The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
The long wait is over. We have a permanent Chief of Police and will soon have our new Director of Administration.
The Director of Administration should be what our mayor calls a “good fit”. He comes from Miami, Oklahoma. Miami has less than 1/4th our population and probably 1/20th our revenue. I don’t know if he’s up to the task ahead, but I’m sure the mayor will “guide” him.
Chief Corley has had time to become adjusted to the position. The mayor called him a “proven person”. One of the first actions he took as interim Chief was to re-assign an officer that happened to have supported the wrong mayoral candidate. Patti says Corley had a “calming” effect on the department. That type of activity will calm anyone who dares to speak out against this mayor. It’s sort of like in The Godfather, waking with your horse’s head under your covers. Maybe a better analogy would be the “calming effect” the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had on the Japanese Empire. He has definitely “proven” that he knows the requirements of his position.
While Frenchtown residents and business owners are trying to improve the area, it seems like someone is working against them. There is a proposal before the Council to spot-zone certain properties, adding to the problems facing Frenchtown. There were several speakers at the last Council meeting expressing opposition. It will be interesting to see if Councilman Veit listens to his constituents, or turns a deaf ear as he did in the parking situation. We all know the businessmen and women lost their parking after political contributions were made and the Veit contributor benefited. But while this beneficiary eats steak shouldn’t Richard at least throw his constituents a bone? Or maybe he has already given them exactly that.
Note to Frenchtown: Money talks, and apparently Veit can’t hear you talking. Maybe if you hold an illegal poker game and contribute the house cut to his campaign, he’ll listen.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
