** as noted in the P.S. of this message, Mr. Shaver wanted members of this community to be made aware of this information. Although Mr. Shaver is not a member of PATA, we are honoring his request, as the information is pertinent to all local residents. No other forum in the Pickerington area is available to reach the citizens before the 2/5 meeting mentioned.
-webmaster..
Subject: Nomination of Craig Maxey
Dear Concerned Citizens:
On thursday night the Rule Committee (Brian Fox and Doug Parker)
nominated Craig Maxey for the vacant counsel position. In my opinion,
the selection process was flawed from the beginning. Anyone wishing to
apply had less than two weeks from the resignation of John Washington to
make application. A longer time period should have been allowed to
provide for the dissemination of news about this opening through the
community. Even with this brief notice, a significant number of people
applied. There were no second interviews of any of the individuals and a
decision was made less than twenty fours after the completion of the
interviews. There was no public discussion and no apparent attempt made
to solicit the opinions of the community.
I attended many of the interviews and I strongly believe that the best
candidate was not chosen. Among the candidates were people with what
could only be described as stellar military careers, individuals with
advanced degree in accounting and finance and another with nationally
recognized experience in developing and implementing one of the largest
government construction projects in Central Ohio. Many other people also
presented with excellent credentials. These people could have added a
fresh perspective to the issues facing this community. I am surprised
at Mr. Fox's description of the people as ''needing a little more
seasoning''. Many of these individuals had far more years of government
experience than Mr. Maxey and, even those without government experience
had business and life experience that exceed Mr. Maxey's. In my opinion,
Mr. Maxey was not, by any measure, the most qualified candidate and I
will not vote for him on Tuesday.
I also strongly believe that the selection of Mr. Maxey is not
conducive to the development of a better relationship between the
government and its citizens and other political entities. In a
republican form of government any governing body most have checks upon
it's exercise of power to guard against abuse. In the federal system,
there are a number of checks and balances between the different
branches. In a city form of government, the city council's exercise of
power is rather absolute. The only checks against this power (other
than the court) are the actions of the citizens. The citizens may use
referendums if they believe an ordinance passed by the council to be
wrong. Unfortunately, this ,mechanism does not exist where the council,
as is is often done in Pickerington, utilizes it's emergency powers.
Ordinances passed by emergency are not subject to referendum. This is
why I oppose emergency legislation in all but a few limited cases. It
is not, as Mr. Parker and Mr. Hughes state repeatedly, only a quicker
method of passing legislation that has been improperly named. It is a
powerful tool granted to the council that should only be used sparingly
and in the most dire circumstances as it deprives citizens of their
right of referendum, thereby eliminating an important safeguard against
the abuse of power by an elected body.
-- continued -- Dear Concerned Citizens - part -2-
David Shaver
By webmaster
-webmaster..
Subject: Nomination of Craig Maxey
Dear Concerned Citizens:
On thursday night the Rule Committee (Brian Fox and Doug Parker)
nominated Craig Maxey for the vacant counsel position. In my opinion,
the selection process was flawed from the beginning. Anyone wishing to
apply had less than two weeks from the resignation of John Washington to
make application. A longer time period should have been allowed to
provide for the dissemination of news about this opening through the
community. Even with this brief notice, a significant number of people
applied. There were no second interviews of any of the individuals and a
decision was made less than twenty fours after the completion of the
interviews. There was no public discussion and no apparent attempt made
to solicit the opinions of the community.
I attended many of the interviews and I strongly believe that the best
candidate was not chosen. Among the candidates were people with what
could only be described as stellar military careers, individuals with
advanced degree in accounting and finance and another with nationally
recognized experience in developing and implementing one of the largest
government construction projects in Central Ohio. Many other people also
presented with excellent credentials. These people could have added a
fresh perspective to the issues facing this community. I am surprised
at Mr. Fox's description of the people as ''needing a little more
seasoning''. Many of these individuals had far more years of government
experience than Mr. Maxey and, even those without government experience
had business and life experience that exceed Mr. Maxey's. In my opinion,
Mr. Maxey was not, by any measure, the most qualified candidate and I
will not vote for him on Tuesday.
I also strongly believe that the selection of Mr. Maxey is not
conducive to the development of a better relationship between the
government and its citizens and other political entities. In a
republican form of government any governing body most have checks upon
it's exercise of power to guard against abuse. In the federal system,
there are a number of checks and balances between the different
branches. In a city form of government, the city council's exercise of
power is rather absolute. The only checks against this power (other
than the court) are the actions of the citizens. The citizens may use
referendums if they believe an ordinance passed by the council to be
wrong. Unfortunately, this ,mechanism does not exist where the council,
as is is often done in Pickerington, utilizes it's emergency powers.
Ordinances passed by emergency are not subject to referendum. This is
why I oppose emergency legislation in all but a few limited cases. It
is not, as Mr. Parker and Mr. Hughes state repeatedly, only a quicker
method of passing legislation that has been improperly named. It is a
powerful tool granted to the council that should only be used sparingly
and in the most dire circumstances as it deprives citizens of their
right of referendum, thereby eliminating an important safeguard against
the abuse of power by an elected body.
-- continued -- Dear Concerned Citizens - part -2-
David Shaver
By webmaster
