By Dave Golembewski
This weeks council meeting was set to interview 17 candidates for an open seat on the council. We got to pick numbers and I was #6. We were not allowed to listen to other candidates until after we spoke. In the meantime we sat together waiting our turn in a separate building. As we sat waiting for our chance at the gauntlet, yes it was like winning the lottery or some gladiator challenge. I broke the ice with a little humor. Everyone chimed in. I told one of my competitors who drew a lower No not to heckle me in the audience😂. You could sit in the council after your turn and listen to the rest. He said he was going to wave a white poster board to distract me. I laughed and said like free throw shots at basketball 🏀 game. I thought about it when it was my turn to speak and I didn’t look back at audience in fear he may make me laugh 😂 and distract me. We had more fun in that room. I commented they moved the meetings to 4pm so I couldn’t be there. I work till 5:30 pm. I suggested that I’ll take my full 8 minutes because I know the council has missed me. Another candidate said that was the reason they made it earlier in hopes of missing me 🤠. We joked about getting food delivered from By the Bucket Spaghetti 🍝 place in town. The owner, Brett, was on the list of applicants. PS: We all love his meatballs and spaghetti 🍝. (A plug for you Brett.) I guess we were all nervous at first. I said, “I guess I should read the questions now.” and everyone laughed 🤷♂️. They all had speeches prepared on paper or tablet. I just wanted to speak from the heart ❤️ and I did. The police 👮♀️ were there to keep the peace ☮️ we joked about that too as the contestants were mostly all friends and friendly acquaintances. The chief walked us up to the Gallows one to one. So we got to spend time with the chief which I enjoyed being a volunteer 👮♀️as I don’t get much time to talk w him he’s so busy. We even got to share stories with the clerk about how the town has grown. Fun 🤩 Tracy was very helpful in the process. By the time it was our turn we were still nervous. I tried to remember the questions I told the council as I didn’t write ✍️ them down. I’ll give you a copy so you can answer them. My answers were basically I believe in the representative form of government but our forefathers who wrote the Constitution wanted We the People to be self governed and our vote elects the representatives on the council. The town manager is NOT elected. I knew I would not get much love ❤️ for my beliefs 🙏. I also stated we need to hire a in house attorney as I looked directly at the contract attorney and town manager. Answering another question 🙋♂️ about our pasts. I said, “We all do embarrassing things, but I try to fix them if I can and I promised my wife I will never wear the Fat Blow up SuperDave costume again.” PS: She said, “It’s funny for the kids but I’m embarrassed 😳.” Everyone in the council has done things they regret I’m sure. Nobody is perfect, but they weren’t on the hot-seat. It was the candidates turn to be grilled 🥵. We weren’t allowed to ask them questions 🙋♂️Darn. We’ll I enjoyed my 8 minutes of fame and so did all 16 others. I told the council pick me pick me 🙋♂️if you truly want the real people of the town represented. Pick the Yang of the Ying. Think out of the box 📦. Get diversity in the council, not that kind ha, but select from different demographics of the town. I said, “I represent the working families and everyone struggling to pay grocery taxes and we’ll pay our fair share if we get to vote on it.” I think 🤔 I made my point for the people and that’s exactly why I wasn’t selected. It wasn’t about me but select someone else that stands for the people and not special interests. We’ll see how there selection turns out 🙏? As for Me I’ll run in 2024 for Council and be judged by 6000 voters instead of a jury of 6.
Interview questions for the applicants seeking appointment to Town Council
1. Please provide background information, which you feel qualifies you and why you believe you are the best candidate to appoint to the Town Council?
2. What do you feel are the major issues facing this Town Council?
3. What do you hope to accomplish as a Council Member?
4. As a Council Member what type of culture or environment would you like to exist within the Council and throughout Town government?
5. What are your thoughts related to the use of bonds (loans) as a way to pay for some critical Town projects and improvements and how would you feel if taxes needed to be raised to generate revenue to pay for the use of debt to accomplish these projects?
6. The Council is responsible for the hiring of 2 positions, the town manager, and the town attorney. 7. Currently, the Council has opted to contract with Pierce/Coleman for legal services. What are your thoughts regarding the contracting of legal services vs. hiring an in-house legal team and please share your thoughts about the Town’s Council-Manager form of government.
8. Is there anything in your past that, if you were to be appointed, could be embarrass the Town or being the Town into bad light?
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