We're Gonna Take That Hill

I can't say for sure if I was channeling Siskel or Ebert when I looked in the movie vault, but I was thinking about hills. It seems hills just drive some people right off the rails.

How Does It Feel To Be One Of the Shootiful People? How Often Have You Been There?

Otherwise, it's just another day in America, another day with another mass shooting, another day in which people decided to exercise their Second Amendment rights in very inconvenient ways.
                                                            Charles P. Pierce


http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a40155/san-bernardino-shooting-again/      (link to Charlie Pierce)



And further... I say firmly, and to whomever will listen, I'm sick of this madness and want it stopped NOW.   ( link to U.S.A. madness statistics)

Soundtrack to bleakness, madness, and surrender...

                                                   

In Which I Instruct My Social Secretary To Send My Regrets

Is it overly churlish of me to call attention to the fact that the timing of the inauguration ceremony for municipal officeholders, this coming Saturday, before the terms of the outgoing office holders expire, is just a tad premature, and a bit gauche?

If one views the planning and discussion leading to the event as a kind of  class struggle, NO won.

Also Ran

I lost an election tonight, and will soon depart from public life. Serving two terms on the City Council has been an honor granted me by my fellow citizens of New Albany, and one I will hold dear.

Best of luck to the victors in this race: David Aebersold, Dave Barksdale, and Al Knable.

Below, is a poem by Wendell Berry, from his collection, Leavings.

_________________________

In time a man disappears
from his lifelong fields, from
the streams he has walked beside,
from the woods where he sat and waited.
Thinking of this, he seems to
miss himself in those places
as if always he has been there,
watching for himself to return.
But first he must disappear,
and this he foresees with hope,
with thanks. Let others come.

Same As It Ever Was

A day or so ago my commitment to the policy of changing New Albany's one-way streets to two-way streets was questioned. While such a change in the City's relationship to the automobile has not been the main issue of my bid for re-election, it is a change I fully support.

Below are some of the posts I have written on this topic.

I have written my blog for a number of years now. While some may claim, tongue in cheek, to have the "blog that no one reads", I in fact, do write the blog that no one reads. As I have written previously, even though I reach few people with my writing, I enjoy doing it, and view the exercise as my attempt to lay out, for those who are interested, a public record.

In the case of my support for two-way streets, I believe my position is clear; same as it ever was.


http://johngonder.blogspot.com/2013/04/one-way-out.html

http://johngonder.blogspot.com/2014/03/nip-it-nip-it-in-bud.html

http://johngonder.blogspot.com/2015_02_01_archive.html

Keep Those Cards and Letters Comin'

I posted a picture here, the other day, of the post cards my wife and I are handing out as we walk the city in my campaign for re-election, November 3. I tried using a photograph, but was concerned that the type blurred into illegibility. Below is a typed version of the card, followed by the original.

I've been pleased with the cards that roll in, and I'm grateful for the time people take to answer the questions. I was particularly moved to hear a gentleman the other day thank me because, "Nobody ever asks what I think" about local government. Others have thanked me on the returned cards.

If I should be so fortunate as to win re-election, I am going  to take these concerns forward on behalf of our citizens, and try my best to get results on these and other issues to help make New Albany a better city.


How important are these issues to you?  
Very    Somewhat    Not at all

a. Enforcing noise ordinance                    
b. Adding sidewalks                                  
c. Drainage/Runoff                                    
e. Cooperation between City & County
d. Historic preservation
f. Animal shelter/Animal Control              
g. Traffic conditions                                  
h. Downtown revitalization                       
i. Code enforcement                                   
j. Police body cameras                               
k. Public transportation                             
l. Greater police presence                          
m. Creating a climate for better jobs        

Should the City Council have more say in what is expected of major projects, such as the aquatic center, a dog park, the redevelopment of the Coyle property on Spring St. into luxury apartments?       YES____               NO____

In general, should local government deliver municipal services, such as sewerage, trash collection, among others, or should private sector providers be used?
YES____ (local govt.)  NO ____(private sector)

What would you like to see New Albany's government do that it is not doing?
_______________________________________________________

Are there parts of New Albany where you don't feel safe?
NO____ If yes, where?___________________

Should local tax policy incentivize residents to move to certain parts of town?
YES______  NO_____

Didn't see your concern here? Or need more space?....email me at jdgonder619@gmail.com

Campaign Postcard Asking for Voters' Opinions

As I've been walking and campaigning in different parts of the city I'm handing out these postcards. I'm asking people to answer the questions on the card and mail them to me. Quite a few have done so.

The card below is a photograph, but if you'd like to answer the questions, or some of them, you can e-mail me at the address shown, or answer in a comment.