GENERAL GEORGE'S BUDGET CAMPAIGN

If you watched the Grand Rapids Committee of the Whole meeting on public access TV yesterday, you would've have seen General George, a.k.a. Mayor Heartwell, getting discombobulated when all of the troops wouldn't submit as meekly as his hand-picked protege, Miss Bliss of the Second Ward, to his campaign to approve City Manager Kurt Kimball's operating budget for FY2007.  In fact, it was the young miss's counterpart in the Second Ward, Rick Tormala, who made the General most dyspeptic.

Tormala tormented the General on all the crap still larded in the budget, especially the $150,000 in tax dollars going to Lansing and D.C. lobbying firms.  The Second Ward commissioner made the sound point that there are plenty of publicly spirited citizens who can make the case for Grand Rapids to state and federal legislators (including the legislators themselves) and don't need to be paid to do so.  Commissioner Jendrasiak was roused from his socialist befuddlement to pipe in agreement with Tormala.

The General stood firm in paying lobbyists to continue doing us no good and steamrolled Tormala and Jendrasiak to table a vote on the entire budget.  As in the past, Tormala expressed his opposition to the budget, and the General excoriated him as a "cop-out" for standing on principle when compromise can feel so good.  Indeed, he was disgusted with Tormala, which reveals the Stalinist mindset of so-called progressives like Heartwell who cannot stomach any dissent from the Plan.

After all, the General's discombulation was not in response to a serious threat to getting his way on the budget.  He knew he had four votes, a sure majority, at a minimum.  In that case, even a half-assed politician would've known to handle Tormala's dissent with joviality rather than bile.  But ideologues like Heartwell can't do that.  Either you are enlisted in his army, or you are the enemy.  For the General, it's that simple.  For the good governance of our fair city, it's a rout.

Comments

[Batman]

Tormala's grandstanding changed nothing. He is as worthless as the rest of them.

[beentheredonethat]

Geez....sounds like the school board and Bleke....nothing is brought to the table unless he's sure that it's going to pass - if there is any doubt, he comes up with "plan B" but it is very seldom used because he usually gets his majority vote

[The Executive Director]

Hi, BeenThere.

True enough. Furthermore, it looks like Heartwell had a certain incentive to pass the budget as drafted by the City Manager. See today's article for details.

Regards,
Bill Tingley