More Thoughts on Rochester Hills Mayoral Race: Letters to the Editor

(The following letters to the editor reflect the opinions of the authors, and do not represent an editorial position by Rochester-Rochester Hills Patch. They have not been edited for content)

Let the Sun Shine in City Hall

Do term limits matter?

In a perfect world, where everyone eligible to vote did so, the ballot box would be the ultimate term limit. Unfortunately, few people choose to use their privilege to vote, especially in local, off year elections such as the Rochester Hills City mayoral race. A handful of people will decide the fate of the city for the next 4-8 years.

Term limits are designed to allow fresh leadership into office. Term limits help prevent a buildup of power and cronyism. In Rochester Hills, we have seen the mayor use the office to fundraise into several political action committees as a way to build his war chest for personal promotion and political cronyism. Term limits allow fresh air and sunshine in.

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And the sunshine has all been stopped at City Hall in Rochester. Citizen groups have been mocked by city council and now the city council has moved public comments to the end of the meeting instead of the beginning, which deters many from being able to speak up because they have family obligation and can’t stay all night at a meeting. The city website now removes all videos of city council meetings more than a year old from their website, citing space limitations. This could easily be cured by having a YouTube page for old meetings. Now you can’t review the contentious videos of the oil and gas drilling discussions at previous council meetings. Very convenient in an election year.

The city public notices that are required by law to be displayed in a local paper were quietly moved from the local free paper that went to every home, to the The Oakland Press which requires a paid subscription and whose readership has sadly declined. Announcements of meetings and important government action have to proactively sought by citizens.

Most local government councils approve the bills every month at the local city council meeting, at the request of the current mayor some years ago, this was removed, and the council just approves an overall budget, and doesn’t see who the bills are being paid to. This also is a poor lack of governance as our elected officials and citizens have a right to see who is being paid what and how much.

Let’s respect the Charter of Rochester Hills and let some sunshine and fresh air into the mayor’s office.

— Diane L. Young of Rochester Hills, president of the Women’s Democratic Club of Greater Rochester

Keep a Good Thing Going

If you have not yet decided who to vote for as mayor, I would encourage you to watch the League of Women Voter candidate’s night. Mayor Bryan Barnett did an excellent job in keeping his cool in spite of the misinformation given out. He was thoughtful in his comments and stayed positive throughout the evening.

A city our size should probably have a city manager and it doesn’t. In the past, we have had mayors that had to give up authority to the administration because of their lack of qualifications, leadership and management abilities.

I’m not willing to cast aside someone that is doing a good job for us simply because of one part of our city’s’ term limits ordinance (Section 8.15). Mayor Barnett is exercising the other part of that same ordinance. Good for us that he is. Rochester Hills has remained successful throughout these tough economic times.

Don’t cast him aside when he is doing a gret job for us. Join me in voting for one ofthe most insightful leaders Rochester Hills has ever had. Write in Bryan Barnett on the line provided on the ballot for mayor and fill in the circle. Go Bryan Barnett.

— Darlene W. Janulis, Rochester Hills

Time for a Change

I can’t imagine anyone, including Ravi Yalamanchi, not supporting our fire and police departments. If you took the time to see how the entire budget approval was set up, you would see the fire and police proposal, which was a given on its own merit, was thrown into the pot with other proposals that cost the city to unnecessarily spend hundreds of thousands of dollars over a five year period.

Ravi was well aware his voice would be unpopular but stood up for the citizens in speaking out on why he could not, in good conscience, approve the entire budget. It was an all or nothing deal. A separate vote was asked for and reasons for doing so were given, it was turned down. Our children are instructed from a young age to take the right path and not to be bullied with following the herd when bad decisions are being forced upon them. Ravi represented the best interests of the city knowing the bill would pass but still refused to be bullied into voting on a budget that was not in the best interest of the people.

We teach our children to speak out when an injustice is taking place, yet we don’t expect this of our civic leaders. We elect council members to represent our best interests, which was what Ravi was doing.

Mayor Bryan Barnett knows this to be true and it was confirmed by outside consultants. The issues that Ravi was concerned about were fixed but not before the city spent $750,000 of taxpayer’s dollars.

Watch council meetings; listen to citizens with real concerns about the future of our city. Green space, oil rigs, and water towers, all handled like the fire and police vote, are being buried in an all or nothing budget, or slipped through poorly attended meetings because of the public’s lack of interest, not aware that there is an issue or undying trust.

Serving hot dogs and cutting ribbons is necessary PR. Trying to deceive the public with shady politics is not.

Mayor Barnett has done some nice things for the city but it’s time for a change. We need new leadership with new ideas, and like any business, change is good.

Good leadership comes from listening to all your citizens and making the choices that serve the common good. Politics is serving special interests at the expense of the citizens. We live by the choices we make!

— Marianne Maurer, Rochester Hills

Voters Approved Tax Increase

Mr. Mike Powers on Oct. 11 wrote a letter to the editor of the Rochester-Rochester Hills Patch where among other things he wrote “For those of us who pay attention, denying residents a vote on park land use for oil drilling is just another lie ”

I have attended most City Council meetings for the past 23 years. During that time, occasionally, maybe every two or three years, some resident or Council member would call for an advisory vote by the residents on a particular issue. The City’s attorney, whether Mr. Ternan or his now successor, Mr. Staran would always patiently explain why the city should not do it.

Mr. Powers, is it a lie when Ravi Yalamanchi writes in his Oct. 7, 2015, op-ed in The Oakland Press that “in 2015 the taxes went up by 7.66 percent while the claim is always how the administration does not raise taxes.”

Taxes were raised 7.66 percent because over 70 percent of the voters voted to raise their taxes at least that much to fund more personnel for our Fire/rescue service.

Did Ravi lie or just bend the truth?

Was it a lie when Ravi in his Oct. 20 op-ed in The Oakland Press wrote that “This millage proposal is in addition to the 2.5 mil increase in 2012.”

There was no 2.5 mil increase in 2012. The total city tax millage from 2007 through and including 2014 stayed unchanged at 9.7060 mils.

Did he lie or what do you want to call it? So much for that vaunted integrity.

I have not always agreed with Mayor Bryan Barnett on all issues but in the 23 years that I have been watching this city’s government

He has been the best and most competent mayor.

— ​Lee Zendel, ​Rochester Hills

Don’t Be Fooled

There’s an old saying: “Any time you point your finger at someone else, there are three more fingers pointing right back at you.”

I’d say that saying fits to a tee a local politician who, while trying to maneuver around our city’s safe and sensible term limits law, has seen fit to engage in a campaign of deception and outright lies against his opponent, Ravi Yalamanchi.

Ravi is a man of intelligence and integrity who, you may notice, has been running an entirely positive campaign which has been receiving widespread support in our community. Don’t be fooled by the insinuations of a person who is just trying to wrangle himself a third term by slinging mud at a good man.

— Clifford Johnson, Rochester Hills

Breath of Fresh Air

How often do you hear people saying that they are ready for some positive change when it comes to our government and elected officials? We are ready for campaigns and governing to start getting real, making some sense and showing some honesty and integrity. We all know only to well that these things are very rare in today’s political world.

With this in mind, we want to thank and commend Ravi Yalamanchi on his mayoral campaign. He has run a campaign with the quiet dignity that he will bring to the office of mayor. His campaign has been a break from ‘business as unusual” and has been a breath of fresh air.

• Do you have an opinion on the Nov. 3 mayoral race? Send your letters to the editor to beth.dalbey@patch.com.

Most telling has been watching Ravi navigate a recent barrage of negative campaigning (business as usual) in the form of mailed flyers and robo calls that inaccurately portray Ravi and state that he has voted against the police/fire departments and public safety. Instead of responding back in kind, Ravi took the high road. He took time to put out the facts (he voted against city budgets never against public safety officials) so that we, the public could have the best and most accurate information when making our choice for Mayor on November 3rd. The Intentional putting out of incorrect and misleading information during a campaign, is never helpful to anyone seeking to make a good and informed decision.

Through it all, Ravi continues to run his campaign with the leadership, insight, skill and grace we so badly need in our mayors office and political life. Thank you so very much Ravi, we are very ready for this change and yes the best is yet to come.

Please join us in voting for Ravi Yalamanchi on Nov. 3.

— Andy Krupp and Pamela Bratton Wallace Krupp, Rochester Hills

Abuse of Power

There are three major reasons that I will be casting my vote for Ravi Yalamanchi on Nov. 3. First, we have term limits for a reason, no matter how someone performs while in office, they gain more power the longer on the job. In my opinion, a write in candidacy itself is a way of abusing power, at the very least feeling you are above the law.

Mayor Bryan Barnett has also abused his power by how he handled the oil and gas drilling in our community. The city charter states that no selling, leasing or change of parkland property can occur without the vote of the people. Even so, he signed a lease without a vote, clearly an abuse of power.

Lastly, and perhaps most important, is that Ravi is the better candidate. Ravi’s community development background and experience makes him uniquely qualified for the role of Mayor of Rochester Hills. Also as a council member for 8 years, Ravi served our community well by advocating for budget planning, improving the city’s infrastructure and preservation of Rochester Hills environmental resources, while honoring fiscal responsibility.

It saddens me to see the misleading campaign tactics used by Barnett. My hope is that our community is smart enough to see beyond the negative campaigning and elects Ravi as our next mayor.

— Julia Wittkopp, Rochester Hills