Plymouth Township Officials Will Vote To Remove The Power Of Elected Trustees

Absolute power, absolutely corrupts. It enables morally deficient people to enforce their will on others. It enables a small faction, to control the majority, to thwart the will of the people, and to silence the masses.

History is full of people who have done horrible things when granted absolute power. World War II was started because of one lunatic who was given absolute power. The Soviet Union, China, and North Korea are examples of what happens when abhorrent people have absolute power over their government, and it's citizens.

In America we have different principles, and these basic principles are guaranteed by our constitution. There have been folks who have challenged our constitutional rights and freedoms throughout history, but the will of the people will always overcome these challenges because folks have the right to vote corrupt elected officials right out of office. Americans have mechanisms to recall, and replace elected officials who become corrupt with the power granted them by the electorate.

One would think that an elected official would understand these basic truths. One would think that elected officials would remember that they work for the people, and they should be guided in all of their decision making by that one basic fact.

Sadly, this is not the case in Plymouth Township. Sadly, the electorate in Plymouth Township put too much faith in the words of folks like Richard Reaume, Ron Edwards, and Nancy Conzelman.

When these three individuals were elected in 2012, Plymouth Township citizens unknowingly put three morally bankrupt individuals into the three most powerful positions in our township, and unfortunately, the chickens have come home to roost.

Once Nancy Conzelman was elected to join Richard Reaume, and Ron Edwards, she became their lapdog, and she will continue to be their lapdog in order to continue to collect her six figure compensation package. She cares nothing of the will of the people, she cares nothing of the moral implications of her actions. She does what she is told to do, she says what she is told to say, and by doing so, she is allowed to keep her seat, by two of the most corrupt municipal officials I have ever seen.

Now that Reaume and Edwards have Conzelman, and her fellow lapdog, Kay Arnold in their pocket, they are changing all of the township policies. They are going in, and giving themselves all of the power, and while they are at it, they have decided to silence the taxpayers who may be critical of their actions.

Here are just a few of the new rules proposed by Reaume, Edwards & Conzelman:

Rules For The Conduct Of Meetings And General Business.

• The Supervisor sets the agenda. (That is the usual way)

• Board members wishing to add an item to the agenda should submit a “Request For Board Action” along with accompanying documentation to the Supervisor by the agenda deadline which is Wednesday noon prior to the meeting date. (This is somewhat onerous, but still falls within acceptable guidelines, in my opinion. Personally, I feel that a “functional” board should be willing to add an item to the agenda at the last minute, if it meets certain requirements, the main one being that the issue is one that has raised considerable recent interest among township taxpayers. Transparency dictates that an elected board be unafraid to publicly deal with such issues. It is not unusual for elected boards to add agenda items after the official agenda has been published, I have seen it happen countless times in my experience on an elected board.)

Now it gets downright despicable.

• Board members desiring to amend the agenda during the meeting for the purpose of adding an item shall first consult with the Township's legal counsel to determine the appropriateness of the proposed amendment. If deemed appropriate by legal counsel, the Board member desiring may do so after being recognized by the Supervisor and then offering the motion to amend the agenda. The Board member so moving shall briefly explain the appropriateness of the of the amendment, but may not substantively address the itme until such time as the Board has considered the motion and approved it. Motions to amend the agend require a 2/3 vote of the quorum present. If the motion to amend the agenda is approved, the item shall then be considered and action taken, if appropriate. If the motion to amend fails, the issue dies without further discussion.  (This is the part that should scare the bejabbers out of every Plymouth Township resident.)

So let's take all the legalese and boil it down to it's simplest form. Under this rule, the will of three, overcomes the majority of four.

If you want to get an item on the agenda, you have to grovel at the feet of Richard Reaume.  When he says no, you have to grovel at the feet of the Township lawyer, and if by chance he grants you permission to request that an item be placed on the agenda, you need a 2/3 super majority vote just to get an item on the agenda.

So if the Board votes 4-3 in favor of adding a particular item to the agenda, you lose. Sorry Charlie, but you didn't have a super majority.  Three votes trumps four in the twisted world of Reaume, Edwards, and Conzelman.

Absolute Power. The elite minority overrules the majority. Three against four wins.

If this rule passes, Reaume, Edwards, and Conzelman have just made the four other elected Trustees powerless. They have rendered them useless. They are there in name only.  Why even have Trustees anymore?

If the majority (4 elected members) of this elected Board of Trustees desires that an item be placed on the agenda, the other three can shut it right down. I don't know any other way to put it. It's crazy.

I am trying to find a way to rationalize this decision, and I can't.  I simply cannot wrap my head around this move, other than it's just a huge power grab.  

It can't be partisan politics. I am a Republican, just like these folks claim to be, and I am utterly embarrassed by their actions. I can't even call them Democrats in disguise, or RINO's or any other variant of an American political party. Quite simply, they are dictatorial tyrants. Municipal despots if you will. I simply have no other way to describe them.

I can't even say that they are political apparatchiks, that do and say whatever they think will get them elected again. That would at least explain their behavior. No, this narcissistic behavior can only be explained one way.

Absolute power, absolutely corrupts...