Dishonest rhetoric and unhinged rants
The dishonesty and hypocrisy of the Perry Township Trustee is sad, and his repeated unhinged rants in Herald-Times comments are unworthy of an elected position. The incumbent Democrat needs to grow up and realize that part of being an elected official is getting criticism and suggestions for how to do things better for the taxpayers. If he cannot handle that, he should resign from office.
First, the incumbent Democrat claimed that meeting minutes were always on the township website. This is plainly false. The last meeting minutes on the website as of July 2018 were from February 16, 2017. Either the trustee does not know what his own staff is doing, or he is lying.
Despite the fact that I pointed out that posting meeting minutes and agendas to the Perry Township website would take no more than ten minutes once a month, the Perry Township Trustee continues to dishonestly pretend that it would require a full time staff person, asking if I want to "create a fulltime web designer position for a friend." So instead of addressing my argument on its merits, the incumbent Democrat wants to attack my character and motivations.
I had no intention of bringing this issue up during this campaign, because I think there are more important issues and it feels unseemly. However, if the incumbent Democrat wants to use that false line of attack against someone seeking a seat on the township board, perhaps he should examine his own conduct as trustee. The incumbent Democrat, after all, hired his wife as full time staff in his own office. The hypocrisy here is astounding.
Despite the incumbent Democrat's false suggestions, I would never support any sort of discrimination in who gets assistance from the township. If someone needs help, they should get help. Period. It is the incumbent Democrat trustee who wants to impose moral standards on those seeking assistance, as seen by his opposition to a "low barrier" homeless shelter a decade ago - even going to the offensive extreme of accusing the Shalom Center of a "power grab." There are good policy reasons for a higher-barrier shelter, of course, but that is not my point. The point is the incumbent Democrat's hypocrisy.
Finally, the incumbent Democratic Trustee's obsession with turning a township board race into another front for the culture war is simultaneously laughable and sad. The township board has nothing to do with culture war issues. Township government handles overgrown vegetation, manages abandoned cemeteries, provides poor relief and resolves fence line disputes. What in the world does any of that have to do with culture war issues? This is a desperate attempt at distraction from the real issues of transparency that I have been pounding for months.
I am shocked that a race for Perry Township board has gotten this nasty. All I said was that meeting agendas and minutes should be online, and the incumbent Democratic trustee has had meltdown after meltdown since then. But here is the reality: When I am attacked, I will respond.
Previously: A petulant attitude combined with technological ignorance.