Sadly, your article could replace Pocatello with almost any City, County, State or Federal Agency in the country.
Who among us (that have skills) wants to enter the fray of public service? What we are left with are these organizations being run by those that THINK they have skills, but sadly do not.
My experiences with these people are wide spread (over multiple states) and the ineptness is not limited geographically.
In my opinion, the only solution is for active voter education (reading for retention) and engagement by holding elected/appointed officials accountable for the results of their actions/inactions.
Until this happens and there is sunlight cast upon the backroom shady deals, lack of transparency, inexperience and poor decisions with accountability for results, nothing will change. Everyday citizens will continue to bear the costs that these sorry politicians have inflicted with truly awful decisions.
Thanks for writing this column. It is the sad, sad truth that this Mayor and City Council don't have a clue how to govern. They & others should either resign or all be Fired. I would not trust this group to run a lemonade stand. Until that happens, We will continue to see the same sloppy mistakes being repeated over and over. This is exactly why some folks I know have moved out of Pocatello! Thanks, John Knight
Actually we had one good ISU president, Michael Gallagher, who had been academic vice president and who was filling in between Bowen and value-less, er, I meant “Vailas.” Michael discharged the duties of the office competently. I wish he had remained rather than bringing in Vailas whose pie-in-the-sky research university vision and his Captain Queeg-like X-O Olson created so much havoc and administrative bullying and fraud.
Amen, I will however also say that if you want things to change, residents need to put some sweat equity into their communities. I live in a small town in upstate NY in the Hudson valley. I am treasurer of the public library which is a vital component of the town, by offering not only books and materials, but also programs and support for children, teens and seniors. The town is currently voting on a bond issue for a 9.5 million recreation center. While there are pros and cons on this, the lack of knowledge for this project (it has been well publicized and has hade several town meetings) is laughable. My theory is if you aren't involved or at least informed you are part of the problem. We all need to pull our heads out of the sand and acknowledge that we all need to take the bull by the horns and get involved and informed and vote out these ass hats.
Thank you for your informed and well written posts
Teresa and I were talking about this the other day after reading a Gate City Coffee post. I couldn’t agree more with your description of our current city government. Everyone I voted for in the last election has left town.
As is mentioned elsewhere, Thanks for putting this into words. I hope to catch up with you soon
Sadly, your article could replace Pocatello with almost any City, County, State or Federal Agency in the country.
Who among us (that have skills) wants to enter the fray of public service? What we are left with are these organizations being run by those that THINK they have skills, but sadly do not.
My experiences with these people are wide spread (over multiple states) and the ineptness is not limited geographically.
In my opinion, the only solution is for active voter education (reading for retention) and engagement by holding elected/appointed officials accountable for the results of their actions/inactions.
Until this happens and there is sunlight cast upon the backroom shady deals, lack of transparency, inexperience and poor decisions with accountability for results, nothing will change. Everyday citizens will continue to bear the costs that these sorry politicians have inflicted with truly awful decisions.
You've got that right. FWIW, two weeks later the underpass is still untouched
Thanks for writing this column. It is the sad, sad truth that this Mayor and City Council don't have a clue how to govern. They & others should either resign or all be Fired. I would not trust this group to run a lemonade stand. Until that happens, We will continue to see the same sloppy mistakes being repeated over and over. This is exactly why some folks I know have moved out of Pocatello! Thanks, John Knight
Actually we had one good ISU president, Michael Gallagher, who had been academic vice president and who was filling in between Bowen and value-less, er, I meant “Vailas.” Michael discharged the duties of the office competently. I wish he had remained rather than bringing in Vailas whose pie-in-the-sky research university vision and his Captain Queeg-like X-O Olson created so much havoc and administrative bullying and fraud.
Amen, I will however also say that if you want things to change, residents need to put some sweat equity into their communities. I live in a small town in upstate NY in the Hudson valley. I am treasurer of the public library which is a vital component of the town, by offering not only books and materials, but also programs and support for children, teens and seniors. The town is currently voting on a bond issue for a 9.5 million recreation center. While there are pros and cons on this, the lack of knowledge for this project (it has been well publicized and has hade several town meetings) is laughable. My theory is if you aren't involved or at least informed you are part of the problem. We all need to pull our heads out of the sand and acknowledge that we all need to take the bull by the horns and get involved and informed and vote out these ass hats.
Thank you for your informed and well written posts
I love Idaho. How utterly sad this is. And preventable.
Teresa and I were talking about this the other day after reading a Gate City Coffee post. I couldn’t agree more with your description of our current city government. Everyone I voted for in the last election has left town.
As is mentioned elsewhere, Thanks for putting this into words. I hope to catch up with you soon