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| Open Forum |
While 3 of our council candidates (2 open seats) are mature, experienced (let's say on the wrong side of 50) adults, one of our candidates is a nice looking young man barely in his 30's who is very motivated, articulate and full of himself. He carries none of the scars of wrong decisions or wrinkles of worry over serious decisions needing to be made. Due to this inexperience he carries in his mind and in his manner the hubris of having not yet been wrong in his short experience with adulthood.
He showed his lack of seriousness in his first answer, which demonstrated he has very little understanding of how money works (just put it on the credit card) or how city government really works. His attitude showed to the crowd that he was very certain of his opinion, that his opinion was a novel idea and that he was the only one in the room smart enough to have thought of it. The fact that he came off as an non-serious, unaware fool never occurred to him. Yet his proposed approach to the question and the problem outlined in it was simply foolish. He had disqualified himself for serious consideration for the office he was pursuing and he didn't even know it.
I was not surprised. Now that I am a grizzled veteran of life, having been knocked down, gotten up and been knocked down again, I am well aware of how stupid I am. In this young man, I saw a younger version of myself; haughty, not self-aware, oblivious to how ignorant I really was, firmly convinced that I was the smartest one in the room.
It is the hubris of one who has yet to live a serious life. This is the condition which affects youth and the sad truth is that the one thing that can cure such a condition is: the loss of youth.
(All comments must contain your real name and contact information or they will be deleted!)
Mark, just a few things I would like to ask you about this blog post. First, if the candidate answered this question so “wrong”, what was the right answer? The one your wife gave? And what is your answer to the question, I believe I know that answer to my own question, you will say exactly what your wife did when asked the question. Second, if you are a “grizzled veteran” of life, I think you would know that youth involved in the community and working to better the community is a great thing and should be supported. Seeing as how you were voted to the school board at the young ate of 30-something, you were once in his same shoes, or were you at that time, (these are your words) one of our candidates is a nice looking young man barely in his 30's who is very motivated, articulate and full of himself. He carries none of the scars of wrong decisions or wrinkles of worry over serious decisions needing to be made. Due to this inexperience he carries in his mind and in his manner the hubris of having not yet been wrong in his short experience with adulthood.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should give him a chance and not be such a hypocrite.
When asked about either paying off the bond early or maintaining reserves he grandstanded and was dismissive of the current council's decisions. His approach was to keep money in reserves that receive at best 0.5% interest rather than pay off a 4% interest bond. Good financial management requires the decision the current council made to pay down the bond.
DeleteAs far as what my answer would have been, I think I've given that to you. My wife is her own person, but you are am damn right if you think I support her in her decisions- what is wrong with that? She has done a damn good job in her past 8 years and this city is not out of the woods yet and still needs her help.
The point of the post was the hubris on the candidate in question, his manner and attitude were wholly inappropriate for his level of experience and knowledge of the job.
I didn't even mention several factual errors he made in the authoritarian statements that he made. I didn't call him on them when he made them because I was trying to maintain decorum, I waited until after the event to inform him on them and his approach toward me was to question me. I had the facts, all he had was his assumptions.
As far as my experience on the school board, we are all individuals with different skills and knowledge. When I was running for the school board, I had spent a year on the long range planning committee of the district before I ran and I kept my comments while running to specific ideas and initiatives I thought needed to be addressed. I didn't run off at the mouth about issues I didn't understand or know the pertinent facts. So your accusation of me being a hypocrite is unfounded and I reject it.
If one can't handle criticism, they shouldn't enter the public arena. If you run for public office, you are asking to be judged and critiqued on your ideas and qualifications. I'll give him a chance when he shows he has earned it.
I never said that your wife did/was doing a bad job on the council, but that is the great thing about having a council, they are all voting members to get the best decision, his answer was a different outlook on things and isn’t that the point of having different ranges of people, and not always having one solution and every council member agreeing to it without any discussion.
ReplyDeleteAnd going back to one not being able to handle criticism when running for office or after being elected, how would you explain your resignation from the school board, (this is direct from a news article) Pierz School Board chairman resigns position
Posted on February 15, 2000 by admin
Citing frustration with board criticism in recent months, late-night phone calls and verbal attacks on him personally, Mark Fyten Wednesday night tendered his resignation on the Pierz School Board.
Here is the direct link: http://archives.ecmpublishers.info/2000/02/15/pierz-school-board-chairman-resigns-position/
So how did you earn your “chance” to be qualified for the school board?
Mark -
ReplyDeleteWow, you must really have a problem with me personally to go through all the work of going back to February of 2000 to try to find an example of my public hypocrisy. Bravo for your effort! I hope you aren't going to start charging me rent for all the space I am taking up in your brain.
I am going to answer your challenge and answer your questions but after that, this will be the end of it. If you want to continue to attempt to cast aspersions after my character, you can start your own blog titled "Mark Fyten is a Prick" or something on that order.
In regards to my school board resignation and the Morrison County Record report of that evening. First - you should never rely on the MoCo Record to ever quote a public official accurately. In the 6 years I was on the school board, I was never quoted accurately. In the night in question, I had a 5 PAGE prepared statement which I read and provided to the press. In my statement, I may have mentioned personal attacks against me, but those were not the reason I was resigning. My reasons for resigning were that I had grown weary of the staff criticism of Jim Hahn the superintendent at the time and the discord on the board at that time. I had agreed to become chair of the board that year to try to quell the rancor, but that had only made it worse. Since I felt I had done all that I could do and that I was part of the problem, I thought that perhaps a dramatic statement on my part could shake things up and get everyone's head right. That was my motivation for the resignation, NOT the criticism I had gotten personally. It was the Record's decision to make that part of the story, they NEVER asked me for a quote or interviewed me about my motivations. I had endured years of abuse from teachers and the public up until that time, so that was not a motivating factor AT ALL. I had nothing positive left to offer the district, so I left. Would you rather I had just warmed a chair until my term was up?
As far as how I earned my chance on the school board. As I had mentioned in my previous post, I had spent hours of VOLUNTEER time on a long range planning committee educating myself about the issues facing the district. I had lived in the Pierz community for 28 out of my then 36 years of my life and I had two children in the district. I grew up in the community, had VOLUNTEERED (as in unpaid, not a cop or a fireman, but as a JayCee, Stray Cat Alley, etc.) and had returned to the community to make it my home. I was not drawn to the community by work opportunities but by my desire to make it my home.
So in answer to your question as to how I earned my chance to serve on the school board. I was committed to and had respect for the community, I had shown RESPECT for the people involved in the process, I educated myself about the process and I published a lengthy brochure with specific ideas and goals on how I would improve the district and distributed it around the district. Enough voters had respect for my effort and positions to elect me to the position. That is how it works.
One last thing, your concern and attention to MY opinion is misplaced. I am only one person. If a particular candidate can articulate positive positions and has enough friends willing too support them, they will likely win. I say God bless them and good luck. However, since we still have freedom of speech in this country, I get to express my opinions. You disagree, I respect that - go vote.
Some coward named "Mike" is trying to post comments to this post. I will not post them.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to engage me in a discussion, that's fine, but don't hide and attack me behind a screen. If your comments are valid, own them.
By the way - Rick is still a prick.