ISSUES, NEIGHBORHOOD BY NEIGHBORHOOD

I am going to try someting new in the way of local campaigning starting this week. I am going to try to work my way all around Toledo and be ready to address issues that Y'all bring up to me.

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I just may use some urban organizing tactics I learned in Boston some 45 years ago.

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We know the folks up in the Canyon Way neighborhood have been having problems deaing with the Cyclone Mraine fish plant that suddenly appeared in their neighborhood. I do not want to address those issues further here without hearing more from those of you who live in that neighborhood. I can say I have been listening to your problems with this plan in your immediate neighborhood, and reading the minutes and watching the tapes of the meetings I missed at which Y'all raised your concerns. I get and understand your frustrations.

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IT IS TIME TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BESIDES TALK! IF CODES OR LAWS HAVE BEEN BROKEN, IF THE BUSINESS LICENSE IS NOT VALID, THEN THE TIME WILL ARRIVE AS SOON AS I AM SWORN IN AS MAYOR.

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AS MAYOR I WILL USE EVERY LEGAL AND ETHICAL MEANS TO BRING RELEIEF TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE CANYON WAY NEIGHBORHOOD.

Mill Creek Water Shed Area

Is the Mill Creek Water Shed Area owned by The City of Toledo a resource we can use beyond water and timber resources?

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Are we "sitting on" recreational or economic resources we might gain income from out in this area that belongs to all the citizens of Toledo?

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Are more than the trees out there a potential source of revenue to help in our water resources and delivery systems problems?

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LETS THINK LARGE!

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Is there a harvestable heard of deer out there? How about elk? Are there small game opportunities? Are there camping and/or fishing possibilities?

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Of course it is always difficult to manage a water shed intended for drinking water and insure the quality of the water when people use the water shed for other purposes too. But could we develop uses of the water shed where we could charge people to use that land for recreational purposes and also maintain the quality of water we need from the Mill Creek Resevoir?

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Aren't there other similar city or town owned water sheds and resources already managed for public recreation that might be models for us to use should we find that the user fees would help in generating income for our city?

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JUST THINKING FOLKS!

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It's our land, our water resource that we must protect. But are more open public uses for the Mill Creek Water Shed and Resevoir worth looking into?

I Will Not See You On The Radio, Cheryl !!!

I received an email from Cheryl Harle at KCUP FM radio yesterday.

The email went to Ed Johnston, Monica Lyons, and myself.

It was to remind us that the first radio show of two on which Cheryl wanted we three to appear would take place on this Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 9:30 am.

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I sent an email back to Cheryl letting her know that I had far too little information on which to base a decision to appear or not on the programs.

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A return email again from Cheryl laid out her format for the show. Not a proposed format or a proposal of any kind open to my opinion or counter proposal, or anyone else's, just straight out what and how Cheryl intends to conduct her program. Her program, because there is no doubt she is

"The boss of the boss and k Cup news/talk too".

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Cheryl said all three of we candidates would get an opportunity to introduce ourselves and give biographical information inside a time frame determined by her.

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Then we would each have "2-3 minutes" to put forth our reasons for running for Mayor of Toledo and what ideas we had for Toledo. After each of us had done this, the other two candidates would be given "2 minutes. No more" to comment on what the candidate who's turn it was had just said.

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End of format.

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End of show.

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25 minutes, three candidates,

Cheryl

("The boss of the boss and k Cup news/talk too"),

and she believes, Don Amberg too.

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End of me wondering, even worrying over how to adapt to this radio show promotion at KCUP.

A couple more emails went back and forth, I assured Cheryl that a racist remark she made to my wife and another Filipina several years ago as they worked at the Front Desk at the Shilo Inn turned out not to be a significant factor in my decision..

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Things that did come into play:

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1.) No opportunity for the candidate who had talked and then listened to the two other candidates make comments about their initial comments to answer those comments, i.e., no opportunity for rebuttal.

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2.) A routine Veteran's Health Service appointment with my primary care Veteran's Health Service physcian and discussion with my doctor at 12:30 pm yesterday that included discussion about some personal medical issues involving my Alzheimer's condition and how a serious prescribing error had been made by another health care provider on advice of Wellpoint Insurance Company in California acting for Walmart's Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Arkansas, the largest group insurance which is self insured by Walmart itself and dropped the drug Aricept for Dementia and Alzheimer's and to replace the Aricept with Gallantimine, just another cheaper drug sometimes prescribed for the same Dementia and Alzheimer's cases that when it does not work is then replaced by Aricept. Under no circumstances would a medical proffessional in the field of treating Dementia or Alzheimer's ever make a prescription change from Aricept to Gallantimine.

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My sudden stuttering that began suddenly over a three day period a few weeks ago is a symptom, having to ask someone their name a dozen or more times before "filing it away for retrieval latter" in the brain's memory storage area for that type of memory recall. and a few other minor things I am adjusting to quite well.

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My doctor expressed absolutly no concerns

over my running for Mayor of Toledo, he expressed absolutely no concerns about carrying out the responsibilities of Mayor under the form of governement we have in Toledo.

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In the end it was my decision that I had not been given opportunity for input into the format of the two shows I was being asked to do, and did not like especially the lack of opportunity to address any comments the other two candidates would make about my plans when elected Mayor of Toledo

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Cheryl describes herself in a cute way a much younger radio station owner/bussiness woman/on-air radio personality might:

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"The boss at the boss and k Cup news/talk too."

It is cute, Cheryl, but not for any woman even 20 years your junior.

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A note here to concerning Cheryl continuing to say that since this time slot is the one used by Don Amberg for his weekly radio show, 'The Talk of Toledo" that he would be in his office on the phone as usually is the case for him to do his show, participating in the format and show. conversation I had with Don Amberg after the last city council meeting was quite different than that. Don Amberg made it perfectly clear that he has made clear to Cheryl that he does no want to be involved with these two candidates shows fo the mayoral race, not th shows fr the city council racres either. he expresss this reluctance out of his appearant natural ethical behaviors. some folks do not have to study ethics to know them, they have through their life experiences and general educations come to appreciate the kind of untenable situation concerning ethics that participation in this show whould palce he and his wife in. further insistance that he become more involved than to open the show and then turn it over to cheryl is in itself a ethical violation of journalistic ethical behavior, and I am surprise Cheryl does not get that and is pussing young Mr. Amberg to violate what he has a natural instinct to avoic by way of what he has said on how he will ONLY introduce the show.

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A personal note to Don Amberg:

You have a natural and inate feel for ethical behaviors, Son. Do not, ever-ever, let anyone make any headway into trying to get you to cross the line of ethics you see and focus on so easily, as you saw here. You are an example to all in our community, be it in the business community, professional city staff, or elected city gubanators.

I think I have a couple of cold ones, that would be cold hecho en Mexico, Mexican Coca-Colas, on hand and I'll be seeing you soon.

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"Good on you, Mate."

What are the facts about the campaign buttons?

Let's look at the facts on the issue of my campaign button fiasco: On the night of September 1, 2010 I placed a small 5" X 5" Easter Basket with no handle filled with homemade campiagn badges on the table near where we sign in for a city council meeting. Before the meeting was called to order City Manager Michelle Amberg brought that little basket to me and said, "We can't let you have these there because it looks like city hall is endorsing you."

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I told her she was wrong, but I did not want to make anything of it then. Frankly, there was someone there in the gallery already that had a grievance for three meetings before and I did not want to contribute to the confusion that might come to be that night.

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Over the next two days I had email exchanges with the city manager in which I told her I thought she had denied me an Article the First, First Amendment, right. She kept sending me rules for State Elections prohibiting campaigning with-in so many feet of a polling place. Three times. Then I told her in no uncertain talk that she had violated my Rights. Ms. Amberg did not like that all all, and she made or had made a complaint to the Secretarty of State's Office.

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Folks, there was no violation at that time. It was all in the city manager's head. At no time was she able to send me a copy of even some city article or rule disallowing my putting out my buttons.

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The city manager needs to understand that barring any written law, regulation, whatever, of the City of Toldeo, Oregon, she has made false report to the Secretary of State's elections compliance office.

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How likely are we to see a written policy in Toledo?

Not! Never! Nada!

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There is no "case" here. Just watch it go away.....

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It is going the way of the Dodo bird, the Carrier Pigeon, and a host of wrong ideas that, like the city manager's idea, puts limits on or infringes otherwise on our Constitutaional Rights. Do you suppose we are going to see any proposed ordinance? NOT! If we do, do you imagine it is going to get through the discussion periods at council sessions without a war of words and ideas?

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NOT!

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In the near future, can we please talk about and really seek and find a solution to the problems the folks up on Canyon Way are having in their immediate neighborhood?

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PLEASE!

Inspecting the Electrionic Files at the Port

I was allowed to Inspect the electronic files I had requested to see at the port offices today. The problem in getting that done previously had simply been a misunderstanding of the Oregon Attorney General's rules on Inspecting electronic files. Bud Shoemake did not realize the requirements for Inspecting the electronic files, and when the District Attorney made them clear, Bud proved up and provided a pleasant atmosphere for the Inspection too as soon as he could.

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I told Bud that the will be juried part of the application to vend at the Wooden Boat Show, which is a contract, had not been fulfilled. I told Bud that a vote was required under the contract the application is and it had to be a vote up or down that was a stand alone vote, not subject to his over turning it. I said he probably missed that meaning simply because he was so busy, not with any intent, and as far as I was, and am concerned, the matter is closed. Fini.

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Unfortunatly for some folks ,who wanted the disagreement to get even bigger, it did not. Because in the end, both Bud shoemake and I are both able to get over the small stuff, Bury the Hatchet, and move on. Some others had a vested interest in the disagreement becoming ugly, and it did not. Vested interests in column inches, maybeI

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A week ago I was very upset by the letter from the Elections Enforcement Division at the Secretary of States's office. I wrote a three page response. In sent it out to folks here. In the end I edited that response down to a bare and spare single page. I sent that out to everyone who got the original three page unedited version. Only the older three page version somehow got to Ms. April Bamburg at the News Times and she wrote a story in today's paper referring to the three page unedited version. Not to worry, I provided April with the edited one page and very spare finished product.

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Meantime, April is left with having printed something not quite accurate. Not to fret, April, it will all come out in the wash when Ms. Carla Corbin over there in Salem straightens some folks around here, besides me , out on the issue at hand. I may be surprised, but I am betting others will be more surprised to find that simply "aggreeing with" the city maager's action of moving my litle basket of homemade campaign badges and declaring it some campaign violation thsat I put them onthe sign in table does not make it a violation on my part, absent a written policy before hand in Toledo on the matter.

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Simpley "agreeing" with her action and interprettion does not make any kind of violation out of what i did, at all. Of course, that is my own interpretation. Maybe as valid as the next Phd. educated so-and-so. We will just have to wait and see.

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I'll call you for lunch soon, Bud. A late lunch perhaps? Maybe I'll need a ride back to hte house, a little Mexican food and a couple of Marguirtas later and I will lneed a designated driver.

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I was able to share some new rvido and audio ecording technology with Bud that I had combined with my 2 meter radio capabilities up here on the hill.

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I told Bud I would call him to make a late lunch engagement.

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Soon.

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges! Not At This Price.

A sometimes associate, embarassingly for him, no doubt sometimes, reminded me tonight that I can and do sometimes take things to seriously and get people mad at me when it could have easily been avoided. I heard you, Terry. More than just heard you. I took it to heart.

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So, sometimes friend...

I'll start by trying a little humor, but also not only "taking to heart" your words to me tonight that showed you are upset with me for being an A$$ myself lately, I'll accept that criticism.I had it coming, I earned it, I deserved it. I'll do better. I realized the last few days in fact, that I owe Y'all better than I have been doing.

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Hell, I am capable of being a good mayor! Why the hell haven't I been showing it? I will in the future. I believe I began that today when the Acting Chief of Police came up to my house and we had a little talk and he was able to show me that I was making more out of something than I probably would want to if I'd just stop and think. And on the Chief's advice, I did think it out, and I will not only "try" to do things a litle different in the future.

I will cut the "try" and just get it done!

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I thought I'd bring a little humor into the picture from tonight's city council meeting. If I may?

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One of my opponents in the race for Mayor of Toledo was sitting next to the only front row empty chair tonight, so I sat next to him. Eddie Johnston. At times Eddie, like me, can make people pretty mad himself, like I can make people so mad at me.

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Tonight Eddie got the Mayor down on him early on in Visitor's Comments Session by making some allegations about some things straight out of the Twilight Zone... I do not have a clue as to what... I was not hearing, because I turned away, as I was embarrassed for Eddie.

Mayor Cross shut Eddie down by challenging his statements right from the get-go.

I was a good job the mayor did of getting Eddie back in line and not letting him make allegations he cannot prove up.

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It made me laugh a little. Just before the meeting Eddie was asking me how I liked my new Springfield Arms 9mm Semi-Automatic XD-9 which is mostly made of a composite plastic material that makes it light enough to carry 16 round full clips and a round in the chamber, and including carrying the extra or spare clip and still be able to handle that extra weight as the gun hangs holstered strapped to my right leg, or shouldered under, or in my left arm pit. What a pistol! It reminds me of the old U.S. army .45 Cal ACP hand gun almost every soldier had some experience with!

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I said I had not fired it yet. Then we were talking about the informal shooting range and the controversy about it down in Seal Rock, I think it is. My experiences with shooting ranges have all been at very well controlled and disciplined military of N.R.A.. gun ranges. I am no sure, but I'm a little standoffish about "informal
gun ranges."

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So, we were talking about shooting sports and then Eddie said something about the handgun training course at the Timbers Restaurant at 8:00 am this Saturday morning, and it turns out Eddie and I are both signed up for that class. I didn't know Eddie was signing up, but when I purchased the new gun a couple of weeks ago and could not find the Safety device right away, and it turned out to be a new Passive Safety Device, like a Dead Man's Switch, operated by keeping the web of skin between yur thumb and forefnger tight against it, I knew that after 30 years since my last class, that it is time for a new class anyway, let alone to quaify for a License to Carry a Concealed Firearm.

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So what's so funny? Funny is as funny does... it's funny because Mark Camara has been talking about Eddie making statements at a city council meeting that he, Councilman Camara, found to be threatening about the use of firearms.

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I was just trying to imagine someone, anyone, who is a danger to us because he has handguns signing up for a basic, tune up, and advanced firearms handling shooting and safety course.

To me, that was funny!

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Also funny, really funny, funi-funi, Eddie heard me trying to get a couple of different people to go with me Friday to the Port of Toledo offices on appointment to see the electronic files of the Wooden Boat Show Committee minutes as the port has been ordered to show me by the District Attorney.

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Because of the hostility there last week and the near catastophe that could hae occurred, I would not think of going again this Friday under the new order from the Ditrict Attorney.

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Of course, since I gave away the secret that I was video and audio taping the whole thing last week, I doubt that there will be anything but strict business taken care of this coming Friday.

because of the low quality of my video feed last week, I have been practicin, including at the city council meeting last night. It's a small pink Vado recorder that I only paid $39.95 for when I reached a certain dollar amount in credits when I was building online last October my youngest sister-in-law's computer.

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This video/audio recorder is 2 1/16" wide X 3 7/8" tall X 5/8" thick. It easily fits into a pocket and last week at the Port ffices I had it in my shirt pocket with a camera lens hole pushed through my shirt pocket. teh video I rtrieved was not the best, I have improved now this week, but the audio was damning, and when I say damning, I do not mean to me.

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So far, Eddie Johnston is my only volunteer to ride shotgun for me.

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Won't that be a hoot!

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On a serios note, folks, Friday might be a good time for me to make at least a small gesture or offer towards reconcilliation wtih Bud Shoemake. We used to get along. I suppose he did have a point and maybe even a good reason for being really mad at me, as I have been really-really mad at him for what I took as unaceptable and ungentlemanly treatment of my friend, Barb Fredric after she and her crew worked so hard to get his First Annual Wooden Boat Show's food service off to a good start. I do not recall any certificates of appreciation, and no one even botheredt o tell Barb that Celeste Matthews and the Chamber of Commerce would be doing the food srvice the following year. It was hard seeing my precious friend, Barb, treaded so badly.

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Oh Well... No use talking about that again if I am going to try and let it go and try to make a gesture towards reconcilliation to Bud.

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I'll be there, video/audio recorder in hand. You might get a kick out of it, Bud, you did not see it last week, I had it, and it is pink in color!

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I am a big ugly, feo, pangit guy and I can get away with pink!

Charges of Wrong Doing In Toledo False?

My "new friend" at the Yaquina Wavelength must have been on vacation in the beginning of August. Like, on August 6th when thereWAS wrong doing in governmet inside and outside, two governments, city governemt, and the Port of Toledo.

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Alan must have glossed over our reports of the attempt to set Ol' Valdez up for a false "No Trespass" order on August 6th at the Port of Toledo offices when I went there on 3/4 to 1 hour notice to Nancy Lynne on the Port office telephone. That is not to put anything at all on Nancy Lynn, or Debbi in that office either. They are just Go-a-Long-to-Get-a-Long administrative assistants who are not responsible like Port Director, Dumb A$$ (In my real personal opinion.) Bud Shoemake is.

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Before going on, I must make it clear that I am not knocking Alan and his efforts really hard. But I am knocking, Alan. Without asking me what went on on August 6th at all, you then write that allegations of 'wrong doing" that were not true were made. That is just plain wrong, Alan.

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So now I am going ot have to spend money to prove "my case" when that money should be goingt o pay for the baby that is going to be born with a due date of Oct, 23 down in the province in Philippines. Money to that is promised to pay for 53 girls to have two hot dogs, with buns, condiments, and four large marshmallows seach so the Jibong Elementary Girl Scouts can have their own campfire at the 3000 plus All Province Girl Scout Jamboree beginning on September 23 2010. now iIhave to see about paying the $400.00 for the retired FBI or some such agency lie detector guy up in Lincoln City to come to my house to take a lie detector test? Because you have printed that the allegations of wrong doing I made are false?

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Isn't it fair to say you already have said the charges of "Wrong Doing" are not true, Alan? You editorialized that just today, right?

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Wouldn't it have remained a closed issue handled

"As Between Gentlemen"

with the assistance of City Attorney Wes Chadwick and the retired Dallas police chief weeks ago, already?

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Oh, wait, you didn't get that part, did you, Alan? Nor did you quite understand too the involvement of that retired police chief from Dallas in also putting a lid on the "talk" that basically challenged what I said happened and the story then being told by someone else.

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Do we really have to open this can of worms again? Do we have to go to the Panmunjong 38th Parallel Truce Village

and dig up old bones already? Do we have to peal off barely healed scabs from the wounds of myself and Sgt./Acting Chief Mike Helton because you got the story wrong? That because you missed that there was something and the reason you did not find it, or hear about it was not just becaue there had been a cover-up, but because there was a Truce Agreement!

As Between Gentlemen!

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Didn't you notice, in fact, that at the last council session the good Sgt. /Acting Chief of Police and I were able to have civil discourse? Yes, I was telling him about my recent purchase of a really nice 9 mm Springfield Arms XD-9 made in Croatia with two 16 round clips and assorted plastic hardware, like clip holsters, holster, and semiauto loader. I was asking the good Sgt. where I might find a class to take a refresher course in hand gun safety and skill. I'll be taking that class at the Timbers Restaurant and out at the range in Siletz this Saturday.

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Here was a case that was wrong doing. But I could not find in my heart, for sure ,that Sgt./Acting Chief of Police Mike Helton had acted with malice. In fact, I was leaning, and still am, to the side of me that he had no malice at all and did not really understand the nature of the port as a government agency which cannot just "No Trespass" someone as a private company or owner of a business or home can.

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I beleve bud Shoemake did have malice. My own opinion, of course.

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"They talk about me like I'm a dog.",

the President of the United States of America said just a few days ago. Well, today I felt talked about like a dog too. Without one question, with out knowing the any of the story let alone the whole story, Alan, you editorilized a lie. There was wrong doing on August 6th at or about 10:00 AM. I can lead you through the whole scenario, including that another police patrol officer showed up on site. Had you asked him he would surely confirm some of what I have said, or declined in a way thst you would know there was truth in my story but the officer would like to keep out of the mess. he is a fine officer, and an example the younger officers too on how to carry one's self as an officer.

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I have take to heart some of what you said today, Alan. In fact, it just happened that I bumped into Monica Lyons at J.C. Market today. We had a very nice conversation because she is a kind and sweet lady. I gave her privately the reason I decided to run for mayor at the last minute. Monica knows, not everyone else does. I also told Monica that I am finished running against Mark Camara for this office, and that if elected, it wil lbe Lowell Neal who is Mayor of Toledo, Oregon, not Bob Valdez.

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I do need to thank you, Alan, becaus you woke me up this morning to how false your repoorting was, it still will be read as truth.

As vs

Lowell Neal a.k.a. Bob Valdez

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If that is good enough for you, Alan, it is not good enough for me. thanks for making me see that when Barack said,

"They talk about me like a dog."

it can happen to any of us on any given day!

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In an email to Chief Helton today, City Manager Michelle Amberg, in my opinion, attempted as his fire and hire direct supervisor to influence what he will do concernig a complaint I will file when he comes off his Days Off. I wil be only giving him the courtesy of informing him. i wil be asking the sheriff's Office now due to the city manager's letter.

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The reason I did not file last week, two important legal people were on vacation or out of office on other business. Both City Attorney Wes Chadwick, whom I wanted to act as a concilliator, and the District Attorney, I needed to ask a procedural question in such a case that involves asking a chief of police to accept charges or a complaint against his immediate fire and hire supervisor.

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All you had to do was ask, Alan. And to think why I would make fase charges of wrong doing? In yur editorial, in fact, you do not even mention what the 'wrong doing" alleded was. because you did not know!

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I beleive the filing of the carges by the city manager against me with the Secretry of Stae's Office of e;lections compliance may constitute a breach of the law enjoining her or any city personnel from becoming involved in a city election. These charges should have been filed by the city attorney. I am only surmising as fact that the city maanger made the charges. Teh Secretary of State's Elections officedid not tell me who made those charges, but the city manager said in her email to Chief Helton thsat she and I are involved in a civil matter.

We are not! Teh city manager and I are not involved in any matter. Should the Sheriff's Office accept my complaint, then she would have matters to handle with them, not me.

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The matters, three charges made by someone to the Secretary of State's elections office ar matters between me and thst office now. The city manager is out of that picture all together and if she thinks differently, she needs to seek advice form the city attorney. Something she needs to do a lot!

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In the future, Alan, you may assume you have done yourself no good with me today. Simply because you never even bothered to ask what the "wrong doing" was and what went on.

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Wanting to cover a story well and actually doing so are like the difference, another of our friends says, islikethe difference between the words

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"Lightning Bug" and "Lightning".

Let me spell this out to Y'all one more time so you know what happened and then we can see if you can pull any governemnt wrong doing out of the rabbit holes that are more like prarie dog holes in that they are inter-connected.

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Inter-connected? Yes. something like Inte

Just For You, Mark... I Know You Could not Believe This Gift Was Made to Me Either..

I could sure use some help learning how to scan, huh? And if anyone has yet figured out how to find Spell Check for these Windows 7 programs, let me know.

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Maybe we could have a campaign coffee clatch and bring our laptops? Maybe my Know-It-All friend Professor Mark Camara would teach the class?

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I was real embarrassed and upset when Mama gave me the letter from the Secretary of State's Campaign Compliance Office on Friday afternoon..

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It really hurt my pride and sense of self worth.

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Then I happened to think about those lousy hand made campaign buttons and how I could not find it in my budget to buy real buttons just two weeks ago. I also wondered how I would be able to justify spending money pledged to taking care of my pamankin (nieces/nephews) down in Philippines.

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Sometimes Tito (uncle) Lowell is a big spender, like a drunken sailor on Three Day Liberty and then I have to scramble for the money to pay for my pledged support. This time it wasn't so bad. September 23, 2010 there will be the annual Girl Scout Provincial Jamboree in

Sorsogon City. (Baranguay is like a barrio or small neighborhood, 700 people in Jibong.) .

The Chairwoman of Jibong Baranguay asked me if I could help our girls from Jibong Elementary School have their own campfire with hotdogs, "The good delicious ones, please, Kuya Lowell (Kuya is your older or big brother.) so your pamankin will be able to say their Tito Lowell in Oregon in America loves us all so much."

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"Ok, ok, Baranguay Captain Nanette! Alright already! I get it! But how many girls from Jibong Elementary School will go to the Jamboree?" The Baranguay Captain hesitated, and said, I cannot say yet, Kuya. Because it could be 30 to 50 girls depending on how many girls' families will not be able to afford the money for that one in their budget.".

Then I must have really been sucked in, worked, because I next spoke and I heard myself asking Baranguay Captain and Cousin Nanette how much was the cost for each girl? The answer was p270.00. about $6.66 each girl. I asked cousin Nanette to call me back on Yahoo Messenger today with the final number of girls who are going and the number of girls who could not afford to go. Lucky for me, 43 girls' families found money in their budgets. A lot were able to sell the copra early to get that money. The final number of girls going to the 2010 Sorsogon Girl Scout Jamboree from Baranguay Jibong is 51. Tito Lowell will send a padala (A padala is money sent to you.) on Wednesday when my Social Security check automaticaly deposits. Then I will go up to J.C. Market where I swill send the funds for the 8 girls who needed help financially to go, and for "the delicious kind" of hotdogs, buns, and condiments, and also 4 large size marshmallows for each of Tito Lowell's girls too.

. You have to keep perspective in your life. I do not need campaign buttons, campaign signs either. I need the thanks MY girls in Jibong Elementary School always send me.

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So, in the end, the complaint to the Secretary of State gave me enough name recognition in this campaign that I feel like I can forego campaign expenses for name recognition and send some Greenbacks, The Green Money, home for the girls to have a great Jamboree.

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I was really depressed after receiving and reading that letter, but I began to feel much better Saturday at the Fire Department 9/11 Rememberance and Safety Day event day.

Papa and I passed out around two hundred and fifty balloons and about one hundred and fifty large mostly snow cones of various flavors. We had a grand time.

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Thanks to whoever made the complaints.

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I am

Lowell Neal a.k.a. Bob Valdez

and

I am Running for

Mayor of Toledo

On Being Disingenuous, a Prevaricator, or a Plain Out Liar

(Beginnig note to Bud Shoemate and Debbi Scacco at the Port of Toledo:

If you did not manage to get all or any of the goings on at the port offices at 10:00 AM on Friday recorded, I did. While the video is very poor, the sound is great. I might consider sharing that tape in the future. Maybe to be shown as entertainment between reels of The Keystone Cops. The regular "cops", the U.S. Attorney for Oregon might see that as a Conspiracy to Entrap and as a Conspircy to deny access to a document you were ordered by the District Attorney to let me Inspect. I'd be very careful which conspiracies I let Ol' Bud get me involved in! That one was so obvious! Remember, Y'all, such a Conspiracy is a Federal Offense.)

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Council re-election candidate Professor Mark Camara, Phd. made an outright perverication concerning my having said I was beginning to understand how John Smith felt when he was standing before the council the last few sessions.

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Counciman Camara chastises me for being a candidate for mayor, unlike Mr. Smith, and not knowing the city charter and its restrictions on the city council to seperate out the personnel decisions strictly given by the charter to the city manager and to the city manager only.

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Councilman Camara knows I know that restriction on council members is in the charter. And he knows what I said about beginning to understand the frustration John Smith was feeling was not about the charter at all. It was simply saying I understand the frustrations of a lot of folks in Toledo with the answer always that the city charter keeps the council out of certain affairs. Of course it does!

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The good Professor, Councilman Camara, just thinks he can state that I do not know about that restriction and it then it is "truth" and something the voters should consider against me, that because he said it, it becomes a fact in the campaign. He is an outright prevaricator (Is that the same as a liar?). He was an outright prevaricator (or liar), one or the oather, or both, in my humble opinion, in the last campaign against now Mayor Rod Cross, and he is an outright which ever one you choose again now.

I do know the personnel exclusions placed on the council members including the mayor.

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It is not good form, it is not generally accepted to call someone a liar outright even if it is my honest opinion. But I am making an exception because dealing with Mark Camara

As-Between-Gentlemen

is not possible. He will prevericate, cheat, obsfucate, (And lie.) to get elected even, in my political opinion.

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The good Professor Camara? This guy has no honor in how he campaigns and makes outright lies up while knowing it, in my personal opinion. There is no excuse for any man with such a high IQ and a Phd. behind his name to behave like this now in two campaigns in a row. It is not just every two years durig camaigns that he does this, he des it all the time. It is dishonorable and a disgrace.

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What I was saying was that I simply was beginning to understanding the deep frustration Mr. Smith has. And that I was feeling like Mr. Smith and I, and lots of working class stiffs in Toledo might want to consider changing even in a small way the city charter to empower the city council a bit more.

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The city charter is not the Constitution of the United States of America. It is not an almost perfect document inspired by The Creator.

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Even the Constitution has a proceedure for change. Like when the 18th Amendment was put in place and later repealed by the 21st Amendment.

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Folks, this is the same tactic the good councilman, the Professor, used against now Mayor Rod Cross two yesrs ago in the mayoral campaign that pitted them against each other in that contest for mayor.

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He lied about the then councilman, Rod Cross, and he is making up lies now, in my humble opinion. The difference is, he isn't running for mayor and why he is "running against" me as a surrogate for Monica Lyons, probably without her asking or maybe even realizing at first that it was happening.

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We need to get this guy off the council instead of thinking of re-electing him. We need to send him back to school. We can do this if we think about how we will vote in the city council race.

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All four ballots in my house will be cast as Ballot Bullets for Franki Truillo-Dalby. We will only use one of our three votes and vote for Franki to try and insure that this Favorite-Daughter candidate is elected, and at the same time we may be able to minimize Mark Camara's chances for re-election and then the bottle neck or log jam he has become on the city council can be broken.

.

Vote for

Lowell Neal a.k.a. Bob Valdez

for

Mayor of Toledo

.

Vote only for

Franki Trujilli-Dalby

a Favorite Daughter Candidate

for City Council

(Vote a Bullet)

and then we can get the Toledo City Council back to work on issues like

Workforce Housing

and the economic crisis we are in.

The Issue Of the Right To Petition the Government.

Looking in the mirror... When our revolution began not all of the people were for it. Not by far. Up and down the colonies there were differing ideas about as to if we should go to war with King Charles or not. Some said we should first petition King Charles, others said that was exactly the point, that King Charles' answer to a previous petition was to march his soldiers on Boston and Breed's Hill (Bunker Hill) slaughtering the Colonials.

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The few hold-out colonies decided to join in the revolution. One of the most important things the people were fighting for was the right to petition the king. King Charles was the government! And he refused to listen or be "petitioned".

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Our best time and chance to "petition the government" is what we are doing when we stand to speak at Town Hall Meeting or at our own City Council Meeting.

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Within reason we must do all we can to preserve the way we have our comments time at the beginning of the meetings. It is important. Let's not panic just because someone and his wife were hurt so badly emotionally that he ended up raising his voice trying to tell us how they felt.

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If we change, as has been suggested, to having to write down on a slip of paper or form before the council meeting is gaveled to order what it is we want to talk about it limits us if we came with no plan to speak but someone else said something we want to add to, or say we do or do not agree with.

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Let's all try to keep this as simple as possible and keep order in the council chambers. On most occassions we can do that. If a citizen is loud and may even be seen or heard as angry, just try and think what we would do in that person's place!

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Let's just try and let the peace and tranquility of Our Creator flow over us at our meetings to try and help us over these rough times.

.

YES! It's me,

.

Lowell Neal a.k.a. Bob Valdez

.

and

I want to be

.

YOUR

.

MAYOR!

.

I want to be YOUR voice in city hall, because I am like you. A working class Hand, a working class blue collar stiff! I am not afraid of you, even when you are angry with your local government.

.

I'm

the people's voice

.

and

I embrace you and all that you are as the people of

.

Toledo, Oregon

.

The Distinct Honor, and High Privelege....

Friends, I have been honored! Not as a soldier. Not as a staesman, even. I have been honored to have been described by Councilman Mark Camara as "becoming increasingly hostile" in relation, I think, to his perceptions of my fierce defense of Article the First of the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment, on three occassions lately.

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It is a High Honor and a High Privilege to be on the other side of Messer. Camara on such an issue.

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Councilman Camara is proposing restricting by way of making a change by rule the way citizens can address the city council for the 5 minutes stated on the agendas for the meetings.

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The councilman has proposed that change out of plain fear, in my opinion. He is afraid. He is actually scared. He has somehow finally achieved total transparency in the council chambers by showing us he is in fear of us while sitting on the dias.

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He is afraid that some past mention of owning firearms on the part of one of my opponnents, Ed Johnston, and his stated willingness to use them to protect himself from some perceived harm he might befall from the police (Beats the hell out of me where Eddie gets these ideas from too!) is some actual threat to the city council and would merit the changes in proceedures the good Councilman is proposing.

.

I too own firearms, Councilman.

THIS IS OREGON!

Maybe up in Providence, Rhode Island, "Little Rhoddy" you would think of MAFIA soldiers owning guns, but

This Is OREGON!

.

Don't get me started on my firearms! I only have a few, but I prize them! Oh, hell... I may as well go ahead and brag........

!

Just a week or so ago I bought a Springfield 9 mm semi automatic 17 shot pistol! What a beauty! Came with two clips and holds 16 rounds in each clip and 1 round in the chamber if you dare. I was going to send it down to Philippines ahead of an expected trip next year as my "backup" weapon when I am in the Boondoks down there and have to really be concerned about my own personal safety.. Like, from the National People's Army (NPA, a national long term communist gurilla lose knit bunch of groups.) and even the Abu Saif-Al Quida boys, Y'all know them, the Muslim boys? Yup, and I mean boys some as young as 11 and 12 even!... They all pack AK-47's and assorted hand guns. I'm making a guess a couple of 9 mm shots as return fire to them might help me keep from being kidnapped for randsome or killed outright if my M-16 i keep down there down there jams up.

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Ummm... Those are real threats Americans soujourning in Philippines live with every day. I frankly haven't felt the level of fear from either Messer. Johnston or Messer Smith. The level of fear that would cause me to slip the little lever on the M-16 from Single Shot to Rock and Roll, automatic fire!

.

This isn't me being afraid of Eddie Johnston blustering in council chambers what he will do to defend himself against the police! Some of these guys are just little boys, but they know how to shoot and they do! tehy have gunfights with the National Police and the Philippine Marines often!

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Go figure. This guy, Mr. John Smith life long resident of Toledo goes to a city council meeting and is red hot mad about his wife being called an inapropriate name, along with her partner, another woman swimmer.

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I mean this guy, Smith, is hot! And he has a loud voice, having been used to hollering out there making a living in the woods logging all the years the good councilman was studying and playing with genetics at Brown University and other such institutions of higher learning.

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Where they teach you, no doubt, to be afraid of common ordinary Oregon folks who are a little upset?

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Anyone ever been to a New England Town Hall Meeting? maybe yu saw one on TV?

man, those people get loud,they get raucous, they swear, they stamp their feet! man! They are real noisy while making their right to petition their government heard!

.

AND THEY ARE THE GOVERNMENT!

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It is called Town Hall Government! Real government of, by, and for the people!

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Look, if this guy John Smith, was a dangerous guy, he wouldn't have been at the city council meeting at all! He'd have been in the County Jail under arrest for having whipped the living what all out of the guy who his wife said was saying the inappropriate things about her! Wouldn't that figure? If Mr. Smith was a danger, he would never have gotten to the city council meeting!

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Geez... Does it take a Phd. to figure out we live in a mill town with hard working guys and gals all around us? Fishermen, truck drivers, Skilled Hands all! Big strong guys! And gals too! Guys who you see walking around bent over from pain of arthritis contracted out in the wet woods or on the fishing boats, or driving the trucks around here!

.

HANDS! Y'ALL!

Common Everyday working Class Stiffs We Call

.

HANDS!

.

HANDS! THE GUYS AND GALS WHO MAKE OREGON WORK! Our dads, our moms, our grandmas, our grandpas, our uncles, our aunties, the "folks" who are Oregon!

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I ain't afraid of them! I want to feel what they feel! I want to know how Mr. John Smith really feels about some guy, his wife says, calling her an inappropriate name!

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Councilman Camara is afraid something might happen to him up on that dias!? He sent out a link to a story about some guy shooting up a city council meeting Geez, Louise! Don't worry, Councilman, I've got your back, and others do too. We've got your back! In case someone rushes the dias, we'll run 'em down, tackle them, and the Chief of Police will handcuff them and take them to jail.

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See, Councilman, it's all in a day's work for most of us. Tackling each other on the football field, tackling the logs, the tie down gear and cables... the gear on the fishing boats, it's all in a Day's Work for us,

Councilman!

.

Don't forget folks,

I'm running for mayor!

.

I'm

Lowell Neal a.k.a. Bob Valdez

.

the people's voice

.

and I am not afraid of you!

.

Call me and we can talk, folks.

541-336-5504

cell

542-270-6254

llama mi

From the upcoming voter's phamplet....

Hello, for those who do not know, I am

Lowell Neal a.k.a. Bob Valdez:

(Below is the text I submitted to go in the voter's phamplet that you will receive in a few weeks:)

.

I am running for mayor of Toledo because I want to be a voice for the people,

the people's voice.

.

Today people in Toledo are feeling the crush of the economic hard times we are living in. There is not enough money in the budget to do all the things differing groups of people want their local government to do for them.

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We have citizens who are living on fixed incomes, who have lost their jobs and only are barely managing to pay their mortgages. Meanwhile there are groups wanting the city to use code enforcement to force these folks to fix up their homes and properties now.

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We need to let the economic recession and the recovery from it play out before we enter into zoning enforcement campaigns that would drive people from their homes and properties during these stressful economic times.

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As

.

the people's voice,

.

also a retired person living on fixed income, I realize that I will need to be available to people who want to talk about their situations to see if the city might have state or federal programs we could participate in here in Toledo to help our senior citizens living on fixed incomes and younger workers affected by the economic hard times. If you have suggestions, I am in the book.

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We have a lot of issues to face in Toledo. Each of these issues seem to be problems that cannot be solved, but they must be solved. Setting the agenda for finding direction and solutions for the various problems we are facing will be my primary goal and job as mayor.

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My goal truly will be to be

.

the people's voice

.

in office and as leader of the city council, the one setting the tone that the entire council can follow.

.
CALL ME, WE'LL TALK

.

541-336-5504

Lunch at 12:00 Noon at La Roca on Main Street: The After Labor Day Campaigning Begins Now

the people's voice is back! And he is campaigning to be Mayor of Toledo! When it comes down to campaigns, what is said and done during the summer often lays by the wayside, unheard and not remembered at all. Once Labor Day has come and gone, that is when the real campaigning really begins.

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Today we are putting out our contact information for our telephones.

.

If you have any questions, if you want to know something specific I have not addressed before, or you just want to speak with me and get a general idea of what I am about, who I really am as compared to someone who was recently described as "becoming increasingly hostile" by one of the other candidates for mayor's friends and supporter.

.

Just call me here in my radio station/computer office/campaign office

@

541-336-5504

or you may reach me on my cell phone

@

541-270-6254

and I will answer, get your information written down, and return you call when I am back in my office. You will either get me on the office and home phone, or the cell phone from 7:00 A.M. until 8:00 PM.

.

If you would like to have Dutch Treat lunch together we can talk over some of Toledo's finest cuisine up or down Main street, on Business Highway 20 also. I'll try to post each day at which of Toledo's fine cuisine restaurants I plan to take my lunch and at what hour. Today I plan to take lunch and imbibe a bit, listen to some Mariacchi music and relax a little bit at

.

Restaurante La Roca

on the street level in the

Yaquina View Hotel on Main Street

.

Drop by if you have time for just a cup of coffee.