Last night's candidates forum for Mooresville's town government was (dare I say it?) a little boring.
Questions for the candidates - Mitch Abraham and Eddie Dingler (Ward 1), Thurman Houston and Billy Hendrix (Ward 2), Bobby Compton and Skip Alexander (At-large) and Miles Atkins and Jared Esselman (Mayor) - "were submitted by the general public, chamber members and the media," according to a forum handout. "The criteria for a question being included in the forum is that it deal with either current or future issues facing Mooresville and Iredell County, and be within the purview & authority of the races represented..."
The questions were all softballs: How great should the town board's role be in business and commerce? Why are you running for office? What are the top issues facing Mooresville today, and how will you address them? And my personal favorite: If a genie were to appear and give you three wishes for Mooresville, what would they be?
At that time, I finally gave up and put my pen down.
Where was the substance?
A specific question about MI-Connection - and how to deal with it - was not raised, even though every candidate I have spoken with has said MI-Connection is the primary concern being raised by citizens, followed by water/sewer rates, during this campaign.
Candidates were able to squeeze in a comment here and there about MI-Connection or water/sewer rates. But they weren't put on the spot and asked about it. So the candidate(s) who didn't want to address the hot potato of MI-Connection didn't have to. They got off easy.
Candidates were not allowed to address or even reference one another. Questions from the floor were not allowed.
I personally left the forum feeling disappointed - like I was fed a lot of bread crumbs when what I really wanted was meat and potatoes.
I think the public's questions and concerns are important. And here, we have a forum to have them addressed publicly by our would-be government officials.
So, here's your chance.
Do you have a question for the commissioner-hopefuls? The would-be mayors? It can be directed to all of them or to one in particular. Have a question or concern about your ward? The future of the town as a whole?
The floor is yours. I will do my best to ask every question submitted. No rules, just please keep them reasonable and relevant. If I receive a number of questions about the same topic, I'll compile them into one question for the candidates.
Post your questions here, in the comments section, or send them to me at jaimegatton@gmail.com, by Monday, Oct. 24, at 5 p.m. As soon as I've compiled them, I'll send them to the candidates and provide a week for them to respond. Then, I'll post their responses here, one candidate at a time.
Meanwhile, if you want to check out footage of last night's forum, please visit the Mooresville Tribune website and scroll down to the latest headlines. Clips are already being posted.
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226 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 226 of 226I don't see that Miles is aligned with Skip and appears to have held himself aloof from the childish fray that has been going on.
On other matters, now that Father Esselman is back in the arena fighting his son's battles for him, perhaps he would like to tell us why his son never cared enough to vote just once in a dozen years if he cares so much for this town and don't give us the crap about being in school or overseas because we all know that soldiers in war zones are taken great pains to get absentee ballots
to.
Then we would like to how many missions he has flown and all a out his alleged wounds or if this is just mire ecaggration to make your son something he isn't, like the true son if Mooresville with all that Massachusetts money backing him.
Oh, you can be sure Skip has opened my eyes - I see his colors very clearly.
Skip is certainly alligned with Miles, so much so that many raise eyebrows. It may well work against Miles.
Jared did like everyone, when he moved to an area, he registered and voted.
Look Jared in the eyes, you'll notice one eye is red, permanently, due to an explosion next to his head. You ever have an explosion next to your head, in a war zone? He is a decorated veteran of a foreign war and there will be many that vote for him for that reason alone.
Is he a true son of Mooresville? That question is so ridiculous.
And you have a problem with money from Massachusetts. As far as I'm concerned, he went to Harvard and had enough respect from those he attended with that they were willing to support him, no matter where he ran. And that money will have no expectations like some large local contributions might.
Thanks for your interest.
Dear Mr. Esselman,
I appreciate your being willing to have a mature discussion about the elections.
Right now many of us want to make sure we elect a mayor who does not get chewed up and spit out by the current town manager, Erskine Smith, who has a long history of being embroiled in scandals involving public funds, resources, and trust.
Do you think Jared could hold his own with a professional bureaucrat who has made a career out of dodging misconduct allegations?
I know this much, Jared will not put up with corruption and will not be bullied. He is a strong individual and will be a formidable opponent for any pushing in the wrong direction.
I can really respect what Esselman's father is saying about his son's extraordinary academic achievements and his exemplary military service. I admire both of these qualities in that young man. What makes me slightly suspicious when reading Esselman's father's comments is how he is trying to bunch up his son's opponent in the mayoral race with Skip Alexander. So after reading his post, I felt a bit tricked to tell the truth. I wish he would have just stuck to his son's credentials and not tried to drag down his son's opponent, especially when he failed to provide any proof that the opponent is in cahoots with Alexander. Just my two cents.
Please Dennis, inform us on how anybody went after your wife? Seems to run in the family - making baseless claims with absolutely no evidence to back it up. And what evil has Skip painted? Facts don't make a person evil, however they do allow voters to make informed decisions based on the truth.
I have been observing this election season very closely. This is what I see:
Skip Alexander goes after Jared Esselman.
Jared Esselman and his family and friends retaliate by going after not only Skip Alexander, but Miles Atkins who happens to be running for the same seat as Jared Esselman. Convenient.
Regardless of being attacked and accused by Esselman and company, Miles Atkins does not retaliate and goes after no one.
This is all I need to know. My vote will go for the one person who is proving to me that my town's welfare is more important than his hurt ego.
OK, no trick intended, responding to the point made that Miles has stayed aloof. While Miles may not have endorsed Skip, Skip wears a Miles badge when he campaigns and Skip is attacking Miles opponent, not his own opponent. Some people have wondered outloud what Skips motives are, and it is a valid question. Miles is aware of Skips antics but has not stopped them, therefore, he allows them.
Which leads to the other topic requested, my wife. She is a teacher and is subject to Freedom of Information laws. Skip requested her emails from her school account. Legal yes, moral no. She was suspended and could have been fired. She was suspended because she had sent to her friends several emails regarding the campaign and and other emails indicating things she had learned reading the Bible. Both are not allowed on a school account. They were minor offenses and the school reinstated her after a day, but I will tell you that for that day she was sure she was going to be fired. I did a lot of consoling, but it was a long day. From my perspective, what Skip did was lower than low, but that's just me.
Jared, you really need to get your dad to back off. Sounds like you've sent him out here to fight your battles. Does not give us a warm fuzzy feeling about your capability to run this town! Not to mention that he keeps digging further and further. Bless his heart, he means well, but just read his last comment. Not helping.
Yeah really, can't the candidate speak up for himself? This does not impress me with his leadership capabilities. Is daddy going to be the official spokesman for him once he is in office?
Funny you should mention head injuries, Mr. Esselman, I've lived with a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car broadside running a light almost 23 years ago. That was 18 months after I had thoracic spine surgery and I have had 3 cervical spine surgeries, 2 in the last 4 years. I leak spinal fluid unpredictably and uncontrollably and my condition has worsened over the past year. I did have a service dog but she was taken after Iredell County took our cats but she was never part of the complaint. The county, town and HOA have all been provided with verification of the fact that she is a service dog that assists me with equilibrium issues among other things and I have fallen repeatedly since she was taken in June. The county's attorney has illegally asked me for my medical records which under federal law he is not entitled to and he is not going to get. He got the letter hand delievered as did Erskine Smith and I still do noth have my dog. What I do have is an ever increasing worsenening of my condition, including hospitalization and a $390 bill that arrived today that was not covered by insurance and a vet that stood up in open court and said my dog was in good health. In the meantime, I am in declining health, living with a cancer patient and we have had trash thrown our lawn by the town. SO when I see someone asking about a head injury, yes, I live with one and I am having my rights as a disabled person being violated by this town and further being harassed and disrespected by this town and my dog, who was trained by me is probably ruined and the cost of replacing her with a professionally trained dog is $15 grand. I have now been told that I need a full time dog, meaning one to go out with me to stores and such because of the problems I have been having with vertigo and stress. All of this comes from the total insensistivity of this town and lack of humanity. Imagine telling someone in a wheelchair they can't have that or an asthmatic they can't have their inhaler. And oh, yes, we're going to fish the trash that a 70 year old woman with cancer threw out (after we ignored it for a month) and sneak it back onto her lawn, just because we want to be jerks to those people.
You think your wife and son have been treated badly? I'll bet my last dollar you do not respond to this.
By the way, I'm not impressed with how this state, county, and town handles the Americans With Disabilities Act. I may be the Crazy Cat Lady as a few people like to call me but the homeowner here does have cancer and just had 4.5 liters of cancerous fluid taken off of her abdomen up in Winston-Salem last month. I kind of think she doesn't deserve to be treated the way this town has treated her and tonight she's trying to help a friend in CT who has been through a lot of surgery and has no power and has no assurance of her power getting on anytime soon and we're trying to get her down here with us. It's called compassion. We may be poor but we can still help out.
By the way, I filed formal complaints with the town under the ADA, and they were ignored. Unfortunately, they can get away with this because it costs money to hire an attorney to sue even under the ADA. Erskine Smith and the town attorney surely know this and are counting on it. By the way, an ADA advocate advised me to ask for the town disability commission and I was referred to the voice mail for the cemetery and when I called back and questioned that, I was told it's because that person handles risk management. So the message is clear, if you're disabled, the town sees you as a risk and would prefer you be dead. I found it insensitive and hurtful. You have no idea how hurtful. Suffice it to say it was one of the contributing factors that put me in the hospital.
By the way, I filed formal complaints with the town under the ADA, and they were ignored. Unfortunately, they can get away with this because it costs money to hire an attorney to sue even under the ADA. Erskine Smith and the town attorney surely know this and are counting on it. By the way, an ADA advocate advised me to ask for the town disability commission and I was referred to the voice mail for the cemetery and when I called back and questioned that, I was told it's because that person handles risk management. So the message is clear, if you're disabled, the town sees you as a risk and would prefer you be dead. I found it insensitive and hurtful. You have no idea how hurtful. Suffice it to say it was one of the contributing factors that put me in the hospital.
Sorry, I meant to put my name on that last comment.
Dennis, once again making baseless claims with no evidence. Requests were never made for your wife's emails. Get the facts straight before playing the blame game. Requests were made through the school system for emails from Jared regarding his internship program. Contact the school system yourself. The school system found your wife's emails, not Skip. Your wife made a mistake and paid the consequenses. Take it up with the school system if you have a problem with the punishment. Stop playing the blame game and making your whole family out to be victims. If the facts hurt then don't put yourself out in the public arena.
Mr. Latimer, I feel for your circumstances. I pray they will improve. And no, I would not even begin to compare. God Bless.
And to anonymous - I put myself out here offering information. You hide, with no name given. You're just a little Skippy. Jared doesn't control this, or know what I write. He will win because people like what he has to offer. And if you didn't like my last comment, let me make myself even more clear. Skip Alexander is a tool. He attacked my wife, Jared's mother, and there is nothing anyone can say that makes that OK. I'm mad as hell, and have no use for Skip. And as for Miles, well, he seems decent to me, but he needs to realize that when Skip stinks, it sticks to Miles. Checking out - good luck to all.
Dennis, once again making accusations with abosolutely no evidence to back it up. A request was made for your son's emails regarding his internship program, nothing about your wife. Check for yourself. The school system uncovered your wife's emails, not Skip. She didn't follow the rules, so she pays the consequences - that's life Dennis. If you have a problem with the rules, take it up with the school system, not Skip. And if the facts hurt, your family should't put themselves out in the public arena. You have really proven yourself and your true lack of maturity on this blog, and it clearly shines throughout your family.
I don't think that because Skip wears a Miles button that means they are friend's or allies. Skip is a sick puppy and I don't see Atkins embracing him. That said, how about your son stepping up and fielding some questions like the town employees tossing trash. We saw the video on that lady's Facebook page and had that been my mamma, i'd have taken that piece of birdfeeder and given Erskine a well-applied lesson in manners, respect, and the proper use of our tax dollars.
Is this how we treat our seniors especially sick ones in this town? You didn't answer that? She is the homeowner I believe.
Skip - you went to the school system to get emails - Jared doesn't work for the school system. You requested emails from my wifes account. She doesn't have interns Skip, Jared does. The FBI may do such things, but it's out of bounds for those with any sense of decency. You can justify it all you want, but you crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed.
There has been a long time lack of decency in this town. Crone, Smith, Montgomery, and so on. This back-handed campaigning is not helping either.
This adds to a post I sent during my lunch break today (Nov 2nd, 1:21 PM), where I joined the crowd and posted “Anonymous.” After thinking about this and discussing it with my father, I proudly add that my name is David Alexander – Skip Alexander’s son. I’m a graduate of Mooresville High School and still spend most weekends in Mooresville.
I have usually refrained from reading comments in this blog, given the hatefulness of postings that are commonly signed “anonymous.” My dad discourages anonymous postings, even when they support his campaign. I gave in to posting earlier because I was fed up seeing people making accusations about my father that simply aren’t true.
I’d first like to share that my dad loves Mooresville and being a resident here. Initially, my dad really considered Jared’s candidacy. But then he saw that most of Jared’s supporters he could identify were not even residents of the town where he wants to be mayor. My dad then asked Jared questions, where in my dad’s words, he was “evasive, defensive, and confrontational.” My dad’s been warned by one of Jared’s supporters that his disclosures about Jared can hurt his own election. I couldn’t be more proud of my dad in knowing the fact that he cares more about making the truth known than winning an election. I wish he had time to respond to every falsehood from the Esselman campaign.
One more thing I’d like to share about my dad – since I’m still getting settled in another city where I recently took a job, my voter registration is still in Iredell County. Since my dad knew that most of my time is spent in another city, he told me NOT to vote in his primary election. Compare that to the actions of Jared, who didn’t live in the town of Mooresville from his fifth grade year until 3 months ago! Compare what my father has done for Mooresville in the last seven years and what Jared has done for Mooresville since leaving the Air Force many years ago – nothing but push his own plans in politics.
My dad has informed people how they can go to public records and other sources and find the truth about Jared for themselves. My parents’ home phone number is in the phone book and my dad spends time all over Mooresville, but neither Jared nor his supporters have ever once contacted my Dad to question the truth of his statements (just Jared approaching my dad and calling him a “liar” at a board meeting).
Mr. Esselman (Jared’s father), as for your latest comments about my father - you’ve once again made an accusation that is simply not true. You boldly stated in your previous posting ( Nov 2nd 3:05pm), referring to my dad, “You requested emails from my wifes account.”
Attached below is the text of THE one and only request that my father has sent to Iredell Statesville schools regarding any of the Esselmans. My dad’s letter makes it absolutely clear your accusation is 100% false. His letter is a public record, available to any resident who requests it. The research my dad has conducted is not for FBI agents, but the type of homework more citizens should do in informing themselves before Election Day.
I proudly stand behind my father and look forward to helping him on Election Day.
-David Alexander
(*Letter contents in posting below)
(Text from letter referenced in above posting):
1024 Muirfield Drive
Mooresville, NC 28115
October 24, 2011
Ms. Dawn Creason
Director of Public Relations
Iredell-Statesville Schools
Race Street Administrative Office
549 North Race Street
Statesville, NC 28677
Dear Ms. Creason:
I am writing to request all Iredell-Statesville schools records related to the following request, and ask that, if necessary, you forward this to the appropriate office. I am asking for all records, in any form, regarding any request since January 1, 2010 from or on behalf of Jared Esselman (including any correspondence from him and recorded references to conversations about this subject) relating to having Iredell-Statesville schools or any of its component schools assign interns for his current political campaign, or any other purpose. Jared Esselman is currently a candidate for the Mooresville Mayor’s office.
Attached is a portion of an undated letter, posted on an Internet blog as being from Jared Esselman, in which the writer stated, “…I have 5 interns who are expanding their educational experience. 2 of them were assigned to me by the school system because I asked the school if they had students who would be interested in interning for me….” (underlining added)
Also attached are two pages from the September 6, 2011 financial disclosure report of the “Friends of Jared Esselman for Office” political campaign committee, which shows that a payee listed as an “Intern” had, as of that date, been paid $1,000 under Purpose Code “E” (Salaries). Mooresville residents, including me, have observed Jared’s interns making door-to-door contacts in furtherance of his current political campaign, and in attendance with him at a recent political event.
Unfortunately, the referenced letter did not specify what school system or particular school was being reported as having been involved in such an assignment, and Jared Esselman has not cooperated with my past requests for information. Therefore this request is being directed to your office and separately to the Mooresville Graded School District. Mooresville High School has informed me that their staff and clubs did not participate in any such assignment on behalf of Jared Esselman.
Because this requested information is relevant to voters’ decisions that will be made two weeks from tomorrow, I request that any relevant records be furnished expeditiously.
Thank you for your attention, and for your service to the students and families of Iredell County.
Sincerely,
Robert “Skip” Alexander )
Although I'm not a big fan of Mr. Alexander. I must say that these were very impressive posts from his son, and very much appreciated.
Robert Alexander actually said this??????:
"Since I’m still getting settled in another city where I recently took a job, my voter registration is still in Iredell County."
Isn't it illegal to remain registered in Iredell County to vote if you are "settled" and have moved elsewhere?????
I remember seeing something in the paper several months ago about a guy living in Rowan County and on the Iredell voter rolls being disqualified to vote in Iredell County.
As you saying the Alexander family lives above the law and can decide to remain registered to vote here even if you have moved??
Robert (SKIP) Alexander's Son actually said this??????:
"Since I’m still getting settled in another city where I recently took a job, my voter registration is still in Iredell County."
Isn't it illegal to remain registered in Iredell County to vote if you are "settled" and have moved elsewhere?????
I remember seeing something in the paper several months ago about a guy living in Rowan County and on the Iredell voter rolls being disqualified to vote in Iredell County.
As you saying the Alexander family lives above the law and can decide to remain registered to vote here even if you have moved??
So what exactly was Skip looking for here? If Jared had gone to a school looking for interns, why is that a problem? Unless he was looking to show a connection to Jared's mother, I just dont see any real reason this was especially relevant.
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