A Closer Look
I am trying to digest what took place at last night's meeting, and I still haven't been able to connect the dots. But I have had time to think about what happened before the meeting and I now have a better understanding of what took place at the meeting. Generally, before the meeting, Alderman Crider, Alderman Johnson, and Alderman Gibson would speak when they enter the building, but they didn't do that last night. At the time, I didn't think much of their behavior, but it all became clear after the 2nd hour of the meeting. Last night, we got a glimpse of the Al Young Administration. Those elected to serve the citizens of Lumberton are not interested in hearing what the voting public has to say. There was this master plan to get this group elected with Al Young serving as Mayor, but the group never counted on Miriam Holder winning the election. If things would have gone the way One Lumberton expected, it would have been the perfect storm. They have Ben Winston as District 2 Supervisor, and they have Bobby, Tim and Ken in place. The only missing piece of the puzzle was Al Young. We have people in office that thought they could usurp the comprehensive plan by becoming an alderman, but they must realize that the comprehensive plan is in place for twenty years. We spent two years developing the comprehensive plan and the zoning map and now we have Express Unlimited (who is, according to the Mississippi Secretary of the State website, owned by Paul Ockmond and Benjamin Winston, Sr.) using the city as a storage facility without any regard to the guidelines set forth in the city's comprehensive plan. Also, we have a police department that is hemorrhaging funds because they must work 12 hour shifts. The aldermen have a fiduciary responsibility to the city but they (Johnson, Gibson, and Rogers) refused to hire the additional officer needed for the police to go back to 8 hour shifts. I for one do not agree that business affiliations, family relationships, or personal agendas should trump my position as citizen, voter and participant in the government of the City of Lumberton.
Well, we all know that Alderman Johnson is Ben Winston's son in law. Johnson's entry into politics was a set up from the get go.
ReplyDeleteWonder who the master is that pulls the strings for that puppet? Ya Wonder!
That is sooooo true!
ReplyDelete