Saturday, June 27, 2009

Three of my favorite Council colleagues

This is real simple for me. I've served with 15 other Council members.

Cheshire's 17th Council consisted of:

Justin Adinolfi, Steve Carroll, Sheldon Dill, Tod Dixon, Mike Ecke, Matt Hall, David Orsini, David Schrumm, Diane Visconti & me

Cheshire's 18th Council added three new members:

Matt Altieri, Elizabeth Esty & Tom Ruocco

Cheshire's 19th Council added three more new members:

Laura Decaprio, Jim Sima & Tim Slocum

And among those 15 people, I want to mention three members with whom I've really enjoyed serving:

1) Jim Sima (R) - the most conservative of the 15;
2) Diane Visconti (D) - the most liberal of the 15; and
3) Sheldon Dill (D/R) - he's analogous with the center.

The common denominator?

They all care.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for me on the Council is witnessing the indifference of Council members - not on a particular issue, but seeing a pattern of indifference across the board is quite troubling to me. It really gets under my skin. To me, it's simple. If you're indifferent, why are you here? Just leave.

Tim White

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

But where would they rate you?

Anonymous said...

Who cars where they would rate Tim, it's the resdidents of his district that count. They obviously rate him pretty high to continue to re-elect him...
So, 2:01....when will you understand that Tim is probably one of the most respected TC members we have?

Anonymous said...

kissass

Anonymous said...

Yes, you are right that Seldon is in the center, in the center and arms of the developers.

He does not represent the taxpayers of Cheshire.

Anonymous said...

Residents will continue to miss the talents and wisdom of two of the best Council members ever-- Dave Schrumm and Dave Orsini.

Anonymous said...

I would have thought Eliz Esty was the most liberal, radically left-wing council member (at least on state and national issues).

Anonymous said...

but what about all the money tim has cost us?

Anonymous said...

3:28 You better give good examples before you make such a dumb remark.

Anonymous said...

or what?

tim white said...

"I would have thought Eliz Esty was the most liberal, radically left-wing council member"

At least at the local level, she was quite practical in the sense that she didn't normally drag her party left. Though I don't recall her ever breaking ranks and casting a vote with which her party did not agree... she wasn't the most liberal member with whom I've served.

Anonymous said...

Suprised Dave Schrumm not on the list; certainly seemed to me he was conservative & Cared. Ruocco detailed also.

tim white said...

I was painting a different picture from the one you suggest. David and Tom both care a lot about the town. But that wasn't my point.

Jimmy is by far the most conservative member with whom I've served. And he cares a great deal. As such, he's a perfect illustration for this post.

Anonymous said...

3:28 & 6:04 guess you're all talk

Anonymous said...

Jim Sima is one of the best councilors. He asks the most logical questions (just like he did when he was on the boe), and he definitely looks out for the best interest of the taxpayers.

sz

Anonymous said...

Where did he save us money? All tim does is fill a seat. For 90% of what the council does, we only need 2 people -a repub and a dem. Everyone else fills space.

Anonymous said...

You still haven't answered the question - "what about all the money tim has cost us?"

Exactly what has he cost us??

Anonymous said...

How much extra are we going to pay for garbage, bussing, visiting a park, lost value of boulder knoll, etc... Way to save a buck

Anonymous said...

Guess I missed your point.

When I watched D Visconti, I'd always find myself asking "What color is the sky in her world?"

tim white said...

The town will have three fewer take-home vehicles as of this month. I am absolutely certain that would not have happened if there had not been so much public pressure brought to bear. And while I don't take sole credit, I was part of the demand for accountability.

The lighting retrofit would've been ignored, if I hadn't demanded it happen.

But the reality is that the Council is currently led by people who are largely indifferent to the big spending of the town... but when they do show interest... they prefer to either spend or give away things like the Richmond Glen easement.

I try my best to use the bully pulpit to convince the Town's leadership that they should act in a certain manner. But without five votes, it's difficult to say the least.

Anonymous said...

Which 3 vehicles are being parked and who are the assigned to?

Anonymous said...

Hey 8:28..the sky is blue and the sun is shining!
That's the American way, is it not?
Tim thanks for the shout out and back at ya but ....
1. I think people care in different ways.
2. I think you are frustrated with our TM form of gov't and you probably be more comfortable with a form of gov't that is not as "managed" as it is "democratic". Good for discussion?
3. labels restrict, I think...I voted against the senior tax and fought against big brother rules in the school.
4. I agree Sheldon has a wonderful way of talking with everybody.
5. Keep up your blog!! It's fun to read and I love the convenience of checking out different newspapers and websites.
Diane Visconit

tim white said...

Hey Diane...

All fair points.

Regardless of ideology though, I think we have some serious problems in town government... problems I've tried to address individually, one-on-one with other Council members (this term). Yet they refuse to take action... even when they apparently agree... because they don't want to "micromanage." So instead, we have low ee morale and project after project that goes over financial and time budgets because of senior management.

An approach to governing which allows these things to continue is simply unacceptable to me... and certainly leaves me feeling that some members are indifferent.

Although... at least one Council member is on record saying that he "takes direction from (staff)." So that member is upfront about his allegiance. But as a voter, that troubles me. I mean... if you take direction from staff, where does that leave John Q Public?

Anonymous said...

Tim,

Pay attention, you have been duped...again. Diane Visconti did not write anything in your blog. Maybe I'm wrong and I have disagreed with her on many issues but I would think she could spell her name correctly. Look at the reply. Pay attention.

Anonymous said...

well, It is me and what a stupid mistake to not spell my name right! getting old.....ddv

Anonymous said...

June 28, 2009 8:59 AM

there is an "e" in cares