I’m sure he did some great things, he’s been in office long enough that he should have. But the proverbial “cat is out of the bag,” we now know how he did all these things and it is WRONG!!! This guy started spewing off his war record and his resume (which is always a bizarre way to prove your point). Then the police pulled him in the building. Amazing that people are so intimidated by a group of determined citizens.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 23rd 6:30:
Come to sign the petition and/or to support our efforts by showing up in front of City Hall on Thursday from 6:30 and 7:00. Afterwards, we encourage everyone to attend the City Council meeting. Petition packets will be available at this time.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1st:
This is our official “Recall the Mayor Movement”. We ask all Concerned Citizens of Mandeville to go door to door or set up a table on their front lawn for signature collections. This will be a massive push for our efforts. Please feel free to spread the word any way you can: e-mails, signs, word of mouth.

DOOR TO DOOR EFFORTS:
If you would like a petition packet, please e-mail us at mandevillerecall@gmail.com.

DONATIONS:
Donations are being collected for PR expenses. All remaining monies will be donated to Toys for Tots. Make checks payable to “Concerned Citizens of Mandeville” and send to:

Mike O’Connor
634 Carroll Street
Mandeville, LA 70448

If you need to reach Mike or would like to arrange to sign the petition, you may contact him at (985-259-0051) or gmoconnor@charter.net

Trilby Lenfant is trying to create a code of conduct. Basically tell people what their Mama’s should have already taught them but they forgot. Hmmmm…. Your thoughts?

Mark your calendars for the City Council meeting Thursday night at 7:00. I’m trying like heck to juggle this and kids.

OK, I fess up, but until I became involved with the efforts of recalling the Mayor of Mandeville, I never attended a City Council meeting. Also, until we settled in Mandeville in January of 2007, local politics were never something I could sink my teeth into. Why? Well, because as a military family, by the time you go your last box unpacked, you were getting ready to move again.

Last night was another Mandeville City Council meeting. They occur the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month at 7:00 and are open to the public. These meetings are so important because they are discussing about how they are spending our hard earned tax dollars. We elected City Council members and the Mayor, and a system of checks and balances between the Executive and the Legislative branch goes on right in front of your eyes. You, Joe Q Taxpayer sit at home (as you should because you worked hard all day) and “assume” everything is running smoothly until something such as an audit shows your tax dollars were being used and abused, suddenly gets your attention. In Mandeville’s case, State & Federal investigators step in to figure out what the heck has been going on and if there has been criminal behavior. “The Audit” did not paint a pretty picture of how your tax dollars have been spent and the City Council automatically assumes an even more crucial role. They realize that your tax dollars have been being abused under their watch, while doing the job you hired them to do.

Now, Jane Q. Taxpayer, like myself becomes outraged at the behavior reported in “The Audit” and suddenly jumps into local politics by helping recall the Mayor of the City. It is my responsibility as it is every other taxpayer, to demand to demand top performance from those elected official. It is also as American as apple pie, to conduct a recall and get them out of office when they do not meet our expectations. It is also our responsibility to watch those that are watching others – the City Council members. After all, they ARE talking about us. And we all know, it is human nature to act differently when nobody is watching than when someone is watching.

The City Council meeting right before Gustav had a decent turnout of J Q. Taxpayers, who felt it was in their best interest to get involved. The juicy headlines stemming from the conduct of the Mayor attributed to this surge in attendance of citizens and the media. Roll ahead to the City Council meeting after Gustav, on the heels of Ike, and only a half dozen concerned citizens were in attendance, Cindy Chang & a reporter from the St. Tammany News.

Cindy wrote:

Outside City Hall, a campaign to recall Price continued, but attendance at Thursday’s council meeting was sparse, and organizers gathered few new signatures for their petition.

NO WAY have I or anyone involved with the recall petition, given up hope that the recall will be successful. After all, we have until February to collect the signatures, and people will have tons more opportunities to sign the petition. Also, the odds, unfortunately, are in favor of more Mandeville headlines that will convince residents that they need to make the effort to sing the petition.

Oh – and here is a little secret (don’t tell anyone), but the past 2 City Council meetings were more exciting than any reality show on TV!!! Can anyone tell me why they aren’t on a public television channel? You must attend one – please make a point to do so!

Remember the philosophy for punishing children? We should punish them right away so they remember why they are getting punished! These are grown people and they still don’t get it. They have lost their moral compass! I am sorry to say, but the entire City Council, as a whole (newbies aren’t getting passes from me anymore either, unless they start speaking up), are a huge disappointment to me. They DO NOT have the best interest of the citizens who elected them!!!

There aren’t and shouldn’t be “2″ sets of rules in the world; 1. rules for the elected officials & 2. rules for John & Jane Q Taxpayer. The attitude of, “Screw you taxpayers who elected us. We work hard at our job 24-7 and you should trust us to do whatever the heck we want,” isn’t working for me. Trust me, there are people out there who are willing to represent and serve us like we should expect them to!

This from today’s Times- Picayune
EDITORIAL: Mandeville’s new measures
Tuesday, September 09, 2008

T-P: The days when Mandeville officials could hop in a city-owned vehicle, fill up the tank on a city Fuelman card and drive out of town for a little R&R are ending, and that’s a needed reform for the troubled city government.

Me: This is just one of MANY problems and if you ask me, if wasn’t addressed immediately after the audit’s release like it should have been!!! Too late.

T-P: The Mandeville City Council, which has been responding to a blistering state audit, will vote at its next meeting on written guidelines for business travel that track those followed by state employees. The guidelines limit reimbursements to trips that have a “public purpose.”

Me: They had the audit before the public even saw it. Plenty of time has passed. Interest free loans were given by the taxpayer to all who chose to “borrow” money from the taxpayers.

T-P: That certainly needed to happen. The abuses noted by the Legislative Auditor’s report included personal trips taken by city officials, including Mayor Eddie Price, in city vehicles with fuel paid for by the city.

Mayor Price drove his city vehicle to Augusta, Ga., to watch the Master’s golf tournament in April 2006. He told auditors that he did so because he is on call 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Other Mandeville employees were allowed to take personal trips in their city vehicles in case they had to return early on city business.

Me: It is the attitude of Mayor Price about his 24-7 job that really “gets my goat.” He made his own rules of convenience and has and continues to laugh at the taxpayers of Mandeville like we are a bunch of stupid morons.

T-P: But watching a golf tournament isn’t a public purpose. Neither is taking eight trips to Destin, Fla., as Louisette Kidd, director of planning, did. City Attorney David Cressy and David Degeneres, director of public works, also told auditors they used city vehicles for personal trips.

The proposed guidelines would allow city vehicles to be used for out-of-state trips if the city finance director gives permission. But giving such discretion to a member of the administration doesn’t seem like the best check on possible abuses.

Me: Trilby Lenfant should have asked for their vehicles to have been turned in immediately and for the money to be reimbursed that day – PERIOD – NO EXCEPTIONS!!

T-P: Finance Director Milton Stiebing oversaw many of the areas that drew criticism in the audit. He and Mayor Price together were responsible for more than $55,000 in inadequately documented food and alcohol charges on city credit cards.

Me: Milton and the Mayor need to go.

T-P: The Mandeville City Council, to its credit, is trying to tighten up policies. It voted to adopt a written policy on credit card use that requires employees to provide documentation in order to be reimbursed. The City Council also will vote on an ordinance at its next meeting that would require an annual internal audit.

Me: Woulda, coulda, shoulda…irresponsible – bottom line!

T-P: Those are appropriate measures, and it’s encouraging to see the City Council taking concrete steps to end the abuses that have occurred under Mayor Price’s administration

Me: This is a bunch of apologetic BS from the T-P. I’m not buying it and I hope nobody in Mandeville is buying it either.

If you want to volunteer to help mandevillerecall@gmail.com and don’t forget to check out their blog at http://mandevillerecall.blogspot.com

Heroes die for our freedom, the least we can do as citizens is speak out and demand the best from our elected officials.