Let’s Keep a Good Thing Going? Sure — For The Term Limited Mayor!
With a cushy job making over $100k, complete with car, generous travel expense account for his frequent trips to Washington DC, (and Saudi Arabia?) and unlimited taxpayer funded video productions for numerous vlog entries, no wonder Bryan Barnett still wants to be mayor. For the past 9 years, Barnett has had it pretty good while the rest of our residents fought to keep jobs, took huge concessions with their pay as well as benefits, and clawed back lost equity in homes.
Given all the expensive robo-calls, numerous flyers with flat out lies about his rival’s voting record and huge tractor-trailer banners, it’s clear Barnett has taken more time cozying up to big donors and outside lobbyist money than listening to the residents who voted for term limits.
These past weeks, residents have seen a career politician trying to scare them into thinking he’s irreplaceable in order to keep hold of the Mayor’s office while he waits to take another run at Congress. All that negativity is NOT a good thing for residents or the city.
Ravi Yalamanchi is a proven city leader who knows that the good things we have going in our city – are because of the RESIDENTS who’ve created and fought to maintain what is good about the city.
Don’t be scared into settling for a “good thing” – because with Ravi as our new mayor – The Best is Yet to Come!
Joanna Vanraaphorst
About Rochester Media
Ravi Yalamanchi City Council voting record; City Council minutes up at City Hall.
Ravi Yalamanchi… made the motion and voted yes to increase the Mayor’s car allowance by 40% his last year in office. Guess he was already pre-thinking his personal political future.
Scot Beaton
Scott, it wouldn’t be hard to comb the records of years worth of votes, budgets, etc…and find things to twist. That applies to both candidates. I do think Rochester Hills has a great story to tell. I for one just don’t understand why the Mayor has broken off his positive message with an attack campaign. All the negative mailers hitting my mailbox are from the Mayor. I think it’s a mistake on his part.
Brenda – I agree. And that nasty robocall last week was absolutely despicable, and claims totally fabricated. Is this Chicago?
Makes no sense – Mayor claims he and we are on top of the world, awards rolling in – then go negative and nasty??
Run on your record. Period.
I didn’t actually think this race would be close, despite the disadvantage of being a write in. I am not sure about that anymore. The negatIve campaigning ruins the feel good story the Mayor has been offering and turns it into just another political hack battle. Look what’s going on in the national races. People are turning against traditional politicians. The lack of any real competition in prior Mayoral races has not done him any favors. We have a great city and a great story to tell. Let’s keep it that way.
Again, agree. It makes me sad. And the fact that the Fire union chose to take part with a false claim and a nasty robocall really hurts the community, causes further division. There are hurt feelings and growing mistrust there. Endorsements are fine, happens every election. Making stuff up to go nasty? Honestly, what gives unions a bad name across the country, but never in Rochester Hills before this election.
Bottom line – elections and officials come and go over the years. But the residents and neighbors remain to be and support the community – that’s all that matters.
That a sitting Mayor chose to go this nasty when he has a record to run on is bewildering.
Love of community should come before doing whatever it takes to keep your job.
We will have some healing to go through after this unnecessarily bruising campaign season….
Ravi has repeatedly alleged graft without proof, berated what he calls barnetts personal agenda, and has repeatedly claimed to be the candidate of integrity which suggests Barnett has not been, yet the second Barnett’s campaign and/or his supporters point out his lack of support for our public safety departments based on ravis statements on the police and fire millage and ravis record of voting no on proposal after proposal without offering a competing vision, his supporters start screaming about the race having become negative and dirty. it would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. It is not negative for a candidate to question another candidates voting record, in fact that’s the very opposite of a negative campaign. I have yet to here the mayor say so much as one unkind word about his opponent, but the same cant be said about ravi, who has not been negative, hes been PERSONAL. I actually was somewhat on the fence about this election but as the race went on, I became more and more certain that Barnett has more than earned the right to reelection.