I can met either this coming Tuesday or Thursday at 4:00 p.m. I would like you to post that I do not have any big time campaign manager or committee. I have support from residents and they are the ones I speak to regarding my campaign. Further, please post that I will meet with you as a person, not a challenger.Penny Crissman

I am happy to report that Penny Crissman has agreed to meet with me after all. The full content of her email is noted in the quotation block that is attached to this post.

I look forward to meeting with Penny and am certain that we will both leave our meeting with a better feeling about each other.

Historically, only a small portion of registered voters actually vote in Rochester elections. In particular, an odd year election such as this year’s city council election draws even a smaller number of voters. Couple this with the fact that there is a primary on August 7th, history tells us that even fewer voters still will participate in this primary.

I would encourage all registered voters of the city to get out and vote this year. The time for change is upon us, and can only be accomplished with a strong turnout at the polls. In fact, if you cannot make it to the polls this year you can request an Absentee Ballot from the city. You can contact City Clerk Lee Ann O’Connor at (248) 651-9061 to request an application, or you can send her an email at loconnor@ci.rochester.mi.us.

One of my campaign flyers is going to say, ‘Rochester was named 39th Best Place in the United States to Live,’ by Money Magazine in 2005, Rochester Councilman Thomas Werth said. ‘Why change?’- Councilman Tom Werth

Councilman Tom Werth says that one of the reasons he should be re-elected is because the City of Rochester was listed on the 2005 Money magazine list of “Best American Cities to Live In”.

Councilman Werth never mentions that Rochester was not on the 2006 Money Magazine list. Furthermore, almost as if they had planned it that way, early this morning Money magazine released their 2007 version of “America’s Best Places to Live“. The list is current and includes the top 100 cities that have everything any family could want - economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a sense of community. Not only is Rochester not number 39 on the list, but our city has fallen completely off the list. Gone. But Councilman Werth wants to live in the past. And that, my friends, is one of the main problems with elected officials who have been in office for thrity-four years.

I would like to thank the League of Women Voters - Oakland Area for conducting the “Meet the Candidates” night at the Older Persons’s Commission on July 12th. The event was well attended and offered a first hand perspective into the positions and attitudes of the candidates.

The size of the audience was another indication of the rebirth of interest in local Rochester politics. The questions from the audience were well thought out and each questioner asked for an answer from every candidate. My only regret is that the meeting had to end at 8:30pm. I think the meeting could have gone on for quite some time had there not been an artifically imposed ending time.

One of the other candidate’s website has a running list of “Voter Requests”. Presumably, this list contains requests that have been made to the candidate while he was canvassing neighborhoods. One of the requests jumped out at me. It said: “No One Issue Candidates”.

One issue. That’s me. Transparency and accountability to those who pay the bills. If this is an issue that is important to you, then your vote for me will not be wasted.

I presume the comment was made about my candidacy. My twenty years employment as a Rochester police officer, coupled with my dogged determinationl to see that the city police department is saved and the community does not outsource police services to the lowest bidder, makes it plausible that some people might think I am a one issue candidate.

Well, they’re right. I am a one issue candidate. But it’s not the issue that they might think it is.

On July 12, 2007 at 7:00pm the League of Women Voters will be holding a “Candidate’s Night” at the Older Person’s Center on Letica Drive.

The purpose of the event is to allow interested persons to get a better idea of who the candidates are and what their positions are on matters of importance. The audience will have a chance to ask questions of the candidates. This is a unique opportunity to participate in the election process and I encourage interested persons to attend.