One more person has taken out papers to run for Mammoth Town Council. John Wentworth, President of the Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access. Three seats are up for election in June – those held by Councilmen Rick Wood, John Eastman and Matthew Lehman.
At last word, Eastman will not seek re-election and Wood and Lehman were still considering their options. Deb Pierrel has declared her candidacy and Joe Parrino says he will run.
The deadline for filing candidacy papers is March 7th. Contact the Town Clerk for more information.
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The government guarantees our freedom to speak, is that what the big black government building in Utah is doing?
True freedom cannot be governed, can it Ken? Government is the rule or control of the people, the opposite of freedom. As for its guaranty of freedom, do you mean the freedom to pay or not pay the new sales tax in Mammoth? The guaranteed freedom of the wild innocent mustangs our government is hauling away? The guaranteed freedom of our national forests that we cut down, stack up and pile up along the road to the main lodge? Or do you mean the freedom to speak just before being killed by a US drone, Or is it operation liberties we force or invade on so many others?
From my perspective: freedom and government is a total contradiction and a government that claims to guarantee our freedoms is nothing but snake oil, or smoke and mirrors.
Welcome to the show!
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Mark Twain — ‘Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.’
Doesn’t seem to me that anarchy is freedom at all. The right to do whatever you want whenever you want without regard to anyone else is not freedom, it is devolution to survival of the violent at the expense of us all.
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but it seems to me that both locally and around the world, and throughout our human history, governments are destructive and really don’t work. For freedom, =
It’s how we need to live. You also noticed, likely, that when it doesn’t work, the people eventually revolt.
Your government has guaranteed your right to make such statements. Look what happens in other countries when you speak out against the government.
It’s a conundrum.
We the People have guaranteed the right of free speech and must continue to demand our government upholds it.
If you want to understand violence and the complete absence of rights or justice, try living without some form of government. You end up reverting to a primative state living like animals where the strong dominate, even kill, the weak as they wish, because they are strong and they can. Places like Somalia and Yemen are great examples of what a really weak and ineffective government look like.
I think it would do you good to read the political writings of a man named Vaclav Havel. He was a dissedent writer from what was then known as Czechoslovakia who spent many years in Soviet gulags for what he wrote. He is remarkable in that, as the old USSR crumbled, he went from being a prisoner in a gulag to the President of a new, post Communist Czechoslovalia in about 100 days. He led the “Velvet Revolution”. He also led the peaceful division of his country into separate states, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, the so-called Velvet Divorce. As the Czech President he wrote all of his own speeches. No speech writers for him. You need to read what he wrote on the subject of governance and the necessity of those who care to do the hard work of trying to govern. He was very critical of those who criticized government but refused to participate, viewing it as beneath them to make the compromises necessary to have a well run and prosperous country that also protects it’s citizens writes. A good first book of his is “The Art of the Impossible, Politics as Morality in Practice”. It is a compilation of his speeches, including one given before a joint session of our Congress less than a year after his release from a Soviet prison. You can learn a lot from Mr. Havel. He is one of the moral giants of the 20th Century.
DT, American pioneers did very well with only local government and no federal nanny state trying to run every aspect of their lives.
I will definetly do my homework prior to voting day but from what I’ve seen John is all about recreation, isn’t that the reason most of us are here? Isn’t that the reason most of our visitors come here? Isn’t that what Dave is all about?
I deal with some of our most demanding visitors as well as locals, sometimes the locals can be just as difficult and self centered as our visitors. From my dealings with John he has been super conscientious, which is rare.
We had difficulty finding people to run for Town Council last go around, perhaps some of us should consider running if we are going to critisize like we do.
Don’t be fooled by his recreation agenda. He’s in it for himself. Another King of the Mammoth mentality. He has alienated every entity he has tried to work with because of his self importance. I would rather elect one of the bears living in a culvert. At least you know their agenda.
John is a great candidate, and would serve the community well. Derisive comments about MLTPA are unwarranted. MLTPA has helped spur the idea that this community is best served by a unified vision of seamless recreation opportunities across jurisdictional boundaries. Given the uncertainty in climate, funding, and government capacity that we have experienced in recent years, it would be refreshing to have someone as passionate about this town’s life-blood as John.
We need get back on track what Dave MCcoy and Murphy created. One of the funnest places for all user groups to be able to enjoy Recreating at in the World. We have everything to offer here in the Eastern Sierras, All it will take is COMMON SENSE, Not POWER TRIPS and GREEDY Government officials telling us what we can and can’t do on public land. I’ve always been the one who grabs the Bull by the horns and fights for civil rights.
Joe, could you please explain to the voters your work history?
Some don’t have what it takes and I know it.
Some don’t have what it takes and don’t know it.
Some think they have a good name.
Others would rater choose a bad name and do it on purpose.
Some have what it takes and know it, those are the dangerous ones.
Hat tip to the person who took that picture though…
I’ve got my 1000 words.
This one looks safe.
MTi’
Is John Wentworth one of the people that the “selection committee” decided should run and lead our town?
I am concerned about his one-issue stance and the fact that he tried to close the lakes basin to cars.
He isn’t the guy for the job.
I think the Lakes Basin would be a much nicer place if it was closed to cars. The transit system would have to be enhanced and provisions for motor homes but it would be great to just ride the bike and walk around the basin.
There’s more than a few business owners who would hate the idea.
John is as good a candidate that we’ve had in the 14 years I’ve lived here. I would have liked to see MLTPA somehow folded into our town government since it has a better handle on recreation than our Rec. Dept.
Then run for office yourself Concerned Greatly. I put my own neck on the line to work for a city council committee that handles an aspect of governance that is of great concern to me, and have seen my good name disparaged in the press and the internet. It comes with the territory. Seems you can dish it, now lets see if you can handle the heat yourself. Put up or shut up time. Or, maybe you don’t have what it takes either.
Lot of truth in what you say about people not willing to step up and do the dirty work. I admit I’m one — but then who would want to see me on the TC? I’d just piss everybody off.
But I know 4 or 5 people who would be good TC members. I’ve even asked if they would run. They all say no. And I don’t blame them. Who would want to jump into the mess that so many have worked so hard to create.
I still think putting the town into bankruptcy and then dissolving the town and giving it back to the county makes the most sense. Fewer people with their fingers in the pudding. Less kowtowing to the developers. I just don’t see the sense in continuing this way just to suit a few big developers.
You need to find a nice chair and spend some time reading the California Government Code. To disincorporate a city requires concurrence of both the County BOS and LAFCO, the Local Agency Formantion Commission. If both of these refuse to buy off on a disincorporation, a city cannot disincorporate.
Further reading of the CGC will reveal that county government is prohibited from paying any debts incurred by a disincorporated city. By law, if a city disincorporates the county is required, read that again, required, to form a tax district composed of the former city and tax the residents to pay down the debts incurred by the former city. Other county residents are not permitted to be taxed to pay these debts.
In short, your idea is not informed by an understanding of how the law works.
No matter who winds up sitting on council, the position allows way too much power.
This would be sad to see as there would be no leaders on council, when we deserve 5 leaders. Lets look at this in the light it should be focused towards in terms of what candidates have declared and some who have not.
Raimondo – self interest only
Parrino – nothing to say
Wentworth – self interest only
Lehman – self interest only
Pierrel – not sure, but maybe she has some common sense, which would never be seen by the four above
Bacon – the only leader that would emerge from above and proven
Wood – proven in both directions – leader and full of self
Eastman – the man – it differs in opinion from within community
Common outcome here is not encouraging and quite sad. This is more than a dumb joke, look to our leaders, where are they (we have talented and succesful business people that call mammoth home who could do this), they dont want any part of this, just ask? How can anyone vote for the first five if they know them at all? How can anyone vote for council members that are so in it for self interests? How can anyone say this is the direction that we want to see? or is it?
Change is in store but take careful thought to the direction of who sits on council.
Great, that is all we need. Another one issue, self serving, council member with zero experience with city government.