments

I think it will be a good thing for Mrs. Stahlmann to get sworn in and start proving herself. By proving herself I mean separate herself from the status quo and demonstrate that she is not a Becky Smothers clone. I believe that is a fair statement to make since her campaign signs were identical to the Mayor's and placed in every location that the Mayor's were.

I hope Mrs. Stahlmann makes it clear to everyone that Ward 6 is not around just for the tax base and to pay the freight for other areas of the city.

No doubt she can move her head in a bobblehead type motion very well. Now let's see what kind of concrete thoughts come out of her mouth for the benefit of her constituents. I hope it is not a long 3 years.

Posted by: Buckmtn at November 9, 2005 4:58 PM

Buck, are you talking about her term in office when you say you hope it's not a long 3 years? Her term is only two years, but I wasn't sure if you meant something else.

I barely know Ms. Stahlmann, but it wouldn't surprise me if it took her a bit to find her voice on the council. I've covered a handful of town/city councils, school boards, and municipal boards over the last five years. From my experience, it is a rare politician who comes in and has an immediate effect. I have seen it happen though. Most rookie politicos need some time to get their bearings.

Posted by: Jonathan Jones at November 10, 2005 5:26 PM

Jonathan, that must have been a typo on the years sorry about that. I think I see a typo or 2 per page in the N&R every day.

I understand about needing to get your feet wet, but I don't believe she ran on a platform of getting her feet wet first and doing things later. I believe she stated she had a great deal of experience, so let's see her in action. Your paper certainly endorsed her for her experience.

Posted by: Buckmtn at November 10, 2005 9:17 PM

Buck,
Johnathon is now telling the truth thats all. Thats real politics. Lies from the politician and their supporters (N&R) before then reality after voted in.
There is a saying in England that we have that often seems to be the truth.
"In the end it doesnt matter who you vote for the goverment always gets in".

Posted by: reassigned at November 11, 2005 10:38 AM

Reassigned, the N&R editorial board didn't "lie" in its endorsement of Lisa Stahlmann. The board interviewed all the candidates and chose the one it thought would do the best job - just like the voters did. And like the voters, the board has no way of predicting the future. They can only have faith in their candidate and hope they made the best decision based on the facts presented to them and their own beliefs.

You may not necessarily agree with the board's endorsement and that's fine. Each voter has to decide for his or her self who he/she thinks the best candidate is - that's the beauty of voting.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion - even the people you disagree with.

Posted by: Kory Dodd at November 11, 2005 11:05 AM

Mr.Dodd, I dont think you understand the point here.

Buck's comment was that the N&R endorsed her for experience. Johnathon (N&R reporter) now says she will have to get her feet wet before she does anything.
The fact is that we in NHP will get nothing from her.
Business as usual. No represenation on the School board.No represenation on the local council.

**This comment was edited for content - even if you put asterisks between letters of a foul word we still cannot post it. Sorry.

Posted by: reassigned at November 11, 2005 11:12 AM

Reassigned, the editorial board endorsed her for overall experience with the city and in politics. But neither candidate had any experience on the city council.

Jonathan made his comment because the actions of the city council are complicated and she will probably have some catching up to do because the council gets information on items that come before them that the average citizen does not.

Even the most accomplished politico will take a couple of weeks to get accustomed to how things work when he/she is elected to a position he/she hasn't held before.

Because Lisa Stahlmann has been involved with the city council and other city boards before, the editorial board probably felt she would adjust quickly.

I don't know why you think this would mean nothing will change for North High Point. The fact that Ward 6 actually has representation is a change. Ward 6 residents now have someone they can go to with comments/complaints/suggestions on the city council's actions in their ward.

Also, the city council cannot help you with issues you have with the school board. They don't really have control over the school board - it's a county entity that is elected. If you have issues with the school board, by all means notify them and, if you are still unsatisfied, when they are up for re-election vote against them.

Now I think we've strayed from my original question a bit - the question was if Stahlmann's appointment to the council with less than a month until the end of its term too little too late for Ward 6.

And by the way - I'm a woman.

Posted by: Kory Dodd at November 11, 2005 11:41 AM

Ms. Dodd, to answer your question, yes it is too late for Ward 6. However, I suppose it is nice for someone or something to occupy the Ward 6 chair at the meetings. Other suitable representatives for this temporary appointment can be found over on SW School Road. They include:

1. an inflatable turkey that is 8 feet tall.
2. a Pumpkin headed-figure dressed like a child.
3. a Barbie doll holding a sign for a High Point
banker to quit trespassing.

Now I realize this is harsh. Why do I say it, because no one from the City of High Point attended the county-wide education forum yesterday that included representation for the City of Greensboro, County Board of Commissioners, and apparently even the Mayor of Summerfield. You can ask your education reporter in order to confirm this fact.

That would lead one to conclude that no one sitting on the HP Council has any interest in the education of the children in the City of High Point. While I'll bet you the ink is barely dry on some of the ads in your paper and the HPE where both Mrs. Smothers and Mrs. Stallhman expressed at least an interest in the education of these children. I guess its OK to talk out of one side of your mouth when you need a vote and the other side of your mouth once you are elected.

I realize there is a difference between the BOE and city council, but if other branches of local government have members that demonstrate initiative, why not in High Point???

Too much going on at the String & Splinter?

Or trying to decide what to do with those soon to be vacant buildings over at Main & Commerce???

Posted by: Buckmtn at November 11, 2005 2:05 PM

Kory Dodd stated in her last post and I quote “I don't know why you think this would mean nothing will change for North High Point. The fact that Ward 6 actually has representation is a change. Ward 6 residents now have someone they can go to with comments/complaints/suggestions on the city council's actions in their ward.
Also, the city council cannot help you with issues you have with the school board. They don't really have control over the school board - it's a county entity that is elected. If you have issues with the school board, by all means notify them and, if you are still unsatisfied, when they are up for re-election vote against them.”
Ms Dodd this is where you are wrong the city may not have complete control over the school board but council needs to get involved with the school issues that concern the city of high point, and must take a stand on the issues that are dividing schools, parents and the children in our city and ward 6. Becky and Lisa both campaigned to help resolve school issues in high point, I then ask why no one showed up to represent the city or ward 6, when 3 Greensboro council, and 4 commissioners and even the mayor from Summerfield showed up.
Sounds like the same old song just a new band member.

Posted by: Tim Brown at November 11, 2005 5:14 PM

Well said Tim.
This standard answer "we have no power over the school board" is a cop out.

As City council you have to be involved in all things that affect your people.

I will write to Becky and Lisa to ask where they were.
We all should do that!

Posted by: reassigned at November 11, 2005 6:02 PM

And let's not forget that Councilwoman Benita Sims spoke up load and clear at the Penn-Griffin forum about SCHOOL ISSUES! Don't give me that BS that they can't take a stand!

Posted by: w at November 11, 2005 11:15 PM

First of all how many reporters does Kory make who had this blog sight?

City Council and the mayor certainly don't have "direct" control over the school board. They are CITIZENS like every one else. They pay taxes that go to the schools. They can certainly get involved, speak up and have influence as other local governing bodies chose to do so. They could certainly have an opinion.

They sure had an opinion about:

the schools'(by law) red light money
wanting back Simeon Stadium to "take care of" it for the schools
B. Sims speaking up loud and clear at the P-G forum
someone said the city council supports the mayor
so the mayor must support what B. Sims said at P-G

The IT plan divides the city. IT has caused people to boycott downtown High Point. Therefore, this is one major school issue that does effect the city.

So you say they have no influence?

They choose not to stick their political necks out. Why? The city leaders heard the sales pitch by the traveling road show and they bought it. They believe in it. Only the whitest and the brightest for Central.

Well citizens have influence too. Many are using their influence to support the market in Vegas.

Since the city does not support the parents' interest, why should the parents' support the city's interests?

Posted by: Sue Ellen at November 14, 2005 8:16 AM

There's a few things I'm going to take a stab at here and some of them go back up to the top of the discussion.

Sue Ellen, I'm still the reporter charged with maintaining this blog. So to answer your question there have been two. But just like when Justin was keeping track of things in here and Eric Swensen and Amy Dominello would contribute when there was overlap with their beats, Kory, who is our new High Point city reporter (replacing Eric who moved to the Greensboro city beat), will contribute when she's covering things relevant to north High Point. I was out of town Friday, which is why I missed most of this discussion.

Buck, I wasn't trying to nitpick so I hope it didn't come across that way. I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. I certainly know typos and other stupid mistakes make it into the paper. When it's my fault, I'm the one who has to write the correction, and believe me that's a task no reporter enjoys.

On my earlier comment about new politicians getting acclimated, I was speaking in general terms about what I would realistically expect from a rookie council member. I would've made the same statement about Tim Brown, whom I'm glad is reading the blog and hope doesn't take offense. Likewise, it wouldn't surprise me if it takes Michael Pugh a bit of time to find his voice on the council. But if I were a Ward 6 resident -- I live in Ward 5 -- I'm sure I would want my representative to jump in right away and get work done. I guess we'll see whether that happens over the next few months.

Posted by: Jonathan Jones at November 14, 2005 9:56 AM

I think people are getting a bit excited and misinterpreting me. Of course the city council can voice their opinion on school issues and try to influence the school board. I wasn't saying they couldn't. In answer to an earlier comment about a Ward 6 council member and representation on the school board, I wanted to clarify that the city council cannot appoint anyone to the board. And that the city council does not have direct control over school board policies. Of course the city council could try to influence the board.

Posted by: Kory Dodd at November 14, 2005 10:50 AM