The Storey Teller News and commentary on what’s really going on in Storey County.
Robert Macarrio wrote on the Highlands Chat Group the astonishing fact that Team Gilman spent $266 per vote.
He based his calculation on the fact that with the second of three required Contribution and Expense reports filed on April 7th, TRIC, Lance Gilman and Kris Thompson spent $ 160,754.65 on the recall effort. If you divide the money spent by the (ironic) number of votes supporting the recall, 601, you get 267.48 per vote.
However, the way we see it, his calculation does not consider all the variables. Here is how we calculate the cost per vote. Let’s start here:
When the signatures were submitted there were a total of 597 individuals who put their name on the line. Those names became the “pool” of signatures that the random sample of 500 names would be selected.
During the verification process, 89 names were disqualified from the pool due to several factors including not being signed in ink or not having voted in the 2014 election or being duplicate signatures.
Consider all the disqualified people signing the petitions other than those who signed twice would theoretically be included the 601 people who voted for the Recall because they would be motivated to show up and register and vote and sign in ink and be counted.
Since there were 19 duplicate signers, the total number of people signing the Recall Petition at the February 8th date stands at 578 (597-19=578).
In the time between the 8th of February and the 11th of April, Team Gilman sent a half dozen venomous mailers and ran full page ads galore in the local fish wrap. Pasted up signs, pressed the flesh bent elbows and used juice from “influential former and current community leaders” including Greg “Bum” Hess, Jim Miller, Pat Whitten, Gary Hames, Dean Heymore, Austin Osborne and the usual suspects in and around the courthouse.
With all that money, influence, twisting arms and pressed flesh, Team Gilman managed to muster 23 additional votes. Twenty. Three. Votes.
Think about that for a minute. $ 160,754.65 dollars spent/23 new voters = $6989.33 per voter.
That is, for all intents and purposes, Seven Grand per vote.
In-freaking-credible.
From where we sit, the take away from this election is two fold:
One, The people have spoken. We are not passive sheep or timid mice. We will not allow piles of cash, baseless yammering and threats and intimidation to thwart Our will.
Two: There is a massive, Grand Canyon-like disconnect between the entrenched elite who park their fannies at the Courthouse and the rest of Us.
The rest of us are tired of being taken advantage of and taken for granted. We are tired of being kicked around. We are tired having our pockets picked. We are tired of being threatened with Red Tags and Inspections and other bureaucratic penny ante nonsense for believing in and doing the right thing.
We are tired of hearing about how spectacular things will be just as soon as the oceans of cash start “gushing into county coffers” while every department needs to cut cash to make up for the shortfall in the 2017-2018 budget cycle as revenues free fall.
This election will serve as a reminder to all parties: We the People are the ones with the power in Storey County, not the folks we elect and hire to conduct business on our behalf.
We have retaken control of the hen house and are returning to our rightful place in the drivers seat.
Here a message from We The People in the drivers seat: Sit down, shut up and hang on.
It’s about to get real.
Stay Tuned
WE THE PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING: The starting point is the 2017-2018 budget. There are an excess of County positions that do not contribute to “WE THE PEOPLE”.
CONTRACTS WITH RAD STRATEGIES IN BOTH THE COUNTY AND VCTC,
TWO SALARIES AND BENEFITS FOR ONE LOBBYIST, FOR REPRESENTING 2 AREAS OF THE COUNTY. Pay for representing the county ONE SALARY. PERIOD
“TOP MANAGEMENT” … ARE THEY NOT QUALIFIED TO DO THEIR JOBS FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE?. OR SOMETHING ELSE? CONTRACTED LEGAL COUNSEL TO DO THE GRUNGE WORK….?
DO MORE INHOUSE, AND DO NOT OUTSOURCE .
A GUARD FOR THE COURT HOUSE???? HELLO TOP MANAGEMENT….A JOB PROVIDER FOR PAYOFFS IS NOT IN THE BUDGET.
BE HONEST….WHY WAS IT NOT MADE CRYSTAL CLEAR TO “WE THE PEOPLE” THAT YOU DECIDED “TOP MANAGEMENT” TO PAYOFF, APPROVEDAND LEGAL PERSONNEL TERMINATIONS WITH OUR MONEY??? TOO MUCH BOTHER TO LET THE LEGAL SYSTEM DO ITS’ JOB? THE EVIDENCE WAS THERE. YOU LET THE RECALL TEAM USE THAT LINE AS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE RECALL. YOU DID NOT SPEAK UP LOUDLY AND CLEARLY WHEN THE ACCUSATION WAS MADE TIME AND AGAIN. WHOM WASTED OUR MONEY? NOT THE SHERIFF.
NO MORE RAISES FOR THE TOP MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL….THEY EARN ENOUGH AS IS. MAKE THE SACRIFICE AS THEY EXPECT WE THE PEOPLE TO DO.
THE CLERKS AND SUPPORT STAFF DO THE WORK. GIVE THEM RAISES FROM THE SAME % SHORTFALL BEING COMPENSATED BY THE ABOVE CUTS. THE SAME % SHOULD BE DEDUCTED FROM THE TOP MANAGEMENT SALARIES AND BENEFITS.
TAKE AWAY A COUNTY PAID VEHICLE USED TO FURTHER TRIC SALES…PAID FOR BY “WE THE PEOPLE” WITH NO BENEFITS TO US. GIVE THE CUTS TO THE OFFICES (SHERIFF) AND DEPARTMENTS THAT PROVIDE TRUE SERVICES TO” WE THE PEOPLE” OF STOREY COUNTY. READ THE “COUNTY POLICY” ON USAGE OF COUNTY VEHICLES FOR PERSONAL USE.
ENOUGH. THE LAST BATTLE FOUGHT MUST BE THE LAST TO END THE WAR . STOP. TEAM GILMAN LOST AND AS NICOLE BARDE SAID, THE RESIDENTS OF STOREY COUNTY ARE THE TRUE LOSERS. DO NOT USE THE BUDGET TO PLAY FAVORITES, TO PUNISH, TO HARASS, OR IMPEDE FINANCIALLY , ALL NEGATIVELY AFFECTING “WE THE PEOPLE”, THAT PAY FOR THE SERVICES AND YOUR SALARIES.