Campaign principals

By Daniel "Dan" Bartkowski

Brief description of some issues and beliefs.

I believe that local government has an obligation to "...establish justice, insure domestic tranquility...[and] promote the general welfare..." To this end it is be accountable to its citizens for how it treats those citizens while pursuing those goals and how it spends its citizens money. Fiscal responsibility is not an option, it's a requirement and members of any city council must exercise prudent judgement in their authorization of projects. Along those lines, I've served terms on the Elder Board of our church and have participated in the formation of an annual church budget and oversight of projects related to the maintenance of church property.

I also believe that maintenance of the city's infrastructure is essential in order to sustain and improve the quality of life within the community. To this end, the council authorizes projects that will serve the transportation needs of the residents, oversees provisions for water, sewer, electrical power, communications and refuse collection for the residents and it also promotes various recreational activities. The council is also intimately involved with the support of the school system that helps to train up our children in the way they should go and must also be intimately involved with that system's accountability to the parents of the children. Public education is education of the public and that involves both the tax-supported schools and the parochial schools. It's not a case of either/or or a case of one against the other. It's a case of giving all our children the best education they can have and supporting the parents in their decisions on how that is best achieved for their families.

The city council can foster a strong sense of community by promoting activities that bring neighbors together rather than giving tacit approval to ordinances and policies that pit them against each other over trivial matters. At the present time, the Council has acquiesced to officers of the city engaging in what can charitably be termed harassment of its citizens by charging them with criminal complaints over issues that have nothing to do with either public safety or public health. This type of conduct on the part of city officials should cease. The Public Safety office should be solely concerned with matters of public safety and public health, not matters of where residents store their trash containers, park their cars on their own property or how "adequate" their landscaping may be considered to be. Civic improvement is one thing. Charging citizens with criminal complaints and dragging them through court for these type of issues is another and is an unwarranted abuse of civil authority.

In summary, the people of this city need to know that their governmental leaders are responsible and responsive to the legitimate concerns of the residents without being subjected to harassment over petty "concerns" that ultimately don't amount to a hill of beans. Being able to distinguish between real concerns and minor "irritations" is a hallmark of a city council that will truly serve the residents of the city as opposed to a city council that will have the residents serve it. The motto on the city letterhead proclaims that they are "Dedicated to Service". If that motto is to have any real meaning and not be effectively replaced with the city being "Dedicated to Citizen Servitude", then the makeup of this city's council must change. I ask that you join together on March 4th and vote for a change!

Thank you!