The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
By now everyone who will vote in the upcoming city election has made his or her choices. Nothing in this column or in this edition of the First Capitol News will change that. Today I want to address the election of which few take notice. I refer to the two vacancies on the St. Charles School Board.
There are two openings and there will be three names on the ballot. One of these candidates has dropped out of the race. His name is Bernie Weinrich. He dropped out due to health concerns. This will create a situation that could be a problem.
Mr. Weinrich has removed himself from the race, but too late to have his name removed from the ballot. The problem will rear its ugly head if voters unknowingly vote for him anyway. If he is elected, he won’t serve. This creates a situation where someone will be appointed to fill the seat. There is little doubt that this appointee will be someone that agrees with the President of the Board. We already have one member whose seat on the Board that was filled by appointment, and she is an embarrassment.
The president of the Board, along with three others has shown that they and he are not responsive to the residents. We cannot afford to have another of that mind set join the board. There is still hope that one of these four will come to their senses, but there has been no indication of that.
Since Mr. Weinrich opposed the action that has caused the current distrust of this Board, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want these four to have another of their ilk join them. The only way to avoid this is to not vote for Mr. Weinrich. Bernie Weinrich is not running, even though his name is on the ballot.
Vote! Your voice needs to be heard. In our city government we have the chance to bring the mayor’s office back to something people can respect instead of a feeding trough for whoever pays for the privilege.
You have the chance to turn away council hopefuls that would threaten physical harm to anyone that holds an opinion different from theirs.
You can say “no” to a candidate that believes that we all should spend our tax dollars subsidizing her bed and breakfast and has earned the nickname given to her by several South Main businessmen. Say “No” to Vendetta.
Don’t waste your vote in the School Board election. Although he would be one of my choices, do not vote for Bernie Weinrich. He will thank you.
That’s the view from the cheap seats.
