“My opponent in the upcoming mayoral race called me an 'instigator' . . . so let me help him by listing several of the things I 'instigated' during my time serving on Madison Borough Council. Accuse me of being an instigator?—I am guilty as charged. Last I heard, if you want change, you have to instigate it.”
In the most recent edition of the Madison Eagle, my opponent in the upcoming mayoral race called me an “instigator.” Because he did not give any concrete examples of my “instigations,” one must assume he was simply using the tried-and-true Madison Democratic Committee–tactic of the argumentum ad hominem attack. He cannot, or will not, engage in a genuine discussion of any topic, so instead he decided to attack my character.
Unsurprisingly, the Eagle did not afford me the opportunity to rebut, which runs counter to its past practices. I can even recall the Eagle giving members of my opponent’s political party the opportunity to rebut rebuttals made by their opponents!
So let me help my opponent by listing several of the things I “instigated” during my time serving on Madison Borough Council:
- I instigated the building of the Madison Recreation Complex. My opponent voted against it.
- I instigated the establishing and funding of the Madison Community Gardens.
- I instigated the repairing and investing in our water and sewage systems, including the retrofit of every sewage pump station in Madison.
- I instigated the Construction Review Committee, which prioritized all infrastructure work and looked to save taxpayer money by utilizing borough staff for projects whenever possible.
- I instigated speaking directly to the ratings agencies, when our credit rating was under review for a downgrade, in order to understand the steps we needed to take to ensure the downgrade did not happen.
- I instigated the cutting of electric rates, but failed. Interestingly enough, my opponent and his colleagues immediately copied my idea once I left office. Instead of calling it an electric rate cut, however, predictably, they renamed it a “dividend.”
My opponent’s press release then goes on to note all of the accomplishments and the praise he receives from other municipalities for our current fiscal position. Almost 30 years of working in the financial services industry, which includes an eight-year appointment to the New York Federal Reserve Foreign Exchange Markets Committee, has taught me not to confuse brains with a bull market. I urge my opponent to repeat that to himself every day that the wholesale cost of electricity (the driver of the massive electricity surplus Madison Borough currently enjoys) stays below 5 cents per kilowatt hour.
Accuse me of being an instigator?--I am guilty as charged. Last I heard, if you want change, you have to instigate it. I draw the line at him calling me an "outside agitator," however, simply because I wasn't born in Madison! I am happy to put my financial ideas to the test, so once again, I challenge my opponent to a debate--anywhere, anytime--on whatever pertinent topic he chooses.