Rasor for Stow

It was great to meet the residents on Englewood and Park streets today. Tomorrow, I plan to finish walking Ward 1-D and doing a ton of paperwork. Also, I’m attending a get-together with 10 to 15 residents who want to know about my campaign. Special thanks to Mrs. Gessford for setting that up with her friends.

Also, big thanks to my parents, who have really dug in their heels in the past month. I never would have expected them to get so excited about politics — especially local politics. My mom is the best saleswoman in the county. She tells me of no fewer than three people per day whom she has spoken to about my campaign. The lit drops from her and my dad have been invaluable. Also, thanks to Adam Smith to be the lone trooper on last night’s lit drop.

I’m 50-50 on whether to do a lit drop tonight. I’d love to get through another chunk of my pre-primary flyers, but I also have to read for tax class, which is at 9 a.m. We’ll see.

While I’m thanking people, I want to thank you, the Stowites who have kept up with my Web site. There is so much uncertainty in running a campaign, not to mention that it’s my first. Your cheery and enthusiastic support is getting me excited to go out and talk to more voters every day. I generally don’t post the positive comments, because the negative ones are more interesting, but they still mean a lot to me. Please know that I don’t take you for granted.

I’m not naive. I know that a lot of you are following my Web site because you support my opponents. I hope that you read this material with an open mind — that you truly consider who the better person for the job would be. Remember, you are allowed to vote for three candidates. There is no rule against voting for Alexander, D’Antonio, and Rasor, for example.

Here is a letter I received from an anonymous member of the Good Ole Boys Network.

Mike,

Just wanted to express my distaste and overall lack of respect for you, based on the information you have provided on your website while running for City Council.

You’re obviously misguided in believing that attending law school (aspiring to be the next Warner Mendenhall?) and having been on a high school wresting team (lightweight would be my guess, based on your appearance) makes you qualified for the position. Being critical of the City budget and the salaries of it’s employees reeks of hypocrisy when you yourself are unemployed and live with your parents. My guess is that they’re even paying your college tuition so it’s debatable on whether your even capable of balancing a checkbook. For heaven’s sake, your brother is more qualified, just by the mere fact he delivers pizzas.

I have dedicated my time, money, and efforts to ensure that almost all current members are re-elected (with the exception of one who also lives at home with his parents and does absolutely nothing).

This is the type of individual I am fighting to extricate from City Hall. This sort of bitterness is a fixture within the Good Ole Boys Network — “If you’re not in the club, you don’t have our respect.”

This is where you, the intelligent voter, gets to decide who is running a dirty campaign. I talk about the issues and attempt to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions/inactions. The Good Ole Boys Network, by contrast, is populated by individuals like this, who attack my appearance, my family and my chosen profession.

Is there room for this in Stow politics, particularly from volunteers of elected officials?

I gathered up all of my data today. Here are some numbers for you…

I have knocked on approximately 1,360 doors.
I have had in-depth conversations with citizens at 258 households.
I have met briefly with citizens at another 152 households.
I left behind hand-written notes for the remaining 950 households.
My team has dropped 10,500 pieces of literature (three different versions).

This is only a preview. I intend to work and work and work. If I win, the work has just begun. You will see things improve at City Hall for no other reason than you will have replaced a complacent councilman with a hard-working, energetic one. That’s not to mention a councilman who stresses the philosophy of what’s important to Stowites: a balanced budget, roads and safety.

Let’s think positively. We can improve the way things work at City Hall. To say otherwise is negativity that nobody needs.

Today was one of my best days walking door-to-door yet. Dozens of Stowites showed sincere concern about their city and a desire to make it stronger. I didn’t have to ask many people if they are voting. They are voting, and they know the issues. Change is coming.

Other happenings…

Special thanks to the family on Adaline Drive who offered to host a get-together with their neighbors for me. I am very much looking forward to meeting everyone over a cup of coffee.

My friends are great. They are taking a break from an all-day bachelor party to do a lit drop for me on Saturday afternoon. I didn’t even ask!

It was great to meet residents on Adaline Drive today. I knocked on 77 doors, and the citizens were very happy to hear my message of change. At many homes, the residents were skeptical at first because Adaline is the street on which Sara Drew lives.

They listened, however, and most came to agree that it is time for the Good Ole Boys Network to go. Those are the most uplifting experiences as a candidate — when you can explain your position and earn votes face-to-face, rather than through a mini-billboard that merely shows a checkbox next to your name.

City council makes decisions with millions of dollars. To run solely on your name recognition robs voters of an intellectual choice between two viewpoints.

Also, if I lived on Adaline, I would ask that Drew take the giant sign out of her yard. Adaline is a beautiful, historic neighborhood, not a marketplace.

With 3.5 hours left today, we have already set a daily high for August in new visitors on the Web site. Tomorrow, I’ll be back at it. My goal is to complete Ward 1-D before the primary.

If you are visiting this site after seeing my flyer in your newspaper tube, I appreciate your interest. On this site, you will find where I stand on the important issues facing our community.

It takes a positive, can-do attitude to alter the path on which we are heading. My opponents want to play the name recognition game. My message is this: The stakes are too high to turn this election into a contest for high school class president.

We must change Stow’s course, and turn it into one of the cutting edge communities that are still striving during this recession. Believe me, there are cities in that position. I have heard enough of the “woe is me” complaining about tax revenue falling. Stow takes in more than enough money to run its government without a deficit, and to do so at a better quality than what we currently see.

There is no reason that with the money we save in eliminating government waste, we cannot improve our city services, such as roads, recreation and safety.

Yesterday, MikeRasor.com set another record for Web traffic. Word of mouth is palpable. It is more powerful than a giant sign — or even 20. People want change. They want a positive, can-do vision.

Today, a city official told me that I am the hardest working of the at-large candidates. I thanked this person for the compliment, but I added that it’s only a preview. I am excited to get into office and do real work that can make Stowites lives easier. And I look forward to vigilantly opposing tax and fee increases.

Tomorrow, I plan to knock on 100 more doors. I look forward to meeting more friendly Stowites!

Today, I met with residents on Elm, Wetmore and Edgewood. People were very friendly and accepting of my positive message of changing Stow for the better.

If this is your first time visiting MikeRasor.com, I appreciate your time. Please contact me with any concerns you have.

My newest campaign materials came in today. They look awesome! It is a promotional item I have never seen used in politics, and we’ve got 5,000 of them to give out. Also, it has a message on it, so we’re not just playing the name recognition game (i.e. the behemoth D’Antonio/Drew/Alexander signs).

Because I have 5,000, you’re sure to get your hands on one. Also, tomorrow I plan to print another 4,000 pieces of pre-primary literature. That will put me over 12,000 pieces distributed before the primary. That is about how many homes are in Stow, so I can assume that most people in the community know what this campaign is about.

Change is coming.

It was a pleasure to meet with many residents on Gorge Park, Sycamore and Patty Ann streets. This is the area south of Kent Road and west of Darrow Road.

It is refreshing to see that more and more people are hearing about my campaign before I arrive. I have not been able to campaign as much as I would like this week. It took a lot of work to plan our Law Review orientation, and I had other speaking/teaching obligations. Rest assured, I will return to action tomorrow morning.

By now, you have seen many signs for my opponents: Janet D’Antonio, Ron Alexander and Sara Drew. They share a “common vision,” as well as a common sign. I am eager to tell Stowites exactly what this common vision has gotten us over the past four (and 14 years).

Change is coming.

These two facts are in today’s Akron Beacon Journal.

1) The city of Stow’s spending “cannot be more conservative.”
2) The city is not buying vehicles.

Both are lies from the Good Ole Boys Network. Here is proof.

1) Conservative spending? The city is paying a service director almost $100,000 a year. It is paying city council members $184 per hour. It is paying three engineers a total of $280,000. It is paying so much overtime so that 10 members of the police and fire departments earned more than $80,000 in 2008 (not including the police and fire chiefs). Click here to see the top 20 salaries from 2008.

2) No new vehicles? The city purchased a $100,000 bus for the Parks & Rec department in July. See pages 11 and 12 of the meeting minutes on July 9. Chalk that up as a bold-faced lie. I hope the Beacon Journal holds that person responsible on the editorial page.

And then we have these quotes from Sara Drew:

Councilwoman Sara Drew said it is important to balance the need for people, projects and planning for the future. She said many of the city’s employees live in the city.

”While I certainly don’t think we should pave our streets with gold and allow money to flow freely, I will not commit to saying I will not spend unencumbered funds,” she said. ”We need to be flexible and reasonable.”

Ms. Drew rarely says anything in council meetings. When she does, it leaves you wondering if she really contributed anything. This is another example. Here, Ms. Drew is saying that we need to balance different priorities. How is that different from any other time in the city’s history? Is it only during an economic crisis that you believe we have to consider financial implications of our decisions?

Also, does anyone really know where she stands on using unencumbered funds to balance the budget? She won’t answer where she stands on this issue.

I am OK with using some of the emergency funds but only if it is necessary after city council does the following:

Cut elected official salaries.
Cut political appointee salaries.
Cut overtime.
Launch an efficiency committee to determine which departments are overstaffed. (Several city employees have told me that their departments are overstaffed. It allows a lot of time to sit around and do nothing — while on the clock.)
Roll back the 3.25 percent raise given in February.

Today’s positive message is this: Stow can take a giant step forward if it elects visionary leaders, not people who are in office for its social value and who cannot decide where they stand on critical issues.