Introduction
From several group chats
"Okay,  there will be four openings on CITCOM this year: Ellison, Andrzejak, Drinkwine, Semchena. Who's going to run against them, if they run?"

Well, one frequently mentioned name, Carlo Ginotti, won't be running for commissioner or mayor. He's busy positioning himself to run for 44th District Court judge, when Judge Daniel Sawicki retires in a year or two. Two of the three lawyers currently sitting on the commission are also thought to be aiming for Sawicki's seat.

Four people whose names readers would recognize, three of them already serving on one or more city panels, have told me, "I'm thinking about it. Two of the incumbents won't be hard to beat -- if they decide to run for re-election." Another three residents who, in years past, have run and lost are noodling whether to try again. None of these individuals has given me permission to identify him or her.

On the City's Website each page with an elected official's picture and communication data carries a notice of the number of "reads." That is the measurement of how many  times the page has been "displayed or requested" since July 2009. In alphabetical order, here's the number of reads on 23 January 2011: Andrzejak 2843; Capello 1521; Drinkwine 2513; Ellison 5998; Poulton 1621; Rasor 1718; Semchena 2692. I'm not sure this has any significance, but it does offer an interesting tidbit for more conversation. -- January

Stephen Miller won't run for office in 2011
Last week, I mistakenly published a response to a question I had asked off-the-record. The response indicated that former city commissioner Stephen Miller might be considering a run for elective office this year, but his "yes, no, maybe" speculation has been interpreted by some as a definite decision to run. I regret unintentionally using part of our confidential communication, and the quotation, which had been published Monday afternoon, was removed Wednesday morning. I have apologized to Steve, who asks that I inform Versagi Voice readers, "FOR THE  RECORD Frank, I am not running for office in November of 2011." -- 22 Feb 2011

Gomez to run for city commissioner
Widely recognized civic activist and multi-venue volunteer, George Gomez was gathering signatures during the fundraiser-dinner to support the St. Patrick's Day Parade  at the Elks Club last Tuesday. Inevitably George's activity generated speculation about which of the incumbents (1) will choose not to run for re-election or (2) are in danger of losing if they do run.

Jim Ellison seems to have made clear his intention to seek another term as mayor. The three commissioners whose terms expire this year -- Mike Andrzejak, Terry Drinkwine, Chuck Semchena -- have been relatively quiet about their intention. Oh, there is speculation that one of them may choose to challenge Ellison

Mayor Ellison will run for re-election
Jim Ellison has been seen carrying his petition-clipboard here and there, yet not aggressively asking for signatures. At least once, a resident was seen asking Jim if he wanted a signature! Ellison, in his role as mayor, always shows up at public events like the Dream Home Expo, where he shows the face  of city government and schmoozes with residents.  It's a bit awkward, I suspect, having to decide when it's appropriate to assume the role of a candidate.

Cluster Question
It occasionally happens that several readers react to something in Versagi Voice by asking the same question. This time, it was last week's listing of those individuals who have already pulled petitions for this year's local election. Paraphrasing: "There are four who have pulled petitions for commissioner. Back in January, you said that  you knew of four who were considering running, but who didn't want to be identified yet. Are they the same four who have pulled petitions?"

Only one, George Gomez,is. The remaining three seem to be newbies on the civic scene. We can expect to be hearing more from them as they seek to build name-recognition. As for the remaining three from my unnamed four, one has dropped out, but a new person is "thinking about getting in."

Petitions have to be filed earlier this year -- by 4 pm, 16 August, rather than 06 September. The change is mandated by Lansing and overrides any city's ordinance or charter which differs.

2011 Election: Ongoing Comment & Dialogue
Also see

Incumbents whose terms expire this year:
Mayor Jim Ellison
Commissioners Mike Andrzejak, Terry Drinkwine, Chuck Semchena.

CLUSTER QUESTION:*
"Only Ellison has pulled petitions: Why so early? . . . The commissioners haven't pulled petitions. Does that mean they aren't going to run?"

ANSWER:
For context, very popular Commissioner Tom Hallock announced early in an election year that he would not be running for re-election. Everyone recognized his generosity. He was alerting prospective candidates who might think they had no chance running against him that he would not be on the ballot.

Fast-forward to 2011. Although Ellison had early let it be known that he would be seeking re-election, rumors persist that at least two-and-a-half people are thinking of running for mayor. Why has he pulled petitions so early? The two guesses are (1) He's doing a reverse-Hallock by warning off those whose thought about running was based on his not seeking re-election or (2) He will collect 500 signatures so fast that he'll be turning them in before others get started, thus discouraging them.

The obsessionally political crowd makes two other guesses, depending on whether they like Jim: (1) He's pulling an Obama, going into a campaign mode because there is sure to be competition. (2) Campaign mode or not, leisurely gathering signatures brings him face-to-face with constituents who will bend his ear -- especially because he is already mayor -- about whatever is on their mind.

Why haven't the incumbent commissioners pulled petitions? Three guesses: (1) They have other plans, (2) They are so confident they can quickly gather 500 signatures that they feel no need to begin campaigning early, and (3) A couple of them haven't really made up their mind and will decide based on what the political environment is like and how the competition has shaped up by Dream Cruise time. (Except for George Gomez, none of the early candidates for commissioner has much name-recognition.)
*Discussed one way or another in several conversations

16 May 2011
Question:
You defended Commissioner Jim Rasor when the mayor and the city attorney accused him of conflict-of-interest over some private parking lot issue. Wasn't another conflict-of-interest accusation against Rasor dropped?

Answer:
It wasn't dropped because it was never formally raised.
You're probably referring to a resident's email to the commissioners urging them, through the city attorney, to declare Jim ineligible to vote on any marijuana issues because, the writer says, Rasor's legal firm represents a medical marijuana firm operating in Royal Oak. The writer suggests that Rasor "needs to be excused from the room when any discussion of marijuana is involved."

Does that suggestion apply to any commissioner "at odds" with the majority about any issue? I can see one of the three lawyers on the commission, say, staying quiet if an agenda item deals specifically with one of his clients. But leave the room? That's childish.

Cluster Conversation
It's early, I know, but readers are already fusing together the fact that four CITCOM seats are up for re-election and whether the four incumbents will take a position about a millage increase before the election.

Whether or not CITCOM moves toward a millage during its next two or three Budget meetings, it will become necessary for each aspiring candidate, newcomer or incumbent, to answer clearly two or three related questions: Do we need an increased millage? General Fund or Dedicated? How much of an increase? Of the four incumbents, their past statements suggest that two believe a tax increase is necessary and inevitable and two maintain a no-new-taxes posture.

Any candidate or would-be candidate who refuses to answer doesn't deserve to be elected. Their preferences about- all else -- drinking-and-dancing , contract awards, sidewalk improvement, license renewals, parking meters, streetscaping, amendments to the civil emergencies ordinance -- don't matter at this moment.

I'm predicting that Mike Andrzejak and Chuck Semchena won't be running. And I'm told that one possible candidate for mayor is "hoping to create a slate" to run.

Even if it turns partisan
Campaign can be vigorous without turning ugly

2011 Local Election

Not so much among the politically active but at the margins, there have been rumblings that the 2011 campaign for commissioner is going to turn ugly. The apparent lining up of sides by Party is worrisome, yet need not generate more than partisan vigor.

 'Tis sad, however, to encounter those who are unwilling or unable to respect the accomplishments of someone they dislike or to accept criticism of someone they admire.

►One ripple-effect from the bad feelings generated by the recent battle of the supermarkets has been the formation of an informal "anyone but Ellison" group, who were unsuccessful in drafting a candidate willing to challenge the incumbent mayor and who likely will be endorsing candidates for commissioner. The membership of the group seems to be fluid and only partially predictable.

►Not one individual who has suggested to me that there is improper Democratic literature circulating in the nonpartisan race for commissioner has shown me the alleged literature. It has been, "I know a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy who says he has seen the literature."

I've reached out to several Democratic leaders, all of whom have responded and a couple of whom I will be meeting. For now, this reply by Tom Regan, Chair of the Royal Oak Area Democratic Club, is helpful.

Yes, the city club (Royal Oak Area Democratic Club) will make an endorsement in the city commission race.  City commission and school board races are the only races where we make an endorsement; we never endorse in the Democratic primary in partisan races, and we support as a matter of course whoever wins the primary in the general election.  We won't endorse in the school board race this year since there are 2 people running for 2 slots.
 
We'll vote on endorsements at our September meeting.  We picked an endorsement committee a few months ago that is interviewing the candidates, I think you know Dave Richards, he's one of the endorsement committee members.
 
Other than that I don't know of any Democratic party participation in the race.  My experience has been that endorsements mean very little in city commission races.  By far the most important factors are how hard the candidate works, how well-known the candidate is in the community, and how much money the candidate raises.

JUST IN:
After the above was written, I received a 1-sheet, 2-page flyer, written by a Democrat but not delivered to me by that Democrat, which contains: " . . . join me in supporting not only our great Democratic Mayor Jim Ellison, but also the following three Democrats for Royal Oak City Commission."

Because the city election is officially nonpartisan, some consider such an endorsement Improper. Even those who recognize that it is not an attack ad -- as was the late postcard mailing against Semchena four years ago -- use terms like" unethical" and "schlocky. " The most polite term used is "ungentlemanly."

I'll be chatting soon with the creator of that document -- "on-the-record" -- at his invitation.

►Peggy Goodwin has begun work on her page for Versagi Voice. I chatted with Peggy shortly before she hit the streets. A source tells me Kyle DuBoc has hit the streets. Let me know if you see other candidates going door-to-door. Or is that no longer a major requirement of campaigning?

Campaign Developments & Observations

There are not two months before voters have their say. Remember Absentee Voters. At my request, City Clerk Melanie Halas, has provided: "The absentee ballots will go out the end of September. Ballots are counted only on Election Day, not prior. We have an Absentee Counting Board here and they are sequestered for the day until all ballots have been counted."

That means that a candidate ignores half the voters by coasting through September.

I have long advised absentee voters not to vote until the week before Election Day. Each time, the conspiracy-minded ask me if I am planning a last minute  midnight attack ad. Nah. It's just that a voter might learn something late in the campaign which would cause a change-in-mind about a candidate or two.

Primer for new readers, reminder for regulars
Whether because this campaign is more emotionally charged than usual or because of Versagi Voice's broadened reach through Royal Oak Patch, questions from new readers reveal the need for clarifying my approach to covering the campaign. (It shouldn't take a new reader very long to become familiar with the handful of special terms I use. Most asked about, so far: CITCOM = City Commission; CSZ = City, State, Zip; FJV = my initials.)

Think of Versagi Voice as an extended table conversation. You know how we frequently react to a news item with something like, "Can you believe that guy?" or "Wasn't that great?" Although I do report news, Versagi Voice is not a news medium and I accept neither the privileges nor the responsibilities of "the press." It would be inappropriate in a news report, for example, for a newspaper to criticize the mayor's control of a meeting or to chide a commissioner for talking too much. Versagi Voice is mostly commentary about civic/political affairs.

Re my coverage/comment about the just-beginning campaign for commissioner, no matter your favorite candidate or your political party, you will find yourself occasionally pleased or irritated, sometimes both, depending on what you had for breakfast. Reading reaction to the first two weeks of campaign coverage will help orient newcomers. In my 22 August update, I discussed the pluses and minuses of running as a slate. The piece was praised for alerting voters and the candidates about the matter and criticized for mentioning it at all. On 29 August, I dealt with the disregard of the nonpartisan approach to the election by the Democrats. That brought brought praise and criticism from the same side. The Right split between those who are grateful I alerted voters and those who felt I was giving the Dems free publicity.

Readers will have no trouble knowing when I'm reporting and when I'm pontificating.

Meeting the candidates
As I write this, I have had background conversations with six of the seven candidates for commissioner and with the uncontested candidate for mayor. Without naming individuals, I hope to provide voters with some idea of the skills and mindsets of those who are hoping to sit at The Table with Pat Capello, Jim Rasor, and Dave Poulton.

Each of the candidates is also invited to create a page within Versagi Voice. Rick Karlowski adds his today. Peggy Goodwin has already begun hers. Kyle DuBoc has said he  will get his to me soon.

Democratic Endorsement Process asks 19 questions

□ Concern about the appropriateness of a city commissioner and an assistant city attorney endorsing a candidate for commissioner has raised ethical and conflict-of-interest questions. Apparently those who see no problem are pursuing legal action against the city, forcing our city attorney to employ outside counsel to avoid conflict-of-interest charges himself. Legally, both his assistant and the commissioner involved are the city attorney's clients.

□ Four men -- a "leader" and three younger guys -- were overheard in a restaurant strategizing how to defeat candidates "Sam" and "Mack." Whether the substance of the conversation was reported accurately, even whether the event actually happened remains dubious because the source was a supposedly anonymous letter.

□ Candidates and their friends complain -- to other candidates and their friends and to me -- that to "support" is not the same as to "endorse" a candidate. OK, straighten that out among yourselves, people. I will use whichever term my source uses.

□ The outstanding performance of the Fire Department and Police Department during the Dream Cruise/Storm scenario and, more recently, the rapid capture of a suspect in a home intrusion and suspected intention to rape situation has drawn justifiable praise. But within the context of an election campaign, we hear complaints of "excessive self-promotion" by the departments, "hoping to boost their campaign for a dedicated public safety millage."
To the politically obsessed, everything is political.

□ Mike Fournier has submitted the text for his Candidate Page in Versagi Voice. Mike tells me that he'll send his picture after he gets a haircut. Kyle DuBuc followed soon with his text and photo, and George Gomez promises to keep his page alive by expanding on issues as the campaign goes along. The pages are intended to be dynamic in the sense that a candidate can add, modify, or delete text -- with the understanding that my home page will alert readers each time a change is being made made.

All 7 candidates for commissioner have provided some input for a page. See list of links, above-right.

□ Rick Karlowski, re the invitation from the Democratic Club to participate in its forum, tells Versagi Voice: "I responded that as this is a non-partisan election, I was not seeking the endorsement of any party. That still holds, and I will also not be participating in any endorsement conferences from city employees groups, whom if I am elected, I will need to negotiate with."

□ Peggy Goodwin
"A note about the Democratic Club endorsements of the three candidates in the Club.  I personally did not participate, not because I could not answer their questions, but because the City Charter calls for a non-partisan ballot and the endorsements in that club are partisan and pre-determined.  Just as they were in the Oakland County Club, which endorsed the three democratic candidates before the ballots were certified. More to come."

A handful of posts reacting to Versagi Voice's piece about the Democratic Club endorsement appears in Royal Oak Patch.

□ Women and young people (you pick the age-group that qualifies as young) are not represented on the city commission is a complaint heard in this year's campaign. I suppose that matters to some, if one ignores Patricia Capello and considers Jim Ellison, Jim Rasor, and David Poulton -- two Dems, one Independent, and one Republican - old. In this still basically WASP town, CITCOM has at times seemed dominated by Shrine parishioners, but that  didn't affect deliberations about how tall the city should permit grass to grow. I wish we had fewer than three attorneys on CITCOM. But how helpful is it, really, to think in terms of occupational/age/gender/ethnic/racial quotas for an elective body?

□ There are a few voters who are suggesting that Jim Ellison's roles as mayor and sitting as a member of the Planning Commission improperly influenced a decision which favors his employer. Depending on one's mindset, that suggestion may strengthen or weaken the case of those anti-Ellison people who plan not to cast a vote for the unopposed mayor. Their hope is to embarrass Ellison with a vote-count substantially lower than that of the highest vote-getter for commissioner.

There is no such thing as a nonpartisan election
Those readers who worry that this campaign is excessively partisan will benefit from, and enjoy, this flashback to 2003.

When Ellison, Andrzejak, Capello, and Drinkwine took their seats
Some impressions after the 2003 Royal Oak Election
It would be a mistake to make too big an issue out of the Republican-Democrat controversy which arose during the 2003 Royal Oak election. Actually, so-called "non-partisan" elections for mayor and commissioner aren't really non-partisan, anyway. Candidates come with a history known by most voters, but party affiliation has little influence on most local issues which a City Commission must address.

Royal Oak voters decided to recycle two politicians and to bring in a couple of newbies. On the face of it, voters have created a strong, well-balanced commission. It would be surprising if Republican-versus-Democrat becomes an issue as Ellison, Andrzejak, Capello, and Drinkwine take their seats. (FJV 07 Nov 03)

In 2011, we find Cowan and Ginotti among the supporters listed on a flier for one of the Dem3. I'll expand on this partisan/nonpartisan issue some time between now and Election Day.

NOTE: My ongoing coverage of the campaign for city commission draws multiple questions from multiple sources. Here are my short answers. I may expand later about some questions.

Question:
Why are you spending so much time on the election?

Answer:
1) I hope to increase the number of voters.
2) I seek to demonstrate the human dimension (Who are these people?) behind the admittedly dreary mechanical aspects of a political campaign.

Question:
Is an elected official supposed to represent or to lead the voters who elected her?

Answer: Both.

Question:
Is FJV going to endorse anybody?

Answer:
Don't know yet.

Question:
It's been said that it is time for Andrzejak to leave the arena. Thank God, he's choosing not to run. Isn't it time for Jim Ellison to hang it up?

Answer:
Voters decide when an elected official should leave the arena.

In terms of style, the six men and one woman ranged from pontificating through matter-of-fact to uneasy. In terms of substance -- given the limitations of the forum format -- their replies were necessarily conceptual, not detailed.

Had the seven been sitting as an elected body, most of their votes would have been unanimous. The one issue where the vote would have been 3-4 was their answer about enacting a Human Rights Ordinance. Kyle DuBuc, Mike Fournier, Scott Warheit are in favor; George Gomez, Peggy Goodwin, Rick Karlowski, Bill Shaw see no need for a local ordinance.

The League of Women Voters, sponsored by the Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce, conducted its traditional forum, whose rules do not permit the candidates to have-at each other, so there was a pabulum flavor to replies about such diverse matters as attracting traditional retail, golf courses, Kroger, downtown, non-motorized plan, ordinances. The nearest thing to excitement was when they all weighed in against a city income tax.

The questions are written out, and an LWV volunteer groups and selects those which will be asked.. Many questions were being passed in even before they were asked for. That demonstrated that  the same formal and informal groups which are  influencing, or attempting to control the candidates behind the scenes were at work.

Of concern: I hope Shaw and Karlowski don't fall victim to the malady of becoming Johnny One-Note. Each has a near-obsession -- sustainability, in Bill's case, and analysis, in Rick's. They must guard against considering no agenda item trivial. Many are.

Benefiting most from the exposure were those four candidates with the lowest name recognition, whose name and picture have not appeared in the media over the years. Sadly, there were vacancies among the fewer than 90 available chairs. When you consider that many of the attendees were elected and appointed officials and friends and families of the candidates, there wasn't much of a voter turnout. Happily, the video of the forum will appear on the city's WROK and on the LWV's website.

Seven speakers . . .  answering a dozen questions . . . in about 90 minutes: Let's retain an LWV timekeeper for our city commission meetings. No more midnight sessions.

City Hall Candidates Forum now on youtube

Jim Rasor has a forceful persona, but has proved so-so as a legislator. Jim Ellison is mild-mannered and "too nice" as chairman of CITCOM meetings, but is forceful as a legislator. Dave Poulton, studious to the point of self-effacement, has just recently begun to come alive. Quiet, but certainly not self-effacing, Pat Capello is now the strongest commissioner at The Table

Peggy Goodwin begins an addition to her Versagi Voice page with: "As you know I am not providing comment on commissioners or candidates because I don’t believe it serves a “greater good” purpose in this venue, but I do want to take issue with labels." 

Mike Fournier has added his picture to his page. Rick Karlowski has replaced his first picture. Bill Shaw has replaced his picture.

Street talk suggests that the Dem3 are not as vigorously demonstrating their Democrat-ness as earlier. A recent mailing promoting all three of them is paid for by the Committee for a Better Tomorrow. The group supporting two of the nonDem4 is said to be attempting to derail the other two.

Voters seem few and apathetic
"Drifting" was the term I used last week to describe the mood of the city. Readers tended to think I was referring exclusively to city hall. No.

Letters to the editor: I've seen two so far, one each in the Daily Tribune and on Patch.com. Drives through neighborhoods reveal few campaign signs. I've been told that of the 80 homes west of Woodward and south of Lincoln, which are in Royal Oak and where I live and which are thought by most people to be in Huntington Woods -- among those 80-plus home there are only 25 registered voters. The multiple small forums conducted in past years by service clubs seem absent. The low attendance at the LWV forum. 'Tis a challenge.

Because those late August/Early September conversations were off-the-record, the candidates have been assigned numbers, rather than being named in these reports.

"Is there anything we haven't talked about that you would like to mention?"

I ask that question as a conversation or interview ends. The reply often emphasizes something we have already discussed; occasionally a new topic is raised. In either case, it reflects the final thought the candidate wants to leave with me.

8) Stop with the labels, with scare tactics about things like alcohol and millages.

1) I'm a problem solver. I will leave my ego at the door.

6) The Ferndale crowd is moving north. Our liquor license ordinance is too subject to interpretation.

7) Millages are not the problem. Millages are not the solution.

4) I will be my own man at the table.

5) We are asking too much from our city employees.

2) I can't get appointed to (a named city panel) even though I'm the only one who has applied.

Campaign Developments & Observations

10 October
The mailing promoting all the Dem3 restarted talk about the role of the Democratic party in this campaign. The fact that the "Committee for a Better Tomorrow" is based in Lansing has elicited the guess that the Michigan Democratic Party -- or some arm of the party -- is paying for the mailing.  There is sure to be more information about the matter.

"More information" has begun in a great Catherine Kavanaugh piece in the Daily Tribune in which the Dem3 say they have no knowledge about the source of the mailing which supports them.

And candidate Peggy Goodwin adds to her Versagi Voice page a reaction to the activities of the Committee for a Better Tomorrow. Peggy also provides her headshot for the page.

It is this kind of development which demonstrates the wisdom of Absentee Voters holding their vote until one or two days before Election Day.

Years of residency should not be a major consideration in the choice of a candidate. After all, don't we all know individuals who claim 24 years of experience in their job but who demonstrate only one year's experience 24 times? Does the local "immigrant" show signs of having paid attention to civic/political matters? Four years or  forty, does he show more than superficial familiarity with local current affairs and activists? That's what matters.

Question:
Your comments on the four proposed charter amendments, please.

Answer:
General Principle: If ballot language leaves you uncertain about what is being changed or why it's being changed, vote No.

Of the four proposed amendments, only Proposal A directly affects residents. It renews the 5-year millage, "up to 1 mil", which funds everything from recycling to leaf pickup. It is a dedicated millage whose benefits are easy to observe and appreciate. Vote Yes.

The remaining three proposed amendments are procedural housekeeping matters.

Proposal B is an administrative change requested by the Administration and agreed to by CITCOM. It is a rather cumbersome approach to reducing, over several years, some concern about the timing of transferring voting power from outgoing incumbents to incoming officials. Adoption of the proposed amendment will not affect voters. Defeat would not really hurt government operations. Flip a coin, or don't vote on this one.

Proposal C makes it clear that state law applies re filing deadlines for nominating petitions. Although C deals specifically with filing petitions, state-preemption is already true about any conflict between state and local language, so neither residents nor government is affected by  the passage or failure of this proposed amendment. Vote Yes.

Proposal D changes when candidates must pay the filing fee to the City Treasurer. Residents are in no way affected by the passage or failure of this one. (I seem to remember that Royal Oak is the only city in the area which requires a filing fee, which is nominal anyway.) Vote Yes

Royal Oak Patch mounts candidates forum
Five of the seven candidates for city commissioner participated in a hybrid candidates forum arranged by Royal Oak Patch. The forum was taped by Community Media Network/tv and will be made available on Channel 18 and several online platforms to be announced. Attending were Rick Karlowski, Bill Shaw, Scott Warheit, Peggy Goodwin, and George Gomez.

Patch obtained questions from several sources, including its readers, and screened them for duplication and appropriateness. Considered inappropriate for the issue-focused event were those questions directed to a single candidate or dealing with campaign tactics.

Only three of the 15 questions were treated traditionally; that is, each being answered sequentially by all the candidates. To help reach the goal of addressing  as many topics in one hour as in a traditional 2-hour forum, the candidates agreed to begin speaking as soon as the bell rang after the previous speaker finished, without waiting to be recognized.

The other dozen questions were pulled, one and a time, from a basket and directed to the candidates randomly. One question, one reply. Finally, each candidate chose between commenting on what had gone on during the session or giving a mini-campaign speech. One or two did both. The hour of rapid and varied exchanges sounded a bit like a roundtable conversation.

There are three purposes to conduct a forum: 1) To learn how knowledgeable, or at least how familiar, a candidate is about issues. (About issues, the replies soon become boringly repetitive in the traditional format.) 2) To see and hear how a candidate communicates. 3) To reveal how a candidate handles the unexpected. The hybrid format used by Patch offers clues about how a candidate might perform at The Table.

CMN/tv will air the forum this week: 7 p.m. on Monday; 5 p.m. on Tuesday; 1 p.m. on Thursday; and 9 p.m. on Saturday. The video is also available on Royal Oak Patch.

Update: Readers report difficulty getting to the video. Try one or both of these links:
http://royaloak.patch.com/articles/xx-b9ddbd94        
http://cmntv.org/        See City Hall Candidates Forum on youtube

Campaign Developments & Observations

Absentee Voters: Don't vote just yet.
Remember, there remain several weeks during which you may learn more about candidates and issues. Your ballots aren't opened till Election Day. You don't want to have to say, "If I had known then . . . "

One city hall observer tells me that Absentee Ballots are coming in more slowly than usual.
Good to hear.

Peggy Goodwin announces she has been endorsed by the Michigan Sierra Club, lists what she sees as the top three issues, and expands her position paper to an "interest paper."

Rick Karlowski has revised his position paper.

Retired, Self-employed, Corporate employee
How much should employment status mean when choosing a candidate?
This year's cluster of candidates includes a retiree, a self-employed entrepreneur, and five corporately employed individuals. We have married people, single people, married with adult kids, married with tots.

Why does all that matter?
Because an effective commissioner is going to devote 12 to 20 hours a week to this essentially volunteer job. It's not just 4 to 6 hours every other week. There are committee assignments. Documents to read. Constituents to serve -- in person, on the phone, by email. There's preparation for each CITCOM meeting (there are past members who were notorious for not opening their packet until they arrived).

Concerning employment:
Retirees and the self-employed would be the freest to fit those responsibilities into their schedule. Others point out, though, that that same freedom makes retirees "micromanaging nit-pickers," in the words of more than one administrative employee.

Corporately employed freedom depends on the candidate's status in his occupation. How cooperative is the employer in accommodating the candidate's needs for freedom from 9-to-5 limitations?

Marital status: With kids or not, there will be occasions when official duties must take precedence over familial obligations, and there will be times when no self-respecting father or mother would disappoint family for a political duty, no matter how important.

On the one hand, it is illogical to want to know every detail: how many kids? what school or college? any grandkids? how old? It can get a bit much. On the other hand, a voter will want to judge whether a candidate would be over-reaching to take on the responsibilities of an elective position.

So, it is helpful to encounter candidates -- with or without their spouses or kids -- at civic affairs, in the supermarket, at school events, at sports events, at your door.

Two questions:
1) You spend a helluva lot of time talking about Democratic activities. Why are you giving them so much publicity? 2) Why are you trying to demonize Democrats by calling attention to their activities and publishing their documents?

Answer:
Who would be served if I didn't report those activities? The two questions answer themselves.

Question:
It's fun trying to identify the numbered candidates by their comments. Are you ever going to match the numbers with names?

Answer:
If I do, it won't be until after the election. 

Question:
How do you see the election for commissioner shaping up?

Answer:
My notes show an ever-changing result, based on the mix of what I know and what I've heard. Right now, I see one of the Dem3 and two of the nonDem4 getting elected.

24 Oct

More about the write-in candidate for mayor
Although Ann Hubbarth speaks as one with fire-in-her-belly about civic/political matters, her write-in campaign against Mayor Jim Ellison is sedate, nowhere near as forceful as her conversation. She's not collecting money. "Give it to charity, and get me ten votes instead." Email blasts to several hundred people. Facebook, Twitter, pounding on neighbors' doors, and the like.

Ann and I met and talked about such matters as the proposed ordinance to hold party bus drivers responsible for the behavior of their passengers; pension costs; parking meters; the conduct of CITCOM meetings. Coming late to the party -- after being reminded that she had to register with the City Clerk for her write-in votes to be counted -- Ann agreed to create a brief position paper for her Versagi Voice page, to give voters a look at her mindset. One paragraph from her bio offers a first look:

“I am available full time to focus on the issues important to the residents of Royal Oak.  I believe we must do more to save the jobs of our Police and Fire fighting personnel.  If elected, there will be no sacred cows.  Everything and everyone who benefits monetarily from the tax payers of Royal Oak will be studied and modified as necessary.”

Why now?
Is the small "anyone but Ellison" crowd supporting her?
"It's unhealthy having the mayor being unopposed, whoever he is." Ann seemed unaware of any move to embarrass Jim by not casting a vote for mayor, and reacted, "Now they have two choices, don't vote for mayor, or vote for me."

Campaign Developments & Observations

Are there any Republicans out there?
To answer that headline: Yes there are Republicans involved in this local election, but no organized Republican group has publicly engaged in the battle. Complaints that Versagi Voice's campaign coverage promotes Democrats have come from individuals or small clusters of individuals of like mind. As have complaints that my coverage demonizes Democrats.

Oversimplifying:
The Dem3 candidates are being helped and hurt by the overt partisan tone of their organized campaign. The nonDem4 candidates are made up of two who are being helped and hurt by who their widely known supporters are, and two who will win or lose almost solely as a result of their own efforts.

The campaign has turned a bit nasty, but not ugly.
Letters to the editor commenting on robo-calls and partisanship are a bit sharp. . . . The ripple effect from this year's vigorous and successful anti-Kroger protest has generated statements like, "If [a candidate]  accepts the endorsement of [one leader of the anti-Kroger drive], they lose my vote." . . . And "tips" about something bad or questionable about a candidate have been fewer than usual so far.

Technical glitch troubles access to forum video
For a bit more than a day, there was no access to the video of the Royal Oak Patch and CMN/tv candidates forum. Several activists accused Patch of favoring the two candidates who hadn't participated in the forum but who had been given the opportunity to answer a few questions in writing. The accusations were harshly worded. After the technical problem had been overcome and the video was again accessible, a couple of the activists issued 1- or 2-sentence thank you notes -- but no apology for impugning Patch's integrity.

As moderator of the forum, I was among those who received the email exchanges. At the risk of making some angry people angrier, I have praised the candidate who alerted us he would be breaking his birthday promise to his young daughter if he participated in the forum.

The video can be reached from Patch or directly from CMN.
http://royaloak.patch.com/articles/xx-b9ddbd94         http://cmntv.org/
See City Hall Candidates Forum on youtube

Excerpts from notes from early conversations with the candidates
All of them feel a sense of duty. . . . The Dem3 came through as individuals, despite their pride in being Democrats. . . . One of them tells me they didn't know each other before now. I think of the Dem3 as having been drafted by Rasor. . . .  All four of the nonDem4 were initially reluctant to get in the race. A sentence or two about each of the candidates:

Kyle DuBuc
Sees his Peace Corps experiences as providing expertise in initiating and guiding sustainable development.

Maintains rigid ideologies need to be overcome, then adds, "Anyone who says, 'I don't vote along party lines; I vote for the individual' is a Republican."

George Gomez
Why now?
 "Hearing Terry Drinkwine say, 'Why do I have to listen to anybody?' Three new people running, "with almost no familiarity with city politics and very little involvement in the city's civic life."

"We are asking too much of our city employees."

Peggy Goodwin
Wanted to talk issues . . . Began with how mistaken it is to think of downtown Royal Oak as a terrible problem. . . . She sees it as a mix of "creative retail" and entertainment: 85 retailers, 45 restaurants, and 7 "night clubs." Downtown is shopping and entertainment . . . Neighborhood life is still great. 

Preaches mediation and communication as the solution for many problems.

Mike Fournier
Says his skill as treasurer will be helpful in addressing city's financial problems. "Government is not a business, but the dollars are just as precious."

Thinks the city's challenge of Mark Liss's and Jim Rasor's freedom of speech (questioning the propriety of their endorsing a candidate) is wasting time on a trivial matter.

Rick Karlowski
A purist about the statements and motivations of others . . . Analytical . . . Focuses a lot on detail but doesn't lose sight of issue/context. 

"Take advantage of the 2 years made available by the federal grant to seriously consider reorganizing options for the fire department . . . No need to staff the police department for peak loads."

Bill Shaw
Re the question of whether Bill can behave other than in his combative Public Comment mode, his demeanor as moderator at his own forum suggested that he adjusts his behavior to the venue. In this conversation, he was quiet, reasoned, listened.

Didn't want to run . . . Not a slate person . . . Not a group person. 

Scott Warheit
Enthusiastic to a fault. New to politics.

Was captivated by the Emagine fight . . . Decided to try to get to The Table

"The liquor license moratorium was a horrible idea. If you don't trust your elected officials, why have them up there?"

Charter Review Committee explains proposed amendments

Next week, I'll wrap up my campaign coverage, and tell you whom I'm voting for on my Absentee Ballot.