"Your Endorsement is All That Matters"

I have been really struck this election cycle by the effort and money being spent by Ellen McAlpine and her "We Unite Cary" slate. I don't know how much as been spent by this group, but this is not typical of a Village Board election. From a slick website, to fliers, mailers, and signs everywhere to a podcast that began several weeks ago. And, they have enlisted the help of ex-Cary officials for a slew of endorsements that really is nothing more than a desperate attempt to cover up the mediocrity that has been the status quo of the Cary Village Board.

I have said this before: in regard to the Meyer Material fiasco, Jim and Kim have been stellar in their attempt to hold Meyer accountable. They sought out residents, they listened to the history of the pit.  And they fought to make it right by the residents of Fox Trails.

What did McAlpine and most of those people she has enlisted to provide "endorsements" for herself and her slate do about the Meyer situation? They rolled over. They gave Meyer time. They even over-turned the rules about resubmitting an application by a petitioner after being voted down by the zoning board. As a result, Meyer got a second chance at presenting to the board their reasons for wanting an extension. And guess who voted for overturning that rule for Meyer? It wasn't Covelli or Cosler.  And then, McAlpine gushed about how "great" Meyer Material was to the Village of Cary.

Give me a break.

Kim and Jim have been instrumental in holding Meyer material to the deal. They have been instrumental in eliciting feedback from residents. They take their jobs very seriously and have agonized over decisions but ultimately made those decisions based on the promises that they made and the feedback they received.



And the "We Unite Cary" crowd has been going on and on about how Kim and Jim said no to a $60,000 anonymous donation to the Village. They even made a video, describing Kim and Jim as the "party of no." Kim and Jim acknowledged that the donation was generous but, in the end, did the right thing:  when you stand up for transparency, anonymity is wrought with potential problems. There was no other answer but no.

And anyone who believes in the integrity of government would agree.

And that's what Kim and Jim bring to the Village Board:

Integrity.

A belief that the residents have a voice.

And an unwavering belief in standing up for what is right, even when they know that others will use it to tear them down.

That is leadership.

And that is why they deserve our vote on April 2.

Build Them Up - Covelli|Cosler 2019

When I posted last time about McAlpine and the "We Unite Cary" slate, a resident of Cary criticized my post and stated that "It’s too bad that you use your talents to tear people down and not build them up."

Okay. I get it. So here it is, the first video in a series called "Build Them Up." In it, I discuss the reasons why I am voting for Kim Covelli and Jim Cosler. There is a short version and a long version.


And here is the longer version that gets into more detail about the Meyer Material fiasco next to the Fox Trails subdivision.



Share. Share. Share.

Thanks for watching.

We Unite Cary for What?

So Ellen McAlpine is heading up a slate of candidates for the Cary Board election. She has joined forces with Dale Collier, Jr. and Sean Wheeler and they call themselves "We Unite Cary." Not quite sure what that means, but okay.

Truth be told, I know nothing about Dale Collier or Sean Wheeler.  However, the fact that they've teamed up with McAlpine and have publicized the endorsements of a slew of people who have been responsible for uniting Cary not with constituents, but with the interests of a multinational corporation that has done nothing but walk all over the village should say enough.

Let's see. It's the same old story. Over the last twelve years (and it goes back further than that), Meyer Material has manipulated the board. It has disregarded the contract. And currently it is holding the land that it was supposed to give back to Cary last June hostage, because it wants to continue to have mining rights on that very land.

And McAlpine, Collier and Wheeler enthusiastically went on a "field trip" a few weeks ago with Randi Wille, the Lefarge/Meyer representative who has been the point-person from the beginning. And in the video, they gush over the size of the lake and the wildlife that they got to see.

But the fact remains that Meyer still hasn't honored the contract. Meyer is not paying fines that they agreed to as well. The land is still not under Cary's control, even though this was supposed to happen last summer.

And to further obfuscate the issue, the village still has an "artist rendering" of what the park could look like up on its website.  This was created for one reason: to unite Cary around something that will never be. Folks, let's be clear: if the park is ever given to Cary it will not be Three Oaks.  It is a lake with a path around it. That is all.  And the village spent thousands of dollars to have an artist sell the residents a lie.

Yet, McAlpine still plays to that farce. Even after Meyer missed the deadline for turning over the land to Cary she thanked them. Yes, she thanked them for doing a good job!  

On the "We Unite Cary" website they enthusiastically display the "endorsements" of past Cary officials. That list is a who's who of who's sold out Cary:

Mayor Steve Lamal: He is the guy who started this mess in the first place. He sold out Cary by allowing a weak and easily manipulated contract to be written that has given Meyer the upper hand in their relationship with the village. During his tenure, there were even issues with getting out agendas and notifying residents of meetings.

Mayor Tom Kierna: He was a Meyer super-fan who went out of his way to sway things in Meyer's favor (not unlike the current mayor, Mark Kownick). When there was a tie, like on the vote to give Meyer one of their many extensions back in 2012, he broke the tie with a yes.

Dave Chapman, former Trustee: Dave was also a Meyer cheerleader. In July of 2015 he admitted that Meyer was "significant" to the village budget and did what he could to keep the pit rolling. He even once lashed out at Fox Trails residents in October 2016 who were upset with the situation by saying that "Meyer has done a great job here." 

Rick Dudek, former trustee: This guy once made the suggestions that Fox Trails residents shouldn't complain because they moved into the neighborhood in the first place. He stated back in 2015 that there had not been complaints since Meyer started mining. Spoiler alert: that was not true. Dudek was instrumental in getting Meyer another hearing even though they had been voted down at the zoning board.

These guys are not the most stellar of endorsements. Perhaps we should fix the "We Unite Cary" logo: