DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
36 comments:
What a embarrassment for Salisbury 207 votes for ireton and he still won Wow,
But all the precincts aint in.
Laura start looking for another job because i will be running next time.
They are all in. It's Fake Day, April Jackson-Dist1, Muir Boda-Dist 2, Jack Heath-Dist3, Jim Ireton-Dist 4 and Laura Mitchell-Dist 5. The deck is stacked. The city is done. Call your realtor now and get out while there is still some equity in your home.
What a shame that Ireton won. It could have been a better day in Salisbury. Maybe he will move again and this time not return.
9:54, maybe that's why the realtors stacked the deck. They need the business. Question is, who would they sell to?
If only I had the energy and time I would have run for the city council (District 3) but was counting on my vote for Tim Spies. I have lived in Salisbury for over 35 years and have seen the city go down the tubes over time. It is no longer the city that was once a great place to live and be proud to say I lived in Salisbury.
I am soon reaching retirement age and plan to move south so just hanging on to my house hoping it will be worth more than what I owe until I am able to leave.
Thanks for posting this, Joe.
Wow. You have a council full of people elected with less than 300 votes each, less than 150 votes for 3 of them, including Miss Unopposed.
Out of city of 30,000 people. That is just amazing and not in a good way. My cousin is already starting with the "Smallsburied" jokes from 300 miles away.
I had fun. I know a lot of folks didn't agree with me on hear but I sincerity enjoy this blog.
Glad you had fun, Kevin. Would have been better for the city if you had supported Tim Spies, who has dedicated many years to it. Thanks for being interested in serving anyway.
This should be interesting. The real estate and landlord types bought this election. The city IS doomed. Look forward to money and city property flowing out of the city's piggy bank like somebody hit it with a hammer. Then look for the tax and fee increases to balance the books. More reasons not to live here -- let the Millennials have it and move to a better place, which is where the real estate and landlord types will be living with fat pockets.
Won my seafood dinner! I said not even the so-called big districts would turn out as many as 500 voters and the majority of the council would be people with less than 200 votes. One guy is on there with less than 100 votes!
I wonder how many other cities this size have this kind of lousy turnout? This reads like something you'd expect to see in a town the size of Princess Anne or Pittsville.
Big fish in a pathetic little pond. So sad. My PTA involved more votes.
Is anyone really surprised? These districts were designed to elect these specific people. The election was more than rigged.
So now we have 4 socialist running Salisbury the voters get what theyy ask for government control over there lives ,and the workers get to pay for it ! How nice
This is another sad day for Salisbury!
Kevin Lindsay..I sure hope you do a better job on the council than you do with spelling. smh
Anonymous said...
9:54, maybe that's why the realtors stacked the deck. They need the business. Question is, who would they sell to?
November 3, 2015 at 10:18 PM
It's the rental industry they were trying to protect. Buy low, rent high!
Anonymous Kevin Lindsay said...
I had fun. I know a lot of folks didn't agree with me on hear but I sincerity enjoy this blog.
November 3, 2015 at 10:25 PM
Kevin, you made to many racist/racial type comments. Plus it's the company you keep.
Anonymous said...
Is anyone really surprised? These districts were designed to elect these specific people. The election was more than rigged.
November 3, 2015 at 10:59 PM
BINGO!! You can blame that on that racist homo PIG Jim Ireton. Jim Ireton's design was to continue to bring this city down as he doesn't like it and wants to see it fail. He is on a power trip because he needs it and won't ever get it from the Board of Education. This loser has been teaching for over 20 years and he has never been promoted from your basic school teacher. He is a basic school teacher and that is all he will ever be. If he was a leader and deserved to be promoted it would have happened by now. Guess what, he is nothing but problems and he is hanging on by a thread.
Ireton's only chance at getting a "leadership" position would be by lucking out and getting elected by dumb, unsuspecting voters and it happened 4 times and he has been a failure all those times, but you idiots keep voting him back in.
His big design on redistricting was to make sure Debbie Campbell, Terri Cohen and Tim Spies would never serve again.
Jim Ireton did more harm to this city in his short period of time than Barrie Tilghman did in her 12 long years of Dicktater Control.
Anonymous said...
Kevin Lindsay..I sure hope you do a better job on the council than you do with spelling. smh
November 4, 2015 at 12:21 AM
I agree with the spelling but you won't be seeing him on the council. He spoiled it for Tim Spies.
When a "city" has a voter turn out this low, the "city" should be dissolved. It could be run by the county. Same situation in Fruitland. Neither Salisbury nor Fruitland should have elected positions.
12:21am I can spell my name. I know you can't because you are anoymous which equals coward. How is that?
Sigh the same company you keep behind anoynmous. Never said anything racist I just spoke from the gut. Some folks don't want to hear that. But I still had fun
Good luck with that. Been trying to unload mine since 2010 unfortunately. Watch out for that punk realtor who says he can sell your home FAST. All BS. If you take 50 thousand less than you owe on it.
"12:52 racist homo PIG Jim Ireton"
Exactly the kind of hateful, ignorance that helps him win again and again.
Anonymous Kevin Lindsay said...
12:21am I can spell my name. I know you can't because you are anoymous which equals coward. How is that?
November 4, 2015 at 6:31 AM
why don't both of you grow up
1200 voters. that is less than 10%. the only people who vote are the ones that want to continue to control and the rest are just sheeple. it really is bad. just give me my government check and leave me alone
8:14 If they purged the voter rolls 1200 would be a higher percentage of voters than it looks. So not really that pathetic.
Kevin if thats you, all you are is another pro BLM. And whats with the muslim beard ?.
It disgusts me that people like Laura Mitchell represent me; she is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like me or my family. We work hard for what we have, we pay our taxes, we volunteer, we donate, we set goals. She does none of that, yet she represents me in my City government? That is absurd.
I live in District 5. IF (big IF) I still reside within the Salisbury City Limits 4 years from now I WILL be running for City Council. I would have ran this time around had it not been for a potential conflict of interest that I no longer have (See, I'm already looking out for my fellow tax-payers by not risking their trust). I have lived my entire life in Wicomico County and have lived within the City for the past 15 years. A lot has changed and if I am going to stay here then I will be a part of making the corrections to a City that has been broken by so few. I will look out for and make decisions that best benefit us as a whole and not a select few. I WILL NOT focus all of my time and effort on grandiose visions such as the downtown revitalization and ridiculous legislation such as the rent stabilization. This City is MUCH bigger than that with problems spanning far beyond the narrow scope that previous councils have had. Yes, the downtown area does deserve attention, but not by selling it off for peanuts. It is done by improving the area in order to attract businesses and redevelopers. How many improvements has Ireton initiated downtown? How much money that has been made by selling off land has been reinvested into the Downtown area? NONE! Here is the simple plan to bring back Downtown:
-The Plaza, planters and worthless fountains need to be ripped up
-Sidewalks with curb and gutter need to be installed on the Plaza
-45 degree Parking needs to be utilized on one side of the Plaza (Yes, it fits - 50+ parking spaces could be created on the plaza alone)
-Establish paid parking via Parking Stations (Like OC) on every parking space on Main St and the Plaza (Eliminates parking space hogs and log term parking issues)and figure out a system where business owners can validate parking.
-Establish free parking EVERYWHERE else downtown (Including the parking garage)
-And we cannot forget that PEOPLE also LIVE downtown - we need to make it safe and convenient for those who reside there
Do that and the City is well on its way to establishing and INVITING atmosphere for business and patrons. Sure, there is an investment, but NOTHING would be simply given away. The BEST and most successful buildings on the plaza were redeveloped INDEPENDENTLY by people WITHOUT the City's assistance.
But like I said, the City is bigger than its core. We need REAL police stations/substations. Ones that scream "THE POLICE ARE HERE" to promote police presence. Not a dilapidated building on Church St that most people don't even notice when they drive by. Patrolling sectors need to be analyzed and improved to promote presence and efficiency. And by God, PAY and SUPPORT the police!
We need to support large national businesses that employee hundreds of our citizens as well as local businesses that keep our wheels turning.
We need to fix and develop/redevelop areas within the existed City limits before we continue on with any more annexations. Part of the City's problem is the uncontrolled annexations have segmented the City so badly that it burdens the City's resources, efficiency and services.
We need to have a MUCH better working relationship with the County. What happens in the City affects the County; and vice versa. We cannot continue down this road of feeling superior to the County.
You may not know me now, but I guarantee that you will know know me in about 3 years, you will vote for me and WE WILL win the next election.
Really 1:27? How is anyone going to vote for Anonymous?
These upcoming four years will give Salisbury little more than a revamped downtown with lots of developer giveaways and excessive immediate profit from taxpayer funds. No new or largely expanded job opportunities that pay living wages. That's a pipe dream.
1:27, those ideas mostly sound pretty good, but almost all of them are part of the Day/Ireton plan for downtown that is getting started in Spring 2016. The Plaza planters and fountains ARE getting ripped up, parking is getting fixed (with 45 degree metered parking) and real sidewalks getting installed. The Salisbury PD has also gotten a ton more money/officers under the Ireton administration too.
I'm not a big Laura Mitchell fan either, but try being a little better informed before making a big blowhard post about how you're going to fix everything that's wrong with Salisbury.
Anon 3:47pm, you are partially wrong and partially correct.
First off, yes there is a "plan" to reconstruct the plaza, but nothing is 100% solidified as of yet. This needs to be expedited. Yes, it is a rather good plan as well; HOWEVER, this should have been implemented LONG before City-owned properties were given away for pennies on the dollar. Said properties would have inevitably increased in value, thus bringing the City more money when sold. Parking METERS need to go. Pay-for-Parking stations (like those in OC and at Brew River) are a much more reasonable technology in today's society. How many times do you go to park at a meter and find yourself scouring the floor of your vehicle for quarters? I know I do because I seldom carry cash, thus no change. The parking stations give patrons the ability to pay with cash or debit/credit. PLUS they are more lucrative for the city because when somebody leaves before their parking expires, that time isn't left on a meter for the next patron.
Second, selling off City-owned UNDEVELOPED lots is NOT a good practice - whether the City makes a lot or minimal money off of the sale. You CANNOT promote redevelopment with new development. We need to redevelop what we have downtown, not abandon it. It is simple market driven real estate. If a newer building is available, then businesses are going to move out of their older location into a newer one. Prime example is Morgan Stanley. They will be moving from their location at the corner of Baptist and E Main to the basically new Feldman building. When they do, we have another vacant building downtown. We didn't solve any problems there. Now, what happens went DEVERCO develops the parking lots? We will certainly have a mass exodus of businesses from older buildings moving into the newer buildings which will increase the vacancy rate downtown. Not to mention, that project could actually take away the attraction of the plaza itself. Did we solve anything there? It is all about REDEVELOPMENT, not development. The idea is to make the area attractive and inviting, then let the free market take over. I agree a lot with what Jake Day's envisions downtown and his methodology. Plus he is rather well education in the right field to make such decisions - far better than Ireton. But that doesn't say that I agree with everything; that's were team work and collaboration come into play
Third, Salisbury PD does NOT have a long term solution to retaining officers. Grants to put officers and police cruisers on the streets for a few years is not a solution. Money needs to be allocated in the City's budget each year for policing power and resources. It has been proven over and over again that you can simply not rely on grant money from year to year to maintain essential resources.
Fouth, fire service needs to be addressed as well. I'm not a firefighter, but I know a lot more about fire service than SFD would like somebody on Council or in the Mayor's office to know. Obviously, the spending and resource utilization needs to be evaluated, but the more important issue to visit would be response efficiency, over response and asset deployment. SFD's territory hasn't had significant changes in well over a decade, yet there have been significant development and population changes. We have the resources and technology to analyze these territories in order to provide the absolute best response to the Citizens of Salisbury as well as those in the County. In increasing efficiency, we save money. We also need to visit personnel issues as well. I'm not saying that we must slash a bunch of personnel or cut pay because I firmly believe that anybody willing to run into a burning house deserves to be paid relatively well (and volunteers are true saints), but we need to make sure that we have the right people leading and the right people at the right time staffing our fire stations.
To call my posts "Blowhard" is a bit harsh. I am actually VERY well informed being that I have been involved with a lot of the City's projects and proposals in one form or another in the past. I'm coming up with ideas; what are you coming up with? It sure is easy to shoot down everybody's ideas, but that doesn't help find a solution. It may seem like I talk in absolutes, but these are ideas; when somebody comes up with something different or adds to it then we have a collaboration which will, ideally, yield a better solution. I'll admit myself that I could be wrong in my solutions to fix this town, but I do know one thing... what has been done so far has NOT worked so we should all know what not to do.
I'm more than happy to promote conversation that yields additional ideas or constructive criticism, but if you're here to argue with me then we won't get anywhere. If you say I'm wrong then that is OK, but at least say why. This City has spent way too much time arguing among itself and has had very little collaborative efforts.
I would also like to mention one person that has been neglected by so many people - Jim Ireton, Council members from the last decade, readers of this blog and even Joe. A lot of people ridicule the guy, but there is no doubt that he has put his ass out there, spent a tremendous amount of money and owns the most successful redevelopment project on the Plaza. That person's name is Doug Church. He is the owner of the buildings where Main Roots, Sushi De Kampi, Angelos and Tony Weeg's photography studio are located. The buildings also include several apartments above the store fronts. These buildings are among the nicest and most successful redeveloped properties on the plaza, yet the Ireton refuses to even acknowledge their existence or background story. Why? I'm not sure, but I imagine it has something to do with a beef that the Mayor has with him. Go ahead and check out all of the City's propaganda for the Downtown area over Ireton's tenture; you won't see anything about him, the project or his success. Instead, he ridicules Doug for a leaky roof that has had to have numerous repairs to actually find the source of the leak - I'm sure that wasn't cheap. The building is over 90 years old, there are bound to be leaks and leaks can be extremely difficult to track down. Not to mention that the building was renovated by a company that is no longer in business due to their shoddy business practices.
The point I am trying to make here, is why ridicule and discredit somebody that has had so much success in an area that you want to improve? Why would you make enemies with somebody who has had nearly a 0% vacancy rate over the last 10 years? No other property on the plaza can touch that. This guy invested in the plaza well before it was the "cool" thing to do. It doesn't make sense to turn your back on somebody like that - you should want that guy on your team. Perhaps there is something I don't know, but that seems like common sense to pick the brain of somebody with such success.
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