The Bright Side

Article by Terry O’Neill, Lake Geneva resident, and candidate for alderperson:
I have written articles and drawn cartoons about how democracy ends when public officials run unopposed as all of the alderpersons in the City of Lake Geneva did last year in the 2019 spring election. If no one is willing to run, then someone will be selected or appointed and then even the charade of a democracy will have ended in this city. Since there was only a couple of days left in which one could file a declaration of candidacy and no one had yet filed for 4th District alderperson, and last year all alderpersons ran unopposed, I felt obligated to run for alderperson, even though at 75, I would prefer to not run. I took out the required forms on Friday and obtained the required number of signatures that weekend and filed them on Monday one day before the filing deadline.

At that time no one else had filed for 4th District alderperson. I feel I am qualified for the position, because I have seen the City of Lake Geneva politics from the inside and from the outside. I have seen the people it has hurt and those that it has benefitted. I have seen the good, bad and the ugly in Lake Geneva politics including those falsely accused, scapegoats, those blamed for the misdeeds of others and the guilty getting away with it. I have seen how bids were rigged, and some bidders excluded. I have seen good city employees, who quit rather than be part of what was going on and I have seen good city employees that do their job, work hard and keep quiet. I have seen the city administration misguide and misdirect the city council members and how they would transfer responsibility for their actions to the city council to cover their tracks. My agenda, if elected, will be the same as it is as a citizen “an open honest government that works for the benefit of the city’s residents and not at their expense to benefit a select few.

Cartoon of the Week