Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it?
Here's some actual quotes I've picked up from the Internet in response to my bid for Mayor of Greensboro, North Carolina:
" Can't win voters with with your type talking."
"I'd never vote for someone who looks like you."
"Are you a Democrat or a Republican?'
"You have a foul mouth. That indicates a lack of education and a lack of character."
And the classic:
"You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
To which I reply,
"Who in their right mind wants flies? They lay eggs, hatch maggots and spread diseases of the worst kind."
Of course, every single one of these comments came from people who have yet to read my platform. Their minds were made up as to what the believe a candidate should be without ever knowing what the candidate stands for. Well just so you know, as of July 4, 2016 I have already posted the most extensive platform of any candidate for Mayor in the entire history of Greensboro, with more solutions to more problems than any of you have ever heard from all the mayors who have ever presided over this city in the last 60 years... And I'm far from being finished.
I'm not going to kiss ass to get elected. I'm not going to kiss politicians' asses. I'm not going to kiss campaign contributes' asses. And I'm not going to kiss voters' asses just to get elected. For you see, I've got nothing to lose and that's what scares Greensboro's status quo elites to death.
Being polite didn't help America win our Independence from Great Britain and being polite won't take control away from Greensboro's political status-quo who have been robbing you for decades.
Besides, those people were never going to vote for anyone but the status quo anyway. They can't imagine life any differently than it is today.
It's a common problem. I even have the same problem in my family. I used to work in the recycling business and occasionally still dabble in recyclables and salvage. Recently I managed to get my hands on a tractor-trailer load of surplus shipping containers made from 1/2" and 3/4" OSB. The boxes came with lids, hinges and latches. I kept a few for myself to use for cabinets in my shop and asked my brothers if they would like some as well, offering to give them as many as they wanted for free. But none of them could see how they could be of any use until they came over this weekend and saw what I had done with the few I kept. My uncle and I also built a store in Ramseur using boards from the boxes to cover the interior walls and ceilings. And I have to say it turned out rather nice.
Now that they've seen what I did they want to know when and if I'll get another load.
In another example, my mother wanted a patio garden but couldn't make up her mind what she wanted built. And our budget was so low it was impossible to buy the ready made stuff. Every suggestion I made was greeted with, "I don't know how that will look," or "I don't know if I'll like that."
After 2 years I quit asking her, built her a patio garden and she is loving it.
Sometimes you just have to take charge.
Imagination. Too few people have it and too few people who have imagination ever learn to trust in their imaginations. And so the same old tired ideas get reused long beyond their expiration dates.
The people you chose as leaders need to be people you can trust to step in and take charge. That's why we elect leaders instead of making every decision by majority vote. Currently our City Council is being lead by the City Attorney because our Mayor and City Council are all incapable of taking charge. Mayor Vaughan has allowed her personal life to get in her way. Mike Barber spends all his time on the golf course, and Tony Wilkins has become a pawn of Marty Kotis.
And the rest? Don't even bother, useless as tits on a boar hog. They vote as they're told to vote to make the show look good.
Unlike my opponents and critics I see problems as opportunities to make things better. Say the carburetor on that old car is no longer working right? Why not use that opportunity to convert it to more reliable and more fuel efficient fuel injection? We can probably find most of the parts used for not much more than the cost of a new carburetor.
Say we need to replace a 5,000 foot run of downhill water main? Why not install an hydroelectric turbine at the end of the pipe while we've got everything dug up in order to recoup part of the cost of pumping the water? And just so you know, the use of hydroelectric turbines in the pipes reduces and/or eliminates the need for the pressure regulators that are usually installed at the bottoms of hills.
As Mayor of Greensboro I would push to design an incremental conversion to hydroelectric turbines inside our downhill water mains wherever feasible long before I'd consider spending over 22 Million Dollars of your money to put water and sewer in a megasite in Randolph County.
And to my liberal friends, if you don't like the fact that Lucid Energy is owned by Haliburton... They're not the only ones doing this stuff. Pick someone else.
You see, imagination isn't always the ability to think of something new, its also the ability to see the potential in what is already in front of you. But our current leaders, lacking imagination of their own, are forced to buy ideas and throw good money after bad in an endless cycle of waste that makes Greensboro 2044 of 2570 Cities In Money Management.
A lot of people aren't going to like me. I speak my mind. Political correctness is not among my habits. There's nothing I want personally. My losing the election for Mayor of Greensboro will be a bigger loss for Greensboro than it will be for me. In the next year and a half, no one else who runs for the office of Mayor or any seat on the Greensboro City Council will put in the time and effort trying to figure out how to solve Greensboro's problems that I have already done.
Why? Because they're only in it for themselves. Me? I'm only in it for you.
Please continue reading If I Were Mayor Of Greensboro: Part 28 as I continue posting my platform to Billy Jones for Mayor of Greensboro, 2017.
Until then, enjoy part 2.
