Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The High Spending RINO

4:29 PM | Posted by Lance M. Gundersen, Sr. | Edit Post
The High Spending RINO

(Another Al Lebo Fairy Tale)

Since I've begun addressing the fairy tales of Al Lebo (kind of like Aesops Fables, only more like the fractured fairy tales of Bullwinkle and Rockie the squirrel) I thought I'd take the time to push back a bit on the insanity of his linking me to high spending, and then, through a long and winding chain of spin, to mayoral candidate Dayton King.

Let's make this simple enough even for Al. In January 2004, Gloversville had a $1,600,000 general fund deficit. On December 31, 2007, Gloversville had a fund balance of $1,600,000.

While those figures are approximate, they are illustrative of the roughly $3,200,000 swing to the black that occured during the four years I was a councilman.

What did Bruce VanGenderen indicate was the biggest reason for this swing?

The Hornell Plan

Who brought the Hornell Plan to the attention of the city?

Well, originally it was former Fire Chief Steve Santa Maria (at the time he was a Battalion Chief). He was ignored for around 10 years.

Who finally researched the subject, wrote the resolution and guided it through the Gloversville Common Council and presented it to the Fulton County Board of Supervisors?

Second Ward Councilman Lance M. Gundersen, Sr.

(AKA - Big Spending RINO Boy)

In the four years of the 2004-2007 Common Council only two council members, myself and First Ward Councilwoman Cynthia Morey, crafted legislation that was instrumental in saving this city hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So for Dear Leader Al to run around calling me a RINO and a big spender is to call day night and night day.

At the start of this post I did indicate I'd dish on how I'm connected to candidate Dayton King.

Since campaign season began, I did research for and had conversations with Judy Marcoux. I had one or two phone conversations with Dirk Myers. I had face to face conversations with Tim Hughes, and I have had face to face and phone conversations with Dayton King.

Basically, I've provided help where asked, if possible, to any and all and THAT is the extent of my connection to King.

Al accuses me of running King's campaign. As he is so fond of pointing out, I was obliterated in my campaign. I sure as heck wouldn't hire me.

It is possible Al has been playing his political games so long that he doesn't realize there are actually people out there (me, for example) that do not look upon politics as a game.

No, in fact, there really are a few of us out there who think of it as a soberingly serious business that has the capacity to dramatically affect the lives of thousands.

I only wish he felt the same.





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Laptop Lance (Another Al Lebo Fairy Tale)

1:37 AM | Posted by Lance M. Gundersen, Sr. | Edit Post


I've noted that, once again, I have managed to find myself in the gunsights of amateur political mudslinger Al Lebo. I am continually amazed at the lengths he will go through in order to warp reality to fit his agenda.

For example, the cutesy nickname "Laptop Lance" is probably supposed to generate feelings on the part of the reader of jealousy (Ooh, look, he can afford a laptop!), elitism (he must think he's something special because he comes to council meetings with a laptop), as well as indirectly tying me to my-laptop-was-stolen Tim Hughes and, as he has affectionately termed it, L'Affair Margiotta, in which I am famous for my missing emails (another untrue fable told often enough to sound like reality).

But let us spend a moment analyzing these little ditties of his.

Why did Lance bring a laptop to council meetings so consistently that he eventually earned the coveted Lebo Prize?

Well, it was because council meeting minutes were never produced even close to the two week limit required by the New York State Open Meetings Law, and no record whatsoever was kept of tabled legislation and other minutaie necessary in the proper functioning of a city government (what some might call a "tickler" file).

Somebody had to do it.

So, I did it.

Curiously, the number of procedural mistakes, dropped topics, passed over legislation, and other foibles of government inefficiency radically decreased after that laptop made its debut.

So, sorry Al. I'm just gonna go ahead and wear that moniker with pride.

Lance

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About Me

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Lance M. Gundersen, Sr.
A lot of authors and bloggers have written about living intentionally. Each define it differently, but the basic gist of the idea is to have a plan and do everything in one's power to make it a reality. My plan was to live debt-free, and then spend my time doing the things I want to do - like finishing at least a Master's in an area I can put to use in my community. I started this process with a Masters in Work and Labor Policy with an Advanced Certificate in City Administration, but then switched to a Master's in Urban Planning focusing on Bike and Pedestrian Infrastructure (and learning a fair bit about environmental planning, Brownfield redevelopment, community planning and more). I have also begun accomplishing a whole basket of cycling, sailing, hiking and personal enrichment goals which are each in various states of accomplishment. Feel free to stop by and read my musings. Comment if you like. Please be respectful, and I apologize that it's even necessary to have to say that at this stage of our existence.
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My Political Philosophy

While I identify myself as a Republican, like most people, I do not necessarily identify with every aspect of my party's platform.

I tend toward the Liberty Caucus of the Republican party.

http://www.rlc.org/about/

Yet, at the same time, I have a very Jeffersonian mindset regarding the rightful pre-eminence of the local political structure in everyday American Life.

Basically, I believe in limiting the Federal and State Governments, and allowing local community government, which is much closer to the people, to be the source of most of our political innovation.

Local governments are important for delivering services that might otherwise be unaffordable to individuals. Among these include Police and Fire protection, water and sewer services, trash pick-up and infrastructure maintenance, transit services, and general recreation programs (or providing the land and legal framework within which such programs can function).

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