November 8, 2005 Election Thoughts:
Background:
Joseph E. Rudderow, III was on the ballot for the Republican nomination in the primary as well as running a write-in for the Democratic nomination. I won both nominations, so Joe decided to run a write-in this fall. Both Joe and I got larger numbers in the fall, but in both the primaries and the general elections I ended up with about twice as many votes as my opponent.
Election Day:
The question for the voter was, “Who should get my support?” Both Joe and I had websites explaining our positions. We both had signs, etc. getting the website URLs out to the public. Perhaps the crystallizing moment was when a voter asked Joe and I, “What does a township supervisor do?”
Joe answered first and said,”A supervisor manages and controls the township.”
She then turned to me and I said, “A supervisor serves the people.” I then went on to explain some of the nuts and bolts of the job.
Manage & Control vs. Serve:
Back in June when Joe asked at the public meeting why I did not support his appointment, I said that I was concerned that Joe would make the township government more controlling than it ought to be. Joe's talk of manage and control on his website does not cause my concerns to abate. Joe is fond of words like proactive, manage, control, organizing and planning. My concern is that Joe uses these words with respect to government. Government is force and coercion. If you doubt me, just stop paying your taxes. The government will give you a tutorial on force and coercion. The words manage and control are appropriate for businesses - they need to manage and control their employees. Their employees are voluntary by the way. Prisons also need to be managed and controlled. The words manage and control concern me greatly when they are applied to governing a community of free individuals.
Joe has an entire blog entry (10/26/2005) dedicated to explaining his position on manage and control. The trouble is that there are no details. For example, the word proactive can be good or bad with respect to government. Improving the suitability of the township building as an emergency shelter (i.e. increasing the sewage capacity) is a proactive step. Having the director of the road crew look for grass height violations as he drives around the township is also proactive. It would be a departure from the current policy of waiting for resident complaints. It would be proactive, but the idea scares me.
I believe Joe could have gotten more votes if he had fleshed out these ideas of proactive, manage, and control with more specifics.
When I first ran six years ago, I had the following statement on my campaign literature:
Government at all levels should limit its activities to protecting the rights of the people. At the township level, this means assuring that residents are able to enjoy the fruits of their labors and be good stewards of their property. The township should act zealously to protect these liberties of the residents, including (when necessary) interceding on their behalf with the State or County.
Since then, I have made an entry on this web site for nearly every meeting explaining my views of the issues. I have been giving away the Bastiat book for well over a year now. I have communicated to the voters that I favor a limited government that serves them chiefly by protecting their rights. Evidently the voters feel more comfortable with this than with ambiguous ideas about management and control.
Joe says he wants to run in two years; he needs to give us more details on his vision. I am placing Joe's 10/25/2005 BLOG post below in its entirety so you all can read his use of these words in complete context.
I am sure there
are many different expectations, we as voters, place on our elected
township officials. I personally expect our elected township
officials to perform their duties with honesty, integrity, and
fair-mindedness for all to name a few. I also expect our elected
township officials to "manage" our community in the best
interest of all, not just a few. The key word here is manage. There
are four basic functions to the management process. They are 1)
Planning 2) Organizing 3) Leading 4) Controlling.
Planning: I
believe that planning offers positive direction in becoming a
proactive Township in Berks county. Planning will help our community
with setting community goals. Planning will also help our community
with deciding on the proper courses of action for our community. This
planning will help guide our community with developing a strategy for
Parks and Recreation, preserving open space, Farmland preservation,
commercial development and residential development. Planning is our
ultimate blueprint to the community that we want and
deserve.
Organizing: I believe organizing helps create the
structure necessary to achieve the community goals on our blueprint.
By coordinating the effort of our township employees and volunteers
we can empower capable people to help our community successfully
complete our community goals. Our township should have a clear and
concise organizational structure. This way we do not duplicate our
efforts and diminish our efficiencies.
Leading: I believe that
great leaders are able inspire and motivate others to rise to the
challenge and accomplish their goals. Attitude is a reflection of
leadership. I believe that with knowledge comes responsibility. Great
Leaders are individuals who strive to be great communicators. Great
leaders listen to the concerns of the people. Great leader are
problem-solvers. Great leaders are always fair and
equitable.
Controlling: I believe that controlling is setting
standards, monitoring the actual performance of these standards, and
correcting the standards so they are always fair and just to our
entire community. We must be constantly scanning our community and
making the necessary adjustments so we can stay on course to our
goals.
For example: A dam
controls the flow of waters to protect those who live down stream.
When the waters rises to the top of the dam, the water is applying
additional pressure to the dam and this pressure might cause the dam
to breach. The dam keeper recognizes the need to relieve the rising
water. The dam keeper takes corrective action of opening the
floodgate and controlling the amount of water released. As the water
level starts to go down the additional pressure on the dam start to
subside. The dam keeper has successfully controlled the water.
Failure to build the dam in first place or worse yet failure to
monitor the dam once built will ultimately lead to the same
destructive ends down stream. Our
elected Supervisors must always scan our community and make the
necessary adjustments or we too will experience the same unfavorable
ends.
In closing, I would like to leave you with a few
questions to ponder:
1) Does the township have adequate planning
in place?
2) Does the township have the proper organizational
structure in place?
3) Does the township posses proactive
Leadership?
4) Does the township constantly scan and adjust its
course of action?
5) Is the township truly being managed by our
elected official?
Please consider your answers to the
questions above and than add 6 more years of the same for a total of
12. Can the township afford 12 years of the same.
Please
write- in Joe Rudderow III on
November 8th. Together, we will make the change for the better. I
will do my very best to manage our community.
http://hometown.aol.com/maidenminutes/minutespg1.html
I still have copies of the Fredrick Bastiat book “The Law” available to Maidencreek residents. Email me if you want one.
Paid for by Roy Timpe