"I might have to go around them (Muny League) the same way the great Senator Pam Roach does; just go straight to the voters." -- Mark Greene
Updated at 1:30 P.M. (see further below): Well, they're back. The invitation from the Municipal League came the other day, along with the questionnaire and the "free pass" to sit in front of their board for questions, which in the past usually contained 10 to 15 interviewers, but unless they agree to match those 10 to 15 members with an equal number of arbitrarily chosen FW registered voter citizens, with full voting rights pertaining to assessing ratings, and which could temporarily increase the board to as many as 20 to 30 members; or alternatively, to temporarily replace half or all 10 or more of their regulars with these same citizens, then I won't be participating. I believe they gave me until the 18th of May to respond to their invitation, with the hidden but ever present coercion that if a candidate doesn't respond, that candidate will be branded as "unqualified," so I will respectfully send off my request to them, today, and wait for their reply. Frankly, I would be very surprised if they granted my request which only submits that our own town's citizens should be at least 50% of the process, but if they actually accept this proposal, then of course I will agree to participate.
If you're new to this blog, you will probably need to read some past posts (Apr. 15th and Apr. 22nd) to get some understanding about my skepticism of the Municipal League. I'll keep readers informed as soon as possible about what reply I get from them regarding my request, or if I don't get any reply at all by May 18.
-- Mark Greene, candidate for Federal Way City Council (Position 1)
Outside article about Muny League's hidden bias by Knute Berger.
Update (May 11, 2015, 1:30 P.M.): A slightly revised (for grammatical form) letter from Mark Greene was released to the Municipal League around 1:15 P.M. on 5/11/15, and read as follows:
Recent post: Downtown, Neighborhoods and Businesses
Letters to the Editor: My supporters may want to write letters to the editor on my behalf to the Federal Way Mirror, the Seattle Times and the Tacoma News Tribune. Thank you!
Potential volunteers: Write to e-mail address noted below or P.O.B.; our next meeting will probably be sometime in June. Thank you!
Contributions: $5 or $10 donations are welcome, and will be used for fliers, leaflets, buttons and post cards. Thank you!
-- Mark Greene for City Council Campaign Committee
P.O. Box 25781, Federal Way, WA 98093
e-mail: (link)
[Updated and revised on 5/11/15, 1:30 P.M.]
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| SENATOR PAM ROACH (R) |
"I might have to go around them (Muny League) the same way the great Senator Pam Roach does; just go straight to the voters." -- Mark Greene
Updated at 1:30 P.M. (see further below): Well, they're back. The invitation from the Municipal League came the other day, along with the questionnaire and the "free pass" to sit in front of their board for questions, which in the past usually contained 10 to 15 interviewers, but unless they agree to match those 10 to 15 members with an equal number of arbitrarily chosen FW registered voter citizens, with full voting rights pertaining to assessing ratings, and which could temporarily increase the board to as many as 20 to 30 members; or alternatively, to temporarily replace half or all 10 or more of their regulars with these same citizens, then I won't be participating. I believe they gave me until the 18th of May to respond to their invitation, with the hidden but ever present coercion that if a candidate doesn't respond, that candidate will be branded as "unqualified," so I will respectfully send off my request to them, today, and wait for their reply. Frankly, I would be very surprised if they granted my request which only submits that our own town's citizens should be at least 50% of the process, but if they actually accept this proposal, then of course I will agree to participate.
If you're new to this blog, you will probably need to read some past posts (Apr. 15th and Apr. 22nd) to get some understanding about my skepticism of the Municipal League. I'll keep readers informed as soon as possible about what reply I get from them regarding my request, or if I don't get any reply at all by May 18.
-- Mark Greene, candidate for Federal Way City Council (Position 1)
Outside article about Muny League's hidden bias by Knute Berger.
Update (May 11, 2015, 1:30 P.M.): A slightly revised (for grammatical form) letter from Mark Greene was released to the Municipal League around 1:15 P.M. on 5/11/15, and read as follows:
My concern about the Municipal League process is that a great percentage of the interviewers/raters, if any at all, are not from the same city of the particular council race that they would be rating, and therefore candidates are not really being judged by their peers, or at least not by those who can identify with the same unique experiences that every town has. Therefore, I would like to propose, at least for the case of Federal Way candidates, that an equal number of randomly selected temporary raters/interviewers from Federal Way's voter registration list, with equal votes pertaining to rating assessments, be added to the number of the regular raters, so that there is at least a 50% divide of Federal Way citizens with the Municipal League's rank-and-file staff to be in judgment of Federal Way candidates. Or alternatively, to get the same 50% divide, that randomly selected FW voters, as temporary replacement raters, replace half of the rank-and-file raters, and thereby the same number of raters/interviewers would still be in effect as usual.
In order for me to participate in the process, my proposal will have to be in place or at least modified to an acceptable compromise. If we cannot agree to this proposal or a compromise, I would like to request that the Municipal League not give me an "unqualified" rating simply for not choosing to participate in the Municipal League's proceedings. I think people of good faith can agree that would not be fair. Please, let me know your answer as soon as possible so that I can possibly respond affirmatively to being a part of this process, as I would truly like to be, by the League's imposed deadline date of May 18, 2015. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mark Greene, Candidate for Position 1 on the Federal Way City Council
Recent post: Downtown, Neighborhoods and Businesses
Letters to the Editor: My supporters may want to write letters to the editor on my behalf to the Federal Way Mirror, the Seattle Times and the Tacoma News Tribune. Thank you!
Potential volunteers: Write to e-mail address noted below or P.O.B.; our next meeting will probably be sometime in June. Thank you!
Contributions: $5 or $10 donations are welcome, and will be used for fliers, leaflets, buttons and post cards. Thank you!
-- Mark Greene for City Council Campaign Committee
P.O. Box 25781, Federal Way, WA 98093
e-mail: (link)
[Updated and revised on 5/11/15, 1:30 P.M.]
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