“There are certain decisions that have been made over the last year and a half or so with some of the budgets and spending… and taxes have gone up and gone up and gone up.”
“I see our biggest challenges right now are a lot of the big projects that are coming up that we really need to evaluate what are the wants and what are the needs here for us.”
“They have written policies and procedures and then do what they want to do and that’s really undermining the confidence of the community at this time.”
“I feel we need more transparency, we need to become more cost-effective and efficient.”
“I think one of the biggest challenges is regaining public confidence–that should be everybody’s priority at this time. The other thing is to make sure we’re controlling spending so our taxes don’t go up.”
“As a citizen, I expect that elected officials will respect residents, follow rules and be objective and transparent. Along with good decisions, on some of the most critical issues, some officials have demonstrated a lack of good judgment.”
You may be surprised to learn these comments are taken from an October 2018 election primer printed in the Pine Journal by candidates running for Cloquet’s city council.
They certainly mirror much of the same conviction here in Cook County of late.
When Cloquet candidates were asked, “If elected, what will your priorities be?” here are a few of the responses:
“Fiscal responsibility and keeping our tax levy low.”
“Regaining the public trust—the public has our attention, we need to respond with leadership by demonstrating a commitment to open discussion, responsiveness, ethical behavior and adhering to the policies governing council conduct.”
“Community engagement, and cost cutting.”
“Definitely trying to maintain a low levy.”
“First and foremost, I think the biggest thing for me is to make sure the council and city administrator are following written policies and procedures and doing it in a way so that the community’s confidence can be gained and maintained.”
Roger Maki, who had served on the city council since 2011, had been around in business in the area for some 50 years and had a good reputation in the community. As a member of the city council, he found himself constantly at odds with leadership. When his efforts fell on deaf ears, he decided to run for mayor himself.
In a recent phone conversation with Mayor Maki he acknowledged, “It’s been a rough two and a half years.”
As a member of Cloquet’s city council, Maki exposed there were those who didn’t like the fact that he “held them accountable.”
He related how in “2016 the city council had four votes out of six that consisted of cronies. They had the cover to do whatever they wanted to do.”
Maki added, They’ve gone crazy recording a huge amount of overtime pay. They just can’t say, ‘No.’
“People got sick and tired of it.”
Neil Vierzba, of KBJR6 News, did a feature on Mayor Maki a week ago, titled, “Mr. Mayor, tear down that covering.”
During the interview, Maki elaborated, “In the past two and a half years, for the previous administration… the mayor and a few councilors that supported him, did some things not well liked in the community and the community felt like the city government was not being responsive to their needs.”
“Now, newly elected Mayor Roger Maki is taking steps toward his campaign promise for more transparency,” related Vierzba.
Maki continued, “We are working hard to restore that trust. It’s just a feeling of participation that the community members can have. Instead of just sitting back and seeing things done, and not feeling like you can approach the previous administration.”
During my conversation with Mayor Maki he referenced a number of disconcerting issues that contributed to what he claims “swept these guys out of office.
“It took some guts to take them on. I stuck to the facts,” rallied Maki.
Although the “powers that-be” attempted to discredit Maki, in an effort to put their guy back in office, the public had had enough and elected Maki as their new mayor… by an impressive 65 percent to 35 percent margin!
So what’s the moral of the story?
“They always say time changes
things, but you actually have to
change them yourself.”
~Andy Warhol
Former Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble is writing this ongoing column about the various ways government works, as well as other topics. At times the column is editorial in nature.
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