Archive for the ‘Bedford Township Government’ Category

Newer Entries »

Thoughts on the Primary

Monday, August 11th, 2008

It has been roughly a week since the Primary election has passed and I just got around to printing off the unofficial results (I hate unofficial … I mean aren’t we all 99.9% sure the winners int he unofficial tally will still be the winner in the official tally, erg, I digress).

The biggest shocker was George Welling thumping Dennis Steinman in the Republican race for Clerk. We’ve all heard that the percentage tally was somewhere around 62% to 38% and a total of 450 votes. What came as more of a surprise is that Mr. Steinman only carried one precint, the 12th precint (which is where he resides and only by 6 votes). I think in my earlier post, An Open Letter to Dennis Steinman, I made my thoughts on the matter clear enough; these are thoughts I am sure are shared by more than a majority of Township residents.

Some other thoughts on the Republican side of the Primary:

  • Walt Wilburn ran unopposed for Supervisor and will do so again in November. I am largely okay with this as it seems to me that Mr. Wilburn has done an excellent job leading this Township; especially through the Steinman-Schockman debacle (of which has been determined to be a politically motivated attempted Crucifixion of Mr. Schockman). While the orange barrels have been quite annoying the improved roads are something I surely appreciate.
  • Sherri Meyer also ran unopposed for Treasurer and like Mr. Wilburn will also run unopposed in November. This I am not largely okay with. Ms. Meyer decided to join the fray in the Steinman-Schockman debacle on the side of Steinman and further joined in on the finger-pointing and partisan political blaming of one individual for all the problems going on in Bedford. Furthermore, Ms. Meyer, sat on information that was used in Mr. Steinman’s allegations for over 3 years before it was ever made public. If this doesn’t scream of politics I don’t know. While I appreciate Ms. Meyer’s years of service to this Township and everything she has done for us I feel like it is time for her to go; it’s unfortunate that this won’t be the year.
  • For the four spots up for the General Election in November for Trustee I don’t think there were any surprises in who moved on. In order of vote totals moving on to the November ballot are: Paul Francis, Rick Steiner, Nancy Tienvieri (former Township Clerk), and Tom Covrett. Arnold Jennings, a former Trustee himself, and political newcomer Aaron Wiens were left on the outside looking in.
  • At this moment in time I am supporting Paul Francis and Rick Steiner but am keeping a very close eye on Tom Covrett and what he says he will have to offer. I could see, if Mr. Covrett makes a compelling argument for his inclusion on the board, Mr. Steiner falling off my list and being replaced with Mr. Covrett.
  • I don’t think Aaron Weins has anything to hang his head about. A complete political newcomer whose ties to one of the Township’s least popular residents (see: Walmart, Whitman Ford land sale) probably hurt his stock in this election. Aaron found himself running against five individuals who gave serious name recognition in this Township and at age 26 he has a lot to look forward to.

On the Democrat side of the Primary there is far less to talk about. The Democrats offered no candidate for Supervisor or Treasurer (a big mistake), incumbent Clerk, Robert Schockman, ran unopposed for his third consecutive term (he’ll face off with George Welling in November), and with four sports available to make the ballot in November for Trustee only three individuals chose to run. My thoughts on the Democratic Primary:

  • Robert Schockman garnered a total of 1,528 votes and impressive figure for a couple of reasons – One, there were several individuals who chose to vote in the Republican primary to help George Welling knock off Dennis Steinman in their race for Clerk. Two, with nobody running against Mr. Schockman undoubtedly several individuals placed no vote at all.
  • A quick note on one of the aforementioned points. There was no organized movement by the Schockman campaign to convince their voters to switch to the Republican Primary and vote for George Welling. I can say this for one major reason … I work on the campaign (as a writer and volunteer) and this has never once been discussed. It was, however, discussed by many Schockman supporters not associated with the campaign. A very strong testament to the feelings towards Mr. Steinman’s political assault on Mr. Schokman.
  • For Trustee each of the candidates will move on to run in November and in order of their Primary results they are: Gail Hauser-Hurley, Larry O’Dell, and Jim Goebel. Goebel didn’t say much in the Primary race and my guess is that is largely due to the fact that he could conserve money for the General Election knowing he’d be moving on (I believe Ms. Hauser-Hurley and Mr. O’Dell also used this strategy but we know more about them as elected officials to date).
  • At present I am supporting Ms. Hauser-Hurley and Mr. Goebel for Trustee. Mr. O’Dell also joined in the political fray and I am of the frame of mind to eliminate those individuals from our board as soon as we can and that is November.

Ok, to recap my present endorsements (which are open to change as new information comes out from Trustee candidates … my other endorsements are set):

For Township Supervisor: Walt Wilburn

For Township Treasurer: any available write-in candidate

For Township Clerk: Robert Schockman

For Township Trustee: Paul Francis, Rick Steiner, Gail Hauser-Hurley, James Goebel (Tom Covrett is on the cusp of replacing Rick Steiner should he have some great ideas and an excellent vision).

So that pretty much sums up my thoughts on things as of this moment … care to share your thoughts Bedford?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Bedford Township Government, General Election, Primary Election | 4 Comments »

An Open Letter to Dennis Steinman

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

I posted this on the Bedford Now forum earlier this past week. Considering Mr. Steinman was very much a part of some serious controversy that occurred within our township’s government I feel that this forum entry would be an excellent piece to kick off this blog.

I have known Mr. Steinman and his family for a majority of my 29 years and I still have respect for him, his wife, and his children; they have all made considerable contributions to this community. Furthermore, Mr. Steinman’s 28 years of service as a Township Trustee deserves to be commended.

There were many aspects of the controversy that I struggled to accept; such as the vindictive nature in which things were brought about and the childish name calling and finger-pointing it led to during the township’s bi-weekly meetings.

I also didn’t care for statements that clearly came back not to be true. Such as that the allegations made were not politically motivated and that there was no intention of Mr. Steinman running for the Clerk’s position. A more recent assertion that Mr. Steinman made in regards to why he ran for Clerk clearly becomes much more difficult to accept at face value. Mr. Steinman and his supporters made it known that he took out two petitions one for Clerk and one for Trustee and allowed petition signers to decide which position he should run for. Considering the overwhelming support that George Welling received in last Tuesday’s primary it just now seems to be political talk … in other words, to say what you think people would like to hear. Or as we say at work, a CYA statement.

Without further interruption, here is the open letter to Dennis Steinman that I posted on the Bedford Now forum. Thanks for reading.

Dear Mr. Steinman,

First of all, please allow me a moment to thank you for your 28 years of service to this township. Your service and commitment to this township has been nothing short of commendable and for that, I am sure, many Bedford Township residents are thankful. The fact that your children, Doug and Tim, are also highly involved in giving back to the community is a testament to the dedication that you and Sue have shared for this township we call home.

But Denny, the residents of this township have spoken. I can appreciate being disappointed in a loss, especially a surprising loss; that is a lesson that I was helped in learning growing up playing baseball with Tim and throughout the rest of my youth. Sometimes losses are a hard pill to swallow.

It is time to hang up your hat and help the township move forward. You said to me yourself during a recent phone conversation that you knew you could not do this (be on the board/work for the township) forever and that eventually a new guard would have to seize control of the township.

You also told me you wouldn’t make this a negative campaign. I promised you I would hold you to that.

You have come out and made allegations I have seen others make here on this forum; allegations that show either no validity or no impropriety, or better yet, they show neither.

I have seen some say that they saw signs for Mr. Welling and Mr. Schockman in the same yard. My response was, “who cares.” Perhaps it was a split household. My neighbor had a sign for Tillman Crutchfield and Troy Goodnough in their yard and it never struck me as funny.

You also mention that you saw, or others saw, Mr. Welling and Mr. Schockman campaigning together in certain neighborhoods. You ought to know, after serving for 28 years, that this is certainly a possibility. You even mentioned that they were seen in the same car which I find to be both funny and absurd. I know for a fact that when Bob was campaigning in neighborhoods he was generally on his Segway.

You even mentioned that they spent many minutes together in Bob’s office weekly and you’ve reviewed security tapes to validate this. Again, what is the impropriety? Or, is this your measure of proving they were working together against you? Either way it sounds like sour grapes. There is no political or ethical violation in regards to this.

Now you’ve purposely and vindictively decided to go for the low blow and bring about Bob’s ‘illness’ as if health is to play some sort of role in this upcoming election. Should we have candidates sign a waiver at the time they submit their petitions that they guarantee they will be alive throughout their tenure should they be elected? It cannot be done by anyone. A very good friend of mine at work recently passed away unexpectedly at 53 years of age; the man was in perfect health. Bob’s health whether it be good, bad, or indifferent, is not and should not, be an issue in this election.

Finally, Denny, you’ve stated that this whole thing has wreaked of Detroit style politics and not Bedford Township politics. I think the book of Matthew, chapter 7 hits the nail on the head on this particular comment:

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Again, I want to thank you for your years of service to our community. I hope and pray that you will make the right choice in stepping away graciously and chose not to cast another black eye on this community; I am just one person, asking you respectfully, please.

Respectfully Yours,

Keith Godfrey

Tags: ,
Posted in Bedford Township Government | No Comments »

Newer Entries »