November 04, 2007 04:29 pm
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Hamiltons set good example
I am writing to encourage you to get out and vote for Rick Hamilton for mayor on Tuesday. I have known Rick and his family for many years. Rick and Becky have a wonderful family and a strong marriage. They set a great example for the community.
Rick is intelligent and insightful. He is willing to read and learn about new ideas and issues. He believes in responsible government and community service. I feel that he has the desire, patience and perseverance to lead our community in the right direction, working in a spirit of cooperation and honesty. He will do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.
Rick has always been a Kokomoan. I am a Kokomoan, even though I don’t live in the boundary of Kokomo, which is the street in front of our house. Rick loves Kokomo. He strongly believes in service to his community, and in good government. He is running for mayor because he believes he can improve the government and the City of Kokomo.
Please get out and vote for Rick. Kokomo needs strong leadership, and Rick will lead us to a better future.
Tim Garner
Kokomo
Goodnight won’t pander for votes
What is the difference between a leader and a politician? A leader makes the tough decisions for the good of the majority of the community. A politician promises the voters what they want, whether he can deliver it or not.
Greg Goodnight has not made any promises to cut local taxes. Greg has stated that he will look at all the information and make a decision that is in the best interests of the city and its people at the time.
Rick Hamilton has promised only one thing to voters: that’s he will cut taxes. When asked at the third and final debate if he would commit to cutting the Local Option Income Tax, Mr. Hamilton refused to commit. He says he is in favor of smaller government, but he has never explained which taxes he will cut and how he will do that.
Pandering to the voters by saying over and over that state property taxes are too high and must be cut is the activity of a politician to get votes. The mayor can’t cut property taxes, only the state legislature can do that.
Greg Goodnight is a proven leader and not a politician. Give Greg your vote on Nov. 6.
Susan Maxson
Kokomo
How will candidate cut property taxes?
Kokomo mayoral candidate Rick Hamilton has chosen “cutting your taxes” as his only promise to voters. At debates, in interviews, in his mailings, on the radio, candidate Hamilton repeats over and over again that there is a “tax crisis” in Kokomo and as mayor he will cut taxes.
If elected, could candidate Hamilton keep his promise? Does the mayor of a city have the authority to cut taxes?
If elected, could Mr. Hamilton cut individual and corporate income taxes? No, the federal legislature has to do that.
If elected, could Mr. Hamilton cut Social Security or FICA taxes? No, the federal legislature has to do that.
If elected, could Mr. Hamilton cut gas taxes? No, the federal legislature has to do that.
If elected, could Mr. Hamilton cut inheritance taxes? No, the federal legislature has to do that.
If elected, could Mr. Hamilton cut capital gains taxes? No, the federal legislature has to do that.
Let’s look at state taxes. If elected, could Mr. Hamilton cut the state sales tax of 6 percent, or the state income tax, or state property taxes? No, the Indiana General Assembly has to do that.
How about the Local Option Income Tax or LOIT? Can Mr. Hamilton, if elected mayor, cut that tax by himself as mayor? No, he cannot. The city council has that authority under law, and Mr. Hamilton would have to convince a majority of our city council members to cut the local income tax. The mayor does not have the authority, on his own, to cut any taxes.
Cutting taxes is Mr. Hamilton’s only promise to voters, and those voters who understand the government’s authority to tax its citizens and businesses are wondering how, exactly, Mr. Hamilton plans to accomplish his only goal as mayor. Unfortunately, he has never explained how he plans to keep his only promise.
Becky Riggs
Kokomo
Hamilton will bring new leadership
Kokomo needs new leadership and Rick Hamilton is the mayoral candidate who can bring it.
Rick Hamilton will bring real change to the City of Kokomo. Families have to live within their income limits and government should do the same. Rick understands this and has pledged to cut city spending. When spending is cut, property taxes can be lowered.
Review your family’s paychecks and bills and see how much money government has taken from you. The sum total of my family’s property tax increases over the past three years was over $1,500! And, I know other homeowners’ increases were far more than that. What could that money have meant to your household?
Kokomo needs a mayor who will put the taxpayers first. Kokomo needs Rick Hamilton.
Please join us on Nov. 6 in voting for Rick Hamilton for mayor of Kokomo.
Ron & Tammi Gilman
Kokomo
Is this a manager Kokomo needs?
Rick Hamilton, Republican candidate for mayor, has very limited experience in management, yet he asks for your support and your vote. Let’s consider Mr. Hamilton’s work experience as a manager.
First, Mr. Hamilton worked as chief financial officer for his wife’s family business, Midwest Plating, from 1977 to 1983 or 1984. The company was sold to two men whose names Mr. Hamilton cannot remember and the company went out of business a year later. Midwest Plating, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, left $1.7 million of pollution on the site of the company for the City of Kokomo to worry about and the EPA to clean up.
Next, Mr. Hamilton was general manager of Kokomo Telecable and the company was bought out and his job eliminated.
Then Mr. Hamilton became director of development for the City of Kokomo for a couple of years. During his service to the city, the unemployment rate increased.
Finally, Mr. Hamilton was president of the Kokomo-Howard County Chamber of Commerce. During his service to the Chamber, membership went down.
Is this the kind of manager the citizens of Kokomo need serving as our mayor?
Heidi Vice
Amboy
With Goodnight, character counts
For what it’s worth, I am a Kokomo native but transplanted to Pickerington, Ohio, for the last 30 years. I was a childhood friend of Greg Goodnight and was very excited to see that he was running for mayor. I still have family in Kokomo and visit on a yearly basis. I noticed his signs and got a chance to chat with him by e-mail.
I’d like to throw in my two cents about Greg. He was always a great kid and was very well liked and respected, even as a 12-year-old! He always was kind and approachable, and was always a great leader.
Even though I don’t have much of a stake in who runs my hometown, I would say that if character counts from childhood to adulthood, you couldn’t do any better than Greg to lead Kokomo into the future.
Dr. Michael Poland
Pickerington, Ohio
Test candidates as you prepare to vote
As the critical 2007 Kokomo municipal election approaches, it is important for the voters of our city to separate the political noise from governmental realities when they cast their votes for mayor and common council. The most effective leaders for the future of our city will not be those with the most yard signs or the most frequent radio and TV advertisements. The most effective leaders for the future of our city will be men and women with education, experience, wisdom, understanding and human relation skills necessary to make government work more efficiently and effectively.
The taxpayers of Kokomo have spoken loudly and clearly on the issues that most concern them, and the Republican Party has heard them. Our Republican team will reduce government spending. Our Republican team will explore every possible way to reduce property taxes. Our Republican team will work closely with state and county government to find opportunities to make government more efficient. The Republican team has the education, experience, wisdom, understanding and human relation skills to lead Kokomo to a position of prominence in this great country.
I’d like to ask the voters of Kokomo to apply the child, elderly parent and grandchildren test to the candidates as you prepare to vote. Before you cast your vote for mayor or council, ask yourself these questions: Which candidate would I feel most comfortable leaving my child in their care? Which candidate would keep the city safest for my elderly parent? Which candidate would provide the best future for my grandchildren in education, keeping them safe from drugs and providing economic opportunity? I believe that if you will take the time to answer these questions, you will vote for Rick Hamilton for mayor and your Republican city council candidates.
Craig Dunn
Kokomo
Send Sheline back to council
Greg Sheline is Kokomo’s best choice in the 2nd District. Vote to return Greg to his place on the Common Council.
Greg is that dynamic combination of a successful local businessman and dedicated public servant. He has invested his life in the city of Kokomo.
Greg has lived in and represented the 2nd District. He knows the streets and alley ways of his district. His constituents have grown accustomed to calling him with their concerns and receiving prompt replies and solutions.
He has served on the Common Council for eight years and served as president twice. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in the council’s passage of the smoking ban and the landlord ordinance, both which serve to improve life and health in our city. He does not hesitate to make what might prove unpopular decisions if it is for the best of the citizens of our city.
He was also instrumental in bringing Kokomo Beach to completion; he championed the Walk of Excellence and seeks to extend this greenway through our city.
I’ve known Greg as a parent of children who are contemporaries of my children. He has been a great teacher to me as I seek a council seat.
For all that he does and has done for the city, one cannot find a more humble, self-effacing gentleman. His service is not about self-promotion; it’s about the citizens of Kokomo.
When you vote for Greg Sheline on Nov. 6, you will send a dedicated public servant back to work for us all.
Lynne Bolinger
Kokomo
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