'Bunker mentality': Galvin decries tone in issues debate
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Former mayor Kay Slaughter introduces Council candidate Kathy Galvin, joined by supporters Jason Halbert, School Board members Ned Michie and Guian McKee (hidden), and former mayor Blake Caravati.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE -
Stratton Salidis disagrees that further debate about the water plan and Meadowcreek Parkway is a distraction.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE -
Kathy Galvin elaborates on the "bunker mentality" of citizens who focus on a single issue, such as water.PHOTO BY LISA PROVENCE
Two former mayors joined City Council candidate Kathy Galvin at a press conference where she expressed concerns about the "tone of our local political debate" as the Democratic firehouse primary approaches that will likely determine who sits on Council.
"I fear we’ve come to a low point in our local discourse that sadly mirrors the rancorous rhetoric and paralysis evident at the federal level in DC," Galvin said August 1 on the Downtown Mall. "Some have unfortunately adopted a bunker mentality about a particular issue or issues, and espouse a 'my way or the highway' approach to politics and decision-making.
"This isn’t good for the Democratic Party and it isn’t good for Charlottesville," said Galvin. "We must change."
When asked about the "bunker mentality," Galvin pointed to the community water plan that pits dammers against dredgers. Galvin supports building a new dam, and building the Meadowcreek Parkway, another controversial local issue.
"We've already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on studies," she said. Meanwhile housing, jobs, public transportation and schools are other local issues that Galvin says need to be addressed.
"Our local politics should not tolerate bitter factionalism, pit neighbor against neighbor, neighborhood against neighborhood, and city against county," said Galvin.
The candidates in the August 20 Democratic firehouse primary have aligned over the water issue. Galvin, Paul Beyer, and incumbent Satyendra Huja favor the approved dam/pipeline plan; candidates Colette Blount, Brevy Cannon, James Halfaday, and Dede Smith favor dredging, as do at least four of the five independent candidates.
Former mayors Kay Slaughter and Blake Caravati showed up in support of Galvin. She also claimed the endorsement of former mayors Charles Barbour and Virginia Daugherty; former fire chief and councilor Julian Taliaferro, who has also endorsed candidate Halfaday and was unable to attend because of a heart attack; School Board members Ned Michie and Guian McKee; environmental activist Jason Halbert, and former school board member Peggy Van Yahres.
Not everyone at the press conference was a Galvin supporter. Transportation activist Stratton Salidis carried a couple of signs with messages such as, "Pumping the water uphill is smarter," a sarcastic commentary on the nine-mile pipeline that would be needed with a new dam to fill the increased capacity of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir.
“The point of this event is to portray the people trying to save McIntire Park and Ragged Mountain as distracting Council from other issues, but this assumes the parkway and big dam have been honestly discussed and agreed to, and this is far from the truth," says Salidis, a Blount and Smith supporter.
"I wanted to point out the discrepancy of saying you're green and spending tens of millions of dollars on unnecessary roads and a dam, which could go to meet real human needs," Salidis says.
The firehouse primary will be held Saturday, August 20, from 9am to 7pm at Burley Middle School. Voters who will be out of town on August 20 have two absentee balloting dates: from 5:30 to 8:30pm Tuesday, August 9, and Thursday, August 18, at the Independence Resource Center on Cherry Avenue.
50 comments
Some of the most divisive comments I've seen here and at C-ville news have been from some very strident Galvin supporters, one in particular. Maybe she needs to talk directly to them and lay of the press conferences.
After what Jason Halbert did to destroy a very important bit of the region's history by pushing for the removal of the Woolen Mills dam, I'm surprised to see that anyone would want to be publicly associated with him, especially at a press conference critical of a my-way-or-the-highway approach. His was a single minded devotion to destruction of the dam in the name of some sort of idealistic pseudo-environmentalism and happily pitted neighbor against neighbor to achieve that goal. Tons of shad running in that river now, yeah right.... Thanks Jason, you made sure I won't be voting for Galvin. It's time to dredge.
I thought elections were about issues. If she can't handle opposing points of view what kind of councilor will she be ?
A question from my point of relative ignorance: how do the supporters of the new pipeline calculate the costs associated with electrical pumps pushing water uphill?
1) how do they calculate (or forecast) the cost in electricity?
2) how do they weight the environmental costs (mountaintop removal of coal, burning it, etc. and/or nuclear; clear cutting old growth) against the environmental benefits (Moormans exclusively, right?)?
Ms. Galvin should realize the the people will never vote on this issue. City Council needs to understand the issue and that can only come through public debate.
She parrots Ridge Schuyler's comments at the last City City Council "move on we have debated enough". But Schuyler the very next day holds a press conference saying we do not have enough water right now even if we dredge. Speak of inflammatory?
This decision will affect us all. Poor, single parent, disadvantaged, yes all of us. City Council needs to understand, yet they attack the messengers and laud the political operatives.
What are we to expect from Ms. Galvin. Squeeze a lemon and you know what to expect will flow, what’s inside. Same for Ms Galvin, just listen to the Coy Barefoot Show.
http://www.wina.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=5396737
@Skipwith , you missed the point of Ms. Galvin's press conference, no more discussion - case closed - move on to other issues, any other issues.
What's that we teach our children, the traits we detest in others are the ones we hold ourselves. Ms. Galvin seems to be telling all those who disagree with her " my way or the highway" . Not promising for a representative of all the citizens of the city.
Picking up from the questions I posted to another story:
What is required to change the City code so that councilors can (legally) sell City interest in the local water supply? I mean, can they just do a majority vote amongst themselves and change the law?
"We've already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on studies," she said. Meanwhile housing, jobs, public transportation and schools are other local issues that Galvin says need to be addressed.
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This whole press conference is just more hot air.
There is no mention of facts or evidence-based decision-making as being important elements for running our city. Charlottesville politics are now similar to Washington DC. It's all contrasting soundbites and qualitative statements to make people believe you are different than the other guys. This press conference was a model of that. The message I take is: 'It's okay to make bad decisions ... we gotta move on and make MORE decisions!'
That's a big problem. But, intelligent voters need to pull back the reins and enforce a big "WHOA, NELLIE!" That water supply project and uphill pipeline are probably a waste of $200 million.
Remember, we won't be able to depend on Uncle Sam to foot these kind of stupid bills in the future ... he's already dug his own grave with equally wasteful spending (need a second engine for your new fighter plane? The Pentagon didn't ... but politically connected defense contractors got Congress to force it on the Pentagon, so they have less money to spend on what they really need.)
Adding a $200 million gift to The Nature Conservancy to pay its experimental lab fees for their unproven theory is just not what Charlottesville needs to do. This is especially true in light of the fact that we now have to spend a ton on sewer upgrades (as I recall, we are now in violation of state law on our sewage system).
If Ms. Galvin is really a proponent of schools and parkland, taking $200 million (probably $400 million with financing costs over 30 years) out of our pocketbooks will definitely reduce the amount we have left to pay in taxes to make our schools better.
As Washington has shown in full, hi-def color, when you spend a lot of money you don't need to spend there isn't money left over to fund the good stuff. I assume she thinks that "...housing, jobs, plus transportation and schools" are the good stuff.
Just like The Nature Conservancy, I doubt Ms. Galvin is willing to write a check from her own pocket to pay for what she wants. Instead, she wants us to. But the fact that she is unwilling to look critically and honestly at hugely expensive wasteful projects like the water plan give me no confidence in her leadership or abilities.
We need candidates who have the intellectual integrity (and ability) to properly investigate large projects, gather and acknowledge the facts, and then apply solid business and scientific reasoning to make decisions that will affect generations of Charlottesvillians.
Now, Galvin seems to be aligning herself with all the discredited special interests that have gotten us where we are today. Read The Hook's most recent issue ("FLAWS") and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's not hypothesis and it's not conjecture. Mr. Spencer's reporting is well documented and provable.
Making decisions based on "feelings" (a la Szakos) and hiding behind obviously sham consultant surveys (RWSA) is not leadership and cannot be tolerated. Yes, we have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on those sham studies, but most have been undeniably proven to contain multiple falsehoods that demonstrate their conclusions to be false or, at least, highly misleading.
Charlottesville deserves better.
I don't care if it is a democrat, a republican, or a martian on City Council. But, I do think we need qualified councilors.
And this press conference does not give me a good feeling that we are going to get one here. It's the same old same old.
I must respectfully disagree with Ms. Galvin. I believe she means well, but my 40 years of participation in city affairs has demonstrated, that the best way to make good decisions for our City is to encourage citizen participation and debate. Often, I have observed that, through this process, new information comes forward that saves money and resources. These savings can then be used for other needs that would otherwise go unfunded.
Ms Galvin main point is to work together ,neighbours,areas,city and council as opposed to a redo of The School Board permanent tomato fight as orchastrated by Dede. Smith .What a refreshing novel idea of working for the people as opposed to constant turf wars where all parties loose . The latter had one of her obvious disruptive trouble makers show up at the conference .I suppose Dede was too busy herself back at the bunker making sauerkraut and persuading Blount to eat some .
Mr. Lylod, I thank you for the link to Coy Barefoot's interview. It shows that Coy doesn't know what he is talking about in this instance. Coy is often clueless about the facts and this is a fine example of that. He does have to know a little about everything to be fair.
Ms. Galvin explain her actual views quite well and I now feel more postive about her than before I listened. She's more concerned abut Education and poverty then continually bicker about water-
I think this Galvin press confrence is a broadside against Dee Dee Smith who Galvin must view as her direct rival. And to say that Kay Slaughter and Peggy Van Yahres are just part of "hot air" with there endorsement does a great diservice to some of our finest former public servants.
Legal Sparrow should practice what she/he preaches . Talk about hot air he/she throws 200 million out as wasted and quickly increases the amount to 400 million but the whole rant is to support his/her false premis that the water plan is wasted money . After fresh air the most urgent need is adequate safe water .Hardly a waste . The water plan is approx five times cheaper than the band aid idea of ditching .
@St Halsey, funny I just listened to the interview and sounds like Coy is reading from her press release, and that Ms. Galvin doesn't know what he is asking about. But talk about tone - she sounds pretty nasty to me. Guess we differ on this, but that's okay with me it's a free country, last I heard.
This is scary. She doesn't want to hear what people think ?
I support Kathy Galvin because I've watched her work hard on the school board, considering issues with thoroughness and care and intelligence. As I see it, she's always rendered balanced opinions and expresses them clearly. I respect the people who stood up to support Kathy at her press conference, considering them to be people who have invested a lot in the city of Charlottesville. I am following the debates about damming vs. dredging but see so many more urgent issues we've got to discuss. When I go to vote in the primary on August 20 I will be voting for the candidate who has a broad range of expertise, significant intelligence, and fairmindedness--and is looking far beyond one or two issues. More than ever, I see Kathy Galvin as the #1 candidate for city council.
@Karen: wouldn't you expect a candidate to speak on the issue in order to gain your confidence? If he/she can't or won't do it before the ballot, what makes you think he/she will after being elected?
Some sort of knowledge and opinion based on that knowledge would indicate sufficient engagement in the big issues that face our community.
What I heard her say in the interview is she sent out a press release based on what she read in the Daily Progress, did I hear right, that's how she makes her decisions ?
@oldtimer:
Scary indeed. That's what known as positive feedback loop.
Trying to limit free speech in Charlottesville is not a winning strategy. No vote for this woman from me.
I think many of these comments are giving Coy Barefoot the benefit of the doubt about what he read or that he understood it. I think that benefit should go to Galvin who should know what she said or believes. Coy gets it wrong and she tries hard to quickly correct him and he still doesn't seem to get it. I would get a little upset if someone misquoted what I said and wouldn't understand what I was trying to say. Unless someone can post the actual Press release I going with Galvin on this one.
Coming to a decision after years of discussion isn't limiting free speech it's doing what needs to be done.
@St Halsey did you hear her say that she was getting her information from the Daily Progress. That's what shocked me.
And getting information from the Regress means taking repeated spoon feeding from "Charlottesville Tomorrow" which is the dirty press servant of the Nature Conservancy™ -- which, to my estimation, hates taxpayers.
@ Shocked Oldtimer ----She said she was getting information from the DP as to the Press Release from the enviornmental groups .What is shocking about that ,please relisten and get your facts straight . She went on to totally debunk their position and by extension that of Blount and Smith . Ms Galvin was very impressive firstly by settling down the unprepared,uninformed,and awkward Mr Coy .My Coy started out to sabatage her but ended up getting schooled . She went on in a very friendly manner to educate Mr Coy and others on how absurd Smith and sundry are in their so-called alternate plan . Firstly Smith/Blount idea will not provide sufficient water , it will be many times more expensive, their plan will be enviornmentally destructive by forcing urban spread far and wide in a hode podge unserviced mess ,and the Smith/Blount idea does not meet state approval standards . Smith/Blount one issue candidates are wrong on their only issue and just leading a few gullable folks in circles .
Thank you Mr. Speaker for your totally inaccurate comments. I have checked the website of the Citizens group and it has documents that prove you wrong on every point. I hope you will check this website as well and get back to us with some facts.
http://cvillewater.info/
@ Shocked and easily misled Oldtimer --- Your site is just a bunch of bunk from dede . The quotes only show the costs in one aspect .This lobby site doesn't advise how much water each option will provide . The plan will cost about twice dede's ditching but produce about 5 times or more water . This petition site is just a biased lobby effort set up by the aforementioned to try to rile up the uninformed and get elected and continue with the turmoil . Just a repeat of the old school board fiasco .Dede's ditching will be extremly harmful to the enviornment by decentralising new development . Infrastructure in a sparse spread out fashion gets overextended,more expensive,and non existant . You should be fair and say Woa to flattening down growth like a pancake crowding out all eco-systems and polluting far and wide .
@oldtimer, @SkipWith and @St. Halsey - one of you mentioned, in your exchanges above, wanting to see Kathy Galvin's press release that resulted in Coy Barefoot inviting her to appear on his radio show on July 25: you can see her press releases on her campaign website, galvinforcouncil.com. (Looks to me as though Mr. Barefoot must have read it too hastily. Certainly made things pretty awkward for him, and for his guest-by-phone, to start things off with such a misunderstanding, implying his guest had done something she hadn't.)
In Reply to Legal Sparrow:
"We need candidates who have the intellectual integrity (and ability) to properly investigate large projects, gather and acknowledge the facts, and then apply solid business and scientific reasoning to make decisions that will affect generations of Charlottesvillians."
Bravo! Bravo! You've beat that drum like a good clone of yours would upon other area blogs and local webpages. Inundate and overwhelm! March with the mass that will throw a temper tantrum if their poster child doesn't have its precise ways and in the prescribed dispensed order!
Know this though, you forgot a most crucial attribute in seeking a candidate here. GENUINENESS, which can not be compared or contrasted with (the term you coin) "intellectual integrity." You were doing quite all right UNTIL ..... that ONE paragraph of your words above. You just couldn't resist proving yourself could you. There was so much you said to which I was concurring, but you couldn't resist dousing that with the perniciousness of elitism.
Run to your telephone and add to the rants over upon the pages at The Hooks competitor. You have precisely fed into and made the argument Ms. Galvin presented. Oh and if you think I'm defending Ms.Galvin, not necessarily. She is entitled as much to her view, as you are with the one you've droned on about here.
I've an idea. Why don't you run as a candidate for council? What? Not worth your time and/or salary is it? Deny others the indulgence of your exalted expertise. Typical Gentrification. You have said so as much in not so many words here. Has it ever occured to you that not everyone can or wants a degree or credentials? No, it's easier for types like yours to simply deny others beneath your intellegence qoutient.
If your attitude has NOT been an example of bunker mentality here, then maybe we'll see a freshly graduated high school student sometime run for city council then. Oh snap, that wouldn't meet the criteria you said we need so bad in candidates though, WOULD IT? Special interest is as special interest does.
Why look at what Mr. Salidis accomplished (according to The HOOK) during Ms. Galvin's press conference. Entertainment from a roving Bard playing a lute, an unreportable "in-kind" contribution that likely won't appear on her next campaign finance report. Galvin's call for civil conduct in public recourse has fallen on deaf ears. No one would know by all the crocodile tears cried here though.
Galvin's press conference is one of the most hilarious "Pot Kettle Black" moments I've ever seen locally. If this is truly a concern of hers, then why hasn't she contacted her supporters and asked them to tone down their online rants? It's been the same message over and over: The "other" candidates are only concentrating on one issue. Only Galvin is innovative, fair, smart, etc etc. Dede Smith is the anti-christ. Mayor Norris is an evil manipulator. Only Galvin knows how to play nice, and those 'others" are bad, BAD, I tell you!
There are plenty of people in Charlottesville who have dealt with Galvin in the past and present, listened to her speeches and interviews, and read her platform, and they still don't want to vote for her. Sorry to be so blunt here, but she's often condescending, thin-skinned, and rude. This was certainly evident in the WINA interview, but is backed by the personal experiences of quite a few. She's a growth and density nut, who belittles the efforts of others. The tone that runs through her message is that she knows far better than you do, and you'd best follow along or you're one of "them."
I've heard enough people who have interacted with her opine that she's fine only as long as you agree with her, that it worries me. The experiences I've heard described, since before she even announced, are damning. Dare to disagree with her, and you're a troublemaker. Press conferences like the one yesterday, where she portrayed herself as the arbiter of fairness and good sense only serve to reinforce her over-inflated opinion of herself, and then rub the City's nose in it.
the first amendment is a fine thing.
let us see all the candidates in the light.
i am a bit unclear who is the candidate
in this hook article ; ms. galvin ; ms. slaughter;
mr caravati ?
would ms. galvin approve if i did my comedy bit at the schools ?
looking for a little counsel here.
LB
ms. galvin says our local politics "should not tolerate bitter factionalism....."
does ms. galvin intend to put a restriction on what candidates may speak or write ??
LB
This woman is dangerous in her willingness to sign over much city control for the good of the county. She voted to hand over desirable parkland in building the county portion, MPW. Galvin will easily give away more city resourses, including our water. Galvin's votes will be in line with Huja, Szakos, and Brown.
What a whiner! Galvin is the old gaurd Democrats' poster girl. A positive here: She is inclined to insert foot in mouth. Galvin's press conference is laughable. She is not fooling anyone with a brain.
No Lenny no one minds what you Smith/Blount loonies write or say in your Bunker .
Bunkerville, yes you've got it . A name change for our first city .
Scoop --" our water" Next time you peek out of the Bunker you might notice that county residents as well as city residents also drink water . It is the region's water supply ,a common vital necessity for all .
Hey Frankie, It really IS more in the city's control-water, at least for now. Are you living under a rock? Do your homework before you advocate signing away the city's rights. City residents will pay a huge price In buffering Galvin's votes. My lord, she can't even begin to budget the school system's finances.
Thanks again to the Hookers for their Foxesque "fair and balanced" approach to all things water. A twelve-paragraph article and you devote three paragraphs to the wingnut in the audience espousing Hawes Spencer's point of view.
Frank,
"It is the region's water supply ,a common vital necessity for all."
Not really. The City long ago built it, and financed it, while the County still looked like a County. The County has other water resources it can use, but it doesn't want to, because then they would have to answer to all their tax payers about the true cost.
I suspect most of your noise, whether you live here or not, is that you have a direct vested interest in seeing this deal go through. Most here don't benefit from this.
More political figures, including Mayor Dave Norris, appear on the locally-produced Charlottesville politics interview program Politics Matters with host Jan Paynter: http://bit.ly/polmatters. The Norris interview can be found in the Program Library. The current show features Bob Gibson, Executive Director Sorensen Institute, discussing journalism and the media.
@oldtimer, yes I heard her say she relied upon the Daily Progress for her information. Why didn't she just call up and get a copy of it herself? It is not wise for an elected official to rely upon secondhand information. That's why RWSA is now working on a jamor permit modification although somebody told it that it would be minor.
Also, Galvin seems to not be able to get along with Barefoot or Schilling. I don't think that's wise either.
Did I just hear that the cost of Galvin's plan to remodel the schools has jumped from $36M to $56M? I wonder what process was used to come up with a price and I wonder just how high is it going to go before implemented? Oh well, in Cville, money is no object.
Jason Halbert needs to go help clean up all those dead gizzard shade at the base of the Rivanna reservoir dam. This would not have happened if the Woolen Mills dam were not destroyed.
Nuns run bald through vatican halls, pregnant, pleading immaculate conception..........
To me facts and track record speak louder than anything. Dede Smith owes this community a huge apology for her mismanagement of the school board and her role in hiring and then covering for Scottie Griffin. I sat through those meetings and she was rude and condescending to anyone who disagreed with her, cutting people off mid-sentence. I don't pretend to have all the answers about the dredging/dam controversy, but I will never vote for Dede Smith for any public office in this community and I am very surprised at Ms. Blount for partnering with her. As far as Galvin goes, the comments already posted, particularly about the radio interview, demonstrate a lack of comprehension; it is my observation that her behavior on school board has been very professional (yes I watch things like that on Cable Access) and she is a smart person who listens. Now of course those of you who are only voting on the water issue and the parkway can and will disagree, but I am not letting those issues alone define this campaign. I agree with Galvin that we need to discuss other matters of importance. I have particularly lost faith in Mayor Norris for choosing candidates before the primary - that was very unprofessional in my opinion. I'm sure several of you will jump all over me for these comments, but this is my opinion and I am expressing it without insulting you for having a different opinion. Many of you just confirm what Ms. Galvin said about the level of rhetoric. Let's face it - we are going to disagree about a number of things, but that doesn't make us bad people. But to ignore the way Dede Smith disabused the trust placed in her as School Board Chair is a huge mistake for our community whether you are a dredger or a dam builder.
Charlotte, I agree with you 100%!!! I'm not sure who I'm voting for, but you can be sure I'm not voting for Dede Smith. I'm intrigued by Cannon & Beyer... we shall see how it goes. They're both kind of refreshing, frankly.
@Charlotte right on the money and also let's not forget:
2. That she's continued this leadership style on throughout the water issue. There is an article on CT which reports a DEQ representative stating that CSWP is posting data on their website that is making “... an inaccurate and inappropriate comparison that can only further confuse the public dialogue regarding the project,”
(see http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2011/07/wate...). Further 'confusing the public dialogue..." (see previous paragraph)
and 3. then there is this from a previous Hook article about the democratic primary:
"You don't even have to be a Democrat to vote in the day-long event, but registered voters must sign a loyalty pledge to support the Democratic party and its candidates. "There's no legal recourse," says Vandever, but he notes a bit of controversy two years ago when Dede Smith, now a candidate for for City Council, supported independent Bob Fenwick for Council in the 2009 race. “
(Hot contests: Democrats clash in dog days of summer By Lisa Provence | [email protected] online 4:04am Thursday Jul 21st, 2011 and in print issue #1029 dated Thursday Jul 21st, 2011, http://readthehook.com/99327/minority-rule-dems-duke-it-out))
Galvin's never done any of this nonsense despite the nasty comments about her above and the comments in which people simply don't support her for their own reasons.
When you start to add it all up, Smith's not getting my vote because as @Charlotte says above: "facts and track record speak louder than anything". I am hoping the voters in the primary do take into account each candidate's facts and track record when making up their minds at the polls August 20th. That beats passion over any single issue in my book.
@Charlotte, Galvin has moved on from the 2010/2011 dam/dredging issue, and many of us have moved on from the 2006 Scottie Griffin issue. So let's talk about the candidates based on their 2011 merits. Galvin is currently everything you've accused Smith of being in the distant past-- rude and condescending, plus let's add in abrasive. She's showing very poor leadership skills in her inability to tolerate any views that diverge from hers. As many who have worked with Smith in recent years can tell you, she's open, fair, smart, and works well with others. Conversely, Galvin belittles the efforts of others.
"Charlotte" is repeating the canard that Dede Smith's supporters only like her because of the dam and MCP. Nothing could be further from the truth. Galvin and her supporters lie when they say that opposing candidates are the ones who focused on the dam during the forum. The truth is that it was Galvin (and Huja) who chose to bring that topic up during their questions to other candidates. Then Galvin got huffy (as usual) at the end of the forum and stated that the other candidates must be intimidated by her. Lots of people have been talking about her attitude at the forum, the Coy Barefoot interview, and at this ridiculous press conference. Believe me, people don't want to listen to her holier-than-thou thin-skinned "vision" nonsense for the next four years. Ugh. Can you imagine how awful it would be to go before Council asking for help and having her wag her finger and cluck at you? No thanks! I'd vote for a republican first.
@SabbathLily,
Sorry a politician runs on their historical record, not what they did when they woke up yesterday or how much I like them or because they are my friend. Would you elect Nixon again or GWB?
Worse to go before Council and have Smith screaming at you as @Charlotte and others have mentioned when she was on School Board or presenting to some board on water supply. There's a proven track record. And most members of other public bodies before whom she has appeared (and are not in her camp) and ... I'll bet they will give you the same story.
Now ask yourself, does Galvin do this to people who show up at school board meetings? Haven't seen any newspaper articles about that during her term. Why are school board members from the appointed school board and the elected days lining up behind Galvin? Because they know what its like. Know you are a true believer but come on. There should be a little cognitive dissonance going on.
Bet Blount and Cannon are bleeding votes because of that ticket affiliation. Blount can probably afford them but Cannon....
Let's give Galvin a try and see if she can do better than what we have already seen by Smith during the school board era. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Ask anyone who has attended housing authority meetings with Galvin how well she works with others. She pushes her own agenda and doesn't listen to others, especially poor people. One well-respected community member even got up and walked out of a meeting because he couldn't deal with Galvin's attitude anymore. There were many witnesses to this. The last thing we need is another city councilor who will look down her nose at the unwashed masses. We already have enough of that on council.
Pumping the water uphill for miles to an expensive receptacle and then re-pumping it wherever it needs to go...sounds like a utopian engineering EXPERIMENT. Who's paying for this giant experiment? Lots of us in the county have our own wells; sorry for the city folks who are going to eat the cost in perpetuity.
Deleted by moderator.
I have asked people who have attended housing authority meetings and they said Galvin worked well with others, and listened very well. Who is this respected community member who got up and left, let's verify if that was a fact or some construction or interpretation of the commenter-probably never happened. I have always found Galvin to be sympathetic to the masses at school board meetings. More unsubstantiated innuendo from the Hook Kool Aid swallowers.
I think the County is going to pay for its share of pumping and the City will pay for its share. Someone suggested using solar or wind to help pay for that, so maybe it won't cost as much as the fear monger anti-dam commenters assert.