Candidate Corner

Mayor Position - Vote for One
Randy Lucas	381 5th Street waohophoser@hotmail.com	The best thing I can say: he isn't Chris Heisler. The News Register interviewed him. Please see the below link for that story and the comments that go with it. http://www.newsregister.com/article/45722-lafayette+mayor+hopeful+calls+cooperation+key
Chris Heisler	1407 N Madison Street cjheisler@comcast.net cjheisler@autotrader.com	I think people pretty much get where I stand on Chris Heisler. Even discounting his whole 'look at me' attitude, I could write a book on why he should never be put in a position of public office again. The charter calls for a limited amount of duties from him and he has managed to finagle his way out of accomplishing the most basic tasks. He has blocked access for citizens to the process, used his personal and work email for conducting city business to avoid public records disclosure, attempted to stop filming of a public meeting, used the attorney to prepare information that should not have been on the public dollar, entered into a contract with an interim city administrator and failed to bring that contract back to council, attempted to humiliate people for disagreeing with him and tells people they have to pick a side for him to continue a conversation. Vote for him if you want, but don't whine to me when he goes back to being the mayor who isn't running for office. If his panel doesn't get elected, though, I would count on more recalls to come. There are two vacant council seats, he has two applications (Jean and Matt). But, these people don't fall in line to his thought pattern. They think for themselves - so he won't appoint them.
Councilor - 2 Year Position - Vote for Two
Jean Mead	258 8th Street jmead291942@yahoo.com	I have gotten to know Jean through her service on the budget committee. Her arguments are well balanced and she has a sense of the bigger picture. She has made a commitment to serve everyone equally. My observations of her is that she treats everyone she meets with respect. She makes intelligent, well thought out contributions to every conversation. A definite YES from me.
WRITE IN NICK HARRIS	557 E 14th Street writeinNick2010@gmail.com	It was decided by first a single voice then became an active idea to write Nick in as a councilor. So, Nick was asked - if he was elected - would he serve? He's not going to go knocking on your door. But keep in mind - when it was discovered the mayor had failed to do even a basic background check when given the task of hiring the interim, Nick resigned in support of the citizens indignation at the obvious failing, proving that he heard Lafayette residents loud and clear. Read his statement to citizens regarding this effort here. I am writing him in. If you want to support this effort, write him in as well and tell two friends about the effort.
Anna Nelson	1216 N Tyler Court	Anna contacted us to do a video. Between her schedule and our roof, that never happened. She didn't do the News Register article. Darrell talked to her. He said she seems nice. Debbie has met her, and thinks she's compassionate and has great listening skills. That's what I got.
Marie Sproul	1282 3rd Street #1 (Pioneer Park)	Darrell and I have known Marie for quite some time. She has struck us, in the past, as someone who is concerned regarding the town as a whole. It makes sense for her personally and professionally, as she owns and manages Pioneer Park. Unfortunately, as has happened with quite a few folks, she became involved with a group that has influenced her in ways I don't even think she was prepared for. Most have left that group, but Marie still seems to subscribe to the thought process in that machine. Generally speaking, I find her easy to talk to. I don't agree with her on several topics, but that doesn't mean at the end of the day I wouldn't sit down and talk with her. We both believe (from conversations I have had with her) that anonymous attacks are not a valid way to have a conversation. She has asked that we have more positive information on our site. We have offered her the option to write towards that direction. But, have heard nothing further. So, is it a case of stating a problem without providing a solution? I feel that is a valid statement. Do I see that in other activities in her short duration as a councilor? Yes I do. I think she asks good questions, but doesn't have the political power to actually see anything get fixed. And, currently, political power - and not citizens best interest - is what this council is about. Her mindset is the new council, as it stands, is a regime (her word) that runs us. Unfortunately, looking at the bigger picture, she gets a NO from me.
Dwight Demmin	1516 Washington Street	I got a flyer from someone delivering them. It's the same flyer that everyone else got, so I won't be redundant. I know nothing about him. I heard from one person who said he's a good neighbor. The flyer didn't provide any contact information for him. He gets a No from me.
Leah Harper	241 E 16th Street c-lharper@comcast.net	I have known Leah for more than four years. The more I get to know her, the less I trust her intentions here. I have watched her make accusations of others, all the while performing those same acts. She retrieved documents from the city in a way that was not allowed, retrieving some that (by law) are required to be charged. She then told several different versions of what actually occurred. The way they were received was outside the scope of the council rules. And, she has other documents that she still hasn't made available. She comes across as one who has no time for anyone outside her income bracket. A little tip for Ms. Harper: an apology never ends in but... Three years ago, she interviewed me for a story for the newlafayette website. She asked me if it bothered me that people think I'm a b**ch. Her husband doesn't have faith in her abilities, as he will be the first to call you names if you ask her for the reasoning behind the actions she takes, instead of letting her speak for herself. When she does try to explain herself, or ask questions, the mayor tells generally shakes his head at her and tells her not to speak. I vote NO.
Councilor - 4 Year Position - Vote for Three
Matt Smith	1233 Joel's Place marosmith@gmail.com Matt's Candidate Flyer	I am voting for Matt for a variety of reasons. During his previous tenure as a councilor, he had always made the effort to keep the lines of communication open. He will tell you when he doesn't agree with you. He will tell you what his ideas are. And he makes an effort to educate himself regarding the topic at hand. And, when additional information is presented, he is willing to make the effort to incorporate that information. He felt the News Register story captured what he wanted to get out to voters. He gets a YES from me.
Al LeMay	1155 N Madison cougit@earthlink.net	Al is a funny guy. He touts his republican-ness from the back of a pickup with Washington plates. He says he wants to represent Lafayette, but doesn't spend a lot of time talking with anyone outside of his personal circle. He submitted the referendum regarding the water restrictions. He also was the treasurer on the recall. He did the paperwork wrong and had to resubmit it several times. He is also being investigated at the state for not properly recording financial information in regards to recent elections. The matter has been at the state for several months, and the file doesn't seem to be closing anytime soon. He also submitted a charter amendment to limit fees, taxes, etc. here (won't include water / sewer, though) over a year ago. He has not made any effort to move it forward, but with it still out there, no one else can do one either. So, effectively, he has kept the issue out of the hands of voters and under his control. Recently, after Nick resigned from the council, Al stopped Darrell and said he just needed to get rid of three more. Not really sure what he meant by that, but only Harper, Heisler and Pagella left after the recall and resignations. So, take it however you can understand it. He gets a NO from me.
Stephen Long	245 8th Street	Know absolutely nothing about him. Haven't heard from him. Don't know where he stands. Undecided if I will vote for him or undervote.
Marv Bennett	1256 Cramner Street marvb@comcast.net Marv's Candidate Flyer	Marv has made a decision to want to represent Lafayette. In this endeavor, he has taken council with anyone that has an opinion to offer in order to keep everyone's thoughts on the table of conversation. Not really sure what he thinks about all of this, but does seem to have a sharp sense of humor. He isn't looking to play favorites to any one thought plan, so if you are expecting him to champion a single cause, that ain't gonna happen. I wish him the best. YES vote from me.
Trevor Higby	1145 N Jefferson trevsu@hotmail.com	Let's start this off with: Trevor sent me an email during the recent recall adventure and stated that as soon as the recall was done, he was done; had no interest in politics or holding office. I initially contacted him because I wanted to know why he would misspell Lafayette on his website. He said he didn't really put much thought into the whole project. So, let's do us all a favor. Release him from whatever obligation he didn't really want to commit to anyway - vote for anyone else. Recently, he was appointed the new water board (an exercise in repetitive talking) and a member of the public advised me he spent the entirety of the meeting playing video games on his laptop. It makes me wonder if the budget meetings were spent the same way. If you follow the above link from Randy Lucas' box, it will give you some insight into Trevor's thought processes. He gets a HECK NO from me.
Links for Trevor - but, be warned, he really hates to be contacted or know that his information is public and will threaten anyone with his lawyer. Guess running for a public office fits in well with that logic. Can't wait until he sees the SEI forms that have to be filled out come April. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1723043833 http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000404351720 http://www.serenityhospice.org/The_New_Face_of_Hospice_Care_Meet_the_Serenity_Owners.asp