Tommy from "Tommy in Old Seminole Heights" has an interesting article in his blog.
"Old Seminole Heights is Being Hijacked
If you read one post from my blog, read this one. There is a movement in the neighborhood that is attempting to hijack the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association (OSHNA). They wish to elect a write in candidate on Tuesday October 23rd based on a single issue. There is a minority group in Hampton Terrace that has posted a series of untruths about the designation of Hampton Terrace as a local historic district. But the lies they have promoted via mail and door-to-door pitches isn't what concerns me the most."..... read more
Wow. My wife and I will be there voting for people who support the historic designation of Hampton Terrace. We live in the Historic District of OSH and can attest that the designation is a plus -- not a hinderance.
ReplyDeleteI also encourage all who are authorized to vote in the elections to show up and cast their ballot.
Not everyone running as a write-in is anti-Hampton Terrace. I happen to have chosen to run as a write-in for Trustee.
ReplyDeleteIn fact I got the ball rolling for what is now the national district in 1995.
As a former Trustee, Vice-President and President of OSHNA I think the district is important to Seminole Heights as a whole but is critical to the east side of 275. I have actually voiced the need to stretch the local boundaries across 15th street to include portions of Henry, Powhatan, and Comanche.
There is precidence for this. Peter Spanos did that while I was on the board in the 1990's which is why Taliaferro and Miami on the east side of 275 are in the local Seminole Heights district but not in the national district.
--Rick Fifer
I'm seeing one camp being tagged as "anti growth" and the other as "pro neighborhood". There are always multiple sides to every story, I'm quite curious to see what both sides have to say.
ReplyDeleteKnee jerk says that the anti growth camp is bad, but I'm going to force myself to keep an open mind and see what all parties involved have to present.
I do not reject all write-in candidates. But some voters are less informed about the candidates than others. The last thing I want to see is someone voting for a person based off the single agenda. Write-in candidates that have a good reputation are great for the neighborhood. At no point did I say do not vote for write-ins. I was simply saying play it safe if you don't know and vote for those on the ballot. I know of plenty of people in our neighborhood that know nothing about board members past or present. Historically the target audience of this blog has been those that don't have the time to get as involved in the neighborhood as they may like to. Especially since I meet many of my readers when I'm shopping or eating out in the area. I am glad you posted so I could clairify that. But if you are one of those people that knows nothing about any of the candidates; you won't be there on Tuesday; and you are happy with OSHNA as it is; then I believe you can feel safe voting for those on the ballot. I could very well vote for a write-in on Tuesday. But if you have only one agenda, that doesn't have anything to do with where I live, then don't expect to get the "Tommy Vote."
ReplyDelete