At the very end of last week’s Council meeting, Alan Schaeffer the City Attorney said words to the effect of, “there are no factions on this council”
Well, thanks to the wonderful world of Public Records…we can report to you what we all KNOW and Mr. Schaeffer seems to be ignoring…there IS an issue with factions on Council…not just the ones we see as far as voting blocs.
If you go to the Montgomery County Board of Elections website you will find a PAC registered as the Huber Heights Democratic Club. If you look at the campaign finance filings from that group for 2013 you will see that seven members of our council make up almost 25% of their dues paying membership.
We here at BCWD asked Mayor McMasters about his membership since it genuinely surprised us to see his name associated with this group…his response is below:
I participate in all the organizations that like to talk politics that will allow me to observe and contribute. This includes the Huber Heights Democratic Club and the Huber Heights Liberty group. It would include the Huber Heights Republican Club / Liberterian (sic) Club / Huber Heights League of Women voters etc if they existed
So…that means that six members of Council are members because they identify with that Party. Which is their prerogative but let’s not pretend that they are ‘non-partisan’ office holders.
Here’s a story for you…in 2011 a member of Council said in a conversation to one of us here at BCWD that “we hope you win…” and when asked why they were at the polls working for the other candidate if that was the case they said, “well, she’s also a Democrat so I have to support her”.
A member of Council has been an office holder in the past. Interestingly enough a recent appointee to Council who at the time was running for her first election as well, actually paid the dues of one Council member and his wife…was he once again trying to avoid his name on something?
Interesting isn’t it?
As we’ve stated very publicly, we are Libertarians here at BCWD…if all the Council were Republicans with an agenda, we’d point it out…if they were LIBERTARIANS doing the same…we’d cover it!
We bring up their party affiliation only to bring it to your attention…since some are trying to make it seem as Party doesn’t matter and they have the City’s best interest at heart. There ARE indeed factions.
We at BCWD think that this factionalism is one of the reasons there is such dissatisfaction with our City (as stated in their own survey/poll).
We agree with Ms. Vargo’s opinion as stated in a letter to the Dayton Daily News on October 25, 2006 in support of a Democrat for the State House.
I have had the opportunity to work with many elected officials during my tenure on Huber Heights City Council. One thing I have observed is that government does not run well when only one party is in charge.
Remember…a non-partisan ballot rarely is…
Brick City Watchdogs 
While it is true that each person on council has a “party affiliation”, I was surprised over how little the “party” seemed to affect how individual councilmembers voted. If you go back and look at the thousands of votes taken by council over the last dozen or so years, I think you will find it difficult to discern from looking at each councilperson’s voting record, the party to which they are affiliated.
Jim,
I understand your position but I would counter that the makeup of Council has changed quite drastically since you left. You and I know that even THEN there were voting factions on that Council…just not centered along Party politics. The factions were simply who ‘controlled’ certain votes. Their was an even balance of political philosophy then and we no longer see that on this Council. When you were there, on average there were 3 to 4 members of each major party on Council and even then only one or two that were actually ACTIVE in local party politics out of 8 members…now 3 of the 6 who are active members of the local Democrat Club mentioned are sitting Precinct Captains of their County Party. A lot has changed in two years Jim.
Jim, I’ll start by stating that I was honored to serve with you on City Council. It was particularly helpful to have another legal mind around. I also acknowledge your point that the party affiliations have not manifested in “voting blocs” at least during my 4+ years on City Council… because NO ONE except me seemed to ever be willing to stand firm and vote “no” on anything. By my count, no one has voted “no” on a vote called in Regular or Special session “out front” except for me. In fairness and completeness, I do remember that you stated a few times in committee that you were planning on voting “no” if things weren’t changed, but you never did vote “no” when the vote was finally called “out front”.
There are factions on City Council on certain issues that manifest in committee or in the occasional round of phone calls trying to “rally” the votes before committee or public session. That said, I’ve yet to see any other Council member during my tenure have the independence of opinion to “break” from the “controlling majority”. I have done so before, I have been shunned for it, but I try to vote what I think is legal and what is best for the City (in that order for a reason).
I’ve also been told by several elected officials that one particular Council member has said that he wants the committee chairs to all be registered democrats & more members of the supporting boards and commissions be selected in part because they are registered democrats. The Council member denies saying such a thing, but the sources are indicating otherwise.
I support the good ideas, regardless of party affiliation. I have voted no and will vote no again for agenda items that I think are not in the best interests of the City, regardless of party affiliation. And the factions do exist, regardless of party affiliation.
Tyler, as I stated on your Facebook page, I read your response on the blog and would like to thank you for clearly pointing to the issue not being one of Republican vs. Democrat, but rather the control of a “voting block”. You were honest and precise in your statement and that is greatly appreciated by those citizens who simply want what is best for their city.