Tyrone Town Council 2019
Every election, I try to do some sort of voting research, and write up my opinions on the coming races. This time around, we have a simple election with just municipal races, and I did something new. I met individually with each of the candidates for my town council, and sat down for a conversation. It was an interesting experience, definitely enlightening, and I hope that I gave each of them some new food for political thought even as I learned about them.
Linda Howard is a grandmother who has lived in this town since childhood. She was town clerk before she was a council member back in the ‘60’s, stepped down after a time, and got back into it after the town's centennial. She is very concerned with keeping the small town feel of Tyrone even as more people and businesses move here. She is happy to keep the millage rate the same, and she believes in running town hall on a shoestring budget. In her view, the new municipal center is a matter of necessity, driven by overcrowding at the town courthouse.
David Barlow, on the other hand, is a former county commissioner. He enjoys being a political "troublemaker", and as a troublemaker myself, I appreciate that. He got into county politics by recording Commission meetings for public viewing. He refers to the current town council as a "cabal", without enough dissenting voices. He boasts of his relationships with people in county government developed during his time as a commissioner, and says that he thinks he can get the county to "do more" for the town.
For my own part, I'm not excited about getting the county to do more for the town. My thinking is, every time a local government gets more "help" from a larger government, there are always strings attached, terms and conditions. They have their own agenda. And while I think Barlow's heart is good, some of the things he says make me wince. There was his "Demon-crats" remark a few years ago that made the news.
I'm glad that Barlow is giving Howard a challenge, but I'm still inclined to vote for Howard in this race. I want Tyrone to stay "small town" even as it grows. And I'm just not interested in asking for more favors from the County.
William "Billy" Campbell was head of the town's maintenance department for many years. He is very much of the opinion that the millage rate needs to be raised, and town departments need to grow and offer more services. He seems to think that the fact that town sports and recreation activities are hosted and sponsored by local groups without tax money is a problem. My libertarian ideas of doing important things with as little government as possible didn't seem to appeal to him.
Michael Edwards is relatively new to the town, and new to politics. I did enjoy my conversation with him. He does believe that it’s possible for a town to grow in population without losing its “small town” feel, and he spoke about how he saw it when he lived in Texas. He wants to grow the police department to keep up with the town’s growth, but not much else. I think my suggestions for solving problems without government were new to him, but he took an interest.
Melissa Hill is a local real estate agent and a film location coordinator. She is worried about the negative consequences of a sudden upheaval in town council. One thing that caught my attention: She thinks it unfortunate that, if an area is zoned to allow a particular kind of business, the town council has to allow it. She thinks the "clever" answer is for town council to zone areas in such a way that no one will use them, at least for now. For example, she asked, does the town really need two dollar stores? My response is, if the town's economy won't support it, one of them will eventually close, and until then, each will push the other to be better, which is a win for the rest of us. But, on the flip side, she did seem to take serious interest when I proposed out-of-the-box, grassroots ideas to handling various issues from school districting to road maintenance.
For this race, I'm torn between Edwards and Hill. Campbell is right out for me, given his interest in raising taxes and spending.
Post 1
Running for Post 1, we have Linda Howard and David Barlow.Linda Howard is a grandmother who has lived in this town since childhood. She was town clerk before she was a council member back in the ‘60’s, stepped down after a time, and got back into it after the town's centennial. She is very concerned with keeping the small town feel of Tyrone even as more people and businesses move here. She is happy to keep the millage rate the same, and she believes in running town hall on a shoestring budget. In her view, the new municipal center is a matter of necessity, driven by overcrowding at the town courthouse.
David Barlow, on the other hand, is a former county commissioner. He enjoys being a political "troublemaker", and as a troublemaker myself, I appreciate that. He got into county politics by recording Commission meetings for public viewing. He refers to the current town council as a "cabal", without enough dissenting voices. He boasts of his relationships with people in county government developed during his time as a commissioner, and says that he thinks he can get the county to "do more" for the town.
For my own part, I'm not excited about getting the county to do more for the town. My thinking is, every time a local government gets more "help" from a larger government, there are always strings attached, terms and conditions. They have their own agenda. And while I think Barlow's heart is good, some of the things he says make me wince. There was his "Demon-crats" remark a few years ago that made the news.
I'm glad that Barlow is giving Howard a challenge, but I'm still inclined to vote for Howard in this race. I want Tyrone to stay "small town" even as it grows. And I'm just not interested in asking for more favors from the County.
Post 2
We have a three-way race for this post, with the incumbent bowing out. Former town employee William "Billy" Campbell, pastor Michael Edwards, and real estate agent/film site coordinator Melissa Hill.William "Billy" Campbell was head of the town's maintenance department for many years. He is very much of the opinion that the millage rate needs to be raised, and town departments need to grow and offer more services. He seems to think that the fact that town sports and recreation activities are hosted and sponsored by local groups without tax money is a problem. My libertarian ideas of doing important things with as little government as possible didn't seem to appeal to him.
Michael Edwards is relatively new to the town, and new to politics. I did enjoy my conversation with him. He does believe that it’s possible for a town to grow in population without losing its “small town” feel, and he spoke about how he saw it when he lived in Texas. He wants to grow the police department to keep up with the town’s growth, but not much else. I think my suggestions for solving problems without government were new to him, but he took an interest.
Melissa Hill is a local real estate agent and a film location coordinator. She is worried about the negative consequences of a sudden upheaval in town council. One thing that caught my attention: She thinks it unfortunate that, if an area is zoned to allow a particular kind of business, the town council has to allow it. She thinks the "clever" answer is for town council to zone areas in such a way that no one will use them, at least for now. For example, she asked, does the town really need two dollar stores? My response is, if the town's economy won't support it, one of them will eventually close, and until then, each will push the other to be better, which is a win for the rest of us. But, on the flip side, she did seem to take serious interest when I proposed out-of-the-box, grassroots ideas to handling various issues from school districting to road maintenance.
For this race, I'm torn between Edwards and Hill. Campbell is right out for me, given his interest in raising taxes and spending.
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