I noticed for the first time this weekend a large number of "Elect Paul Johns" yard signs out in my neighborhood. I know of about 5 in a two block range of my house and I'm not even trying to find them. My wife said that she recently saw a James Yates yard sign up, but I wonder if that might have been a "Red Realty" sign with his name on it.
Talking to some people in the 'know' seems to imply that Paul Johns is a shoe-in and the real race will be between the latter three, Reed, Yates, and Merrill. I have not talked to Merrill as far as I know (I might have run into him at a meeting and not remember it), so I am going to invite him to do a guest column on our website, since he is the lessor known of the group. In a sense of fairness I will also invite the other three candidates to do a guest column also.
On a serious note. This blog is about community, and we like to deal with the issues of our community. An election is very much part of the range of subjects we will cover, but... and there always seems to be a 'but'. I feel that outside of the guest column invitation the blog "This is Smyrna, TN." will not specifically name who we are supporting or why. I just feel that a sense of neutrality here is in order for this election.
Our mission is to be a useful resource for the city of Smyrna, TN and surrounding areas.
6 comments:
Hmm... I was going to write-in "Ward Cleaver."
I've seen large James Yates all over Smyrna and I've seen one Merrill sign on the corner of Enon Springs and Mayfield...
I was at the downtown expo a few weeks back when James Yates sister approached me asking for a vote for her brother. She is not even a citizen of Smyrna but lives in Mt. Juliet. I asked her his position on the liquor stores coming to Smyrna and she proudly told me that "James Yates will always promote to have package stores in Smyrna because he cares about the tax revenue that is going to Antioch and Murfreesboro."
I then told her that he would not get my vote then. I went on to explain that my brother was killed at 20 yrs old by a drunk driver, a man who's vehicle was littered with empty beer cans. This man had literally been drinking while driving having left his home or possibly a package store. She then told me that her family has several alcoholics in it so she "understands" how I feel about it. And she left.
Within 30 mins I was approached by a man asking that I allow him to explain and correct what his sister had told me. I said, You must be James Yates. Yes I am, he said shaking my hand. He acknowledged my personal position on the matter and our loss as his sister had told him but then he went on to profess all the positive aspects of our town of Smyrna having package stores. His logic was that since people were going to bars and restaurants to drink this would be a safer option since he believes they would buy their liquor and return home to drink it instead, thus lessening the amount of drunks on the road. Uh huh, right.
Everyone knows people who buy large amounts of alcohol from package stores are most often heading to a party or hosting one at their own house which later results in drunk drivers being on the road either way. Most alcoholics do not drink alone nor do they restrain themselves from going back out and driving back to the store, drunk, to buy more when they run out. He talked about how Smyrna could benefit from all the tax money we'd get to keep if we allowed liquor to be sold in our town instead of our neighboring cities getting that money.
This man cared more about getting my vote for himself to sit on our council than being respectful to my loss over the subject. What kind of man is James Yates to approach a victim of a drunk driver who has buried a loved one asking for their vote to support liquor stores?! What kind of man is James Yates to promote more liquor stores when members of his own families have battled with alcoholism.
In the past several weeks I have watched our Vote No Liquor signs disappear all over the city including from my own front lawn. What kind of character do these supporters of James Yates have to be stealing signs from others properties? This town does not need more tax revenue from liquor stores. The city is booming with new businesses up and down Sam Ridley, something James Yates acknowledged to me. We are doing just fine and many of us do not want our streets cluttered with the unsightly package stores that litter the roads of Antioch and Murfreesboro nor the beer cans tossed from cars onto the grass that lines our streets. VOTE NO LIQUOR, VOTE NO TO JAMES YATES. He cares more about money that lives even to the faces of the citizens he claims to have in best interest. He cares more about tax revenue than our mothers, father, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.
When he was done speaking I took out a crystal that my brothers picture adorns. I said, this is my brother. He said Yes, I'm sorry for your loss. (sure).
I said, His life was worth far more than your precious tax dollars. And with that he turned and left. How insensitive a character to come to me and try to sway my decision and vote for Liquor stores in Smyrna and vote for him. A character that we don't need sitting on our council!
There are a lot of reasons to vote for, and against candidates and sometimes one single issue can make or break the idea of voting for them.
I to have had family members with subsistance abuse, my prayers go out to your family. In our society we will always have ones who are more concerned with the bottom line, and to them business is business and that amounts to their own revenue and pocketbooks. It has been said he has lost several longtime associates because he is concerned with money instead of helping when you are in need of it.
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