MyWHaT

Engage & Represent

Go Vote…It will take you 5, maybe 10 minutes.

Who are you meeting at the polling station?

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I prefer visiting the polls compared to absentee voting. Here in Traverse City,  I’ve rarely had to wait more than 10 minutes. Also, it is a shared experience, however brief it might be. It is communal.  I also prefer walking as it adds more of a sense of ritual. In a pinch for time, I’ll ride a bike. Either-way, I often start meeting neighbors en route to the my polling station–Precinct 8 (Can I get a shout out? P-8 Baby!)

At the polls I run into neighbors I haven’t seen in months. Years. I see old classmates. I have intelligent discussions with complete strangers. In 2002, a serendipitous encounter at the polls led to the adjunct position I’ve had at the college now for 9 years. This suggests that voting pays off, even if your candidates aren’t successful. 

Pour a mug of coffee. Go to the polls. Vote. While you’re there, chat someone up.

Share your story here: who’d you meet? 

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Polls are open in Traverse City precincts 7am-8pm.

If you aren’t sure where you vote, plug in your info here.

For MyWHaT election coverage, search “TCVote”

6th Street Halloween night 2011. (Click for larger view)

Does anyone know the history of Traverse City’s 6th Street as the region’s mecca for Halloween trick ‘o treating? Was there some lead agent back in the 50′s who called it to order? I grew-up in Lake Ann and certainly recall at least one Halloween night in the 70′s where we made the 18 mile drive for some sugary handouts.

Is it simply that more density = more candy in the least amount time? As the region has grown in population, it’s done so mainly through sprawl, as such TC’s neighborhoods would predictably see an uptick on Halloween; it is a walking holiday after all. Still, you don’t see the same number of goblins and zombies crashing Traverse Heights and other dense city ‘hoods. I suspect, in part, because of a lack of sidewalks and other features that make walking enjoyable.

Halloween is an annual walkability test–how does your neighborhood shape up? 

6th Street Halloween night 2011. (Click for larger view)

Related Articles

• The night the ‘burbs come to town (reprise) (Switchboard)
• The Popsicle and Halloween test (MML)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a bit more personal than typical posts. I serve on the TC Parks and Rec Commission and I’m involved in a recommendation from that body that has generated some negative feelings;there is a process for them to voice their concerns. This is a big picture response to one particular email sent to the the CC.

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An email sent to the Traverse City City Commissioners was recently shared with me. I can only assume for the entertainment value. It’s subject heading sent me into a day of introspection and self-discovery (¡).

Subject: What is wrong with Gary Howe?

As a friend commented on the question: “This is a can of worms, I’m sure.” Tell me about it; I live with myself! I ask myself daily why do I do what I do? Am I crazy? That was even the theme of one of my first posts.

What a relief to have someone I don’t know, have never spoken with, have never seen at a parks and recreation meeting (the reason for the email) and didn’t know existed until he started a campaign to repeal the City’s Anti-Discrimination Ordinance (Plan for TC) share my concerns about self-awareness.

The email goes on to call for my censure and resignation and/or dismissal from Parks and Recreation Commission (a volunteer position that advises the City) due to my role in the planning down at Clinch Park. Apparently, as citizens of a community, we aren’t allowed to have differences of opinion.

I’ll spare you the full text of the email, but I share this because one statement really satisfies the irony bone. Again note, the author of the email (NExpress) is the driving force behind the referendum to repeal the City’s Anti-Discrimination Ordinance–an ordinance passed by a 7-0 vote by an ideologically diverse City Commission. Yet, the author of the email, asking for my resignation due to my inability to “grasp the chain of command“, doesn’t have any cognitive dissonance uttering the following comment:

“Why doe’s he not understand that the Commission has the finial word, and that is the word of the people of Traverse City” [sic].

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Again, this from a guy trying to repeal a unanimous decision by the exact same City Commission. Huh?

Do me a favor, please. On November 8th go to the polls, take a ballot and make your first mark a Yes on proposal 1. Also, in comments to this post, let’s show that MyWHaT readers are in full support of Traverse City’s step towards addressing discrimination, for any reason, in the work place. As for the plans for Clinch park, that discussion can wait. Those recommendations are working their way to the Planning Commission and will be back to the City Commission sometime in November. In the meantime:

Ballot Langauge:

Shall Chapter 605 of the Traverse City Code of Ordinances, entitled Non-Discrimination, which does the following, with certain exceptions:

1. Prohibits specified discriminatory practices in housing, public accommodation, and employment,
2. Prohibits discriminatory policies and advertisements,
3. Prohibits retaliation against a person for making a complaint or assisting in an investigation under the Chapter,
4. Prohibits conspiring to discriminate,
5. Requires non-discrimination by city contractors, and
6. Sets forth remedies and penalties for violations of the Chapter,

remain in effect?

Vote Yes!

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According to code enforcement, citizens are not allowed to attach signs to city trees. Still, it was a well-intended attempt by a resident on 10th St.–Time for plan B?

Thanks for sharing..photo & attempt by Nate.

Engage & Represent

Are you registered to vote?

If nothing else, the data from Traverse City’s city clerk’s office for the off-year election of 2009 reveals an untapped potential for young adults to influence the direction of the city. Granted, not reflective of all elections, but I hazard to guess the percentages remain true.

Of eligible voters, those under 50 years old represent 58% of the electorate and, thanks to a 9% voter turnout in that age group, only 24% of the total vote. The under 40 crowd represent 42% of the potential voters and only 6% of the 40 and under crowd cast a vote in 2009.

Who’s Voting? 

It is a tad surprising that the under 50 crowd is as large as it is. For all of the talk that Traverse City is a retirement community, the numbers here don’t support it. The City has a good mix and a healthy young adult populace. They simply aren’t that engaged.

As the November election begins (absentee ballots go out soon today) the candidates for  local office are looking at these numbers and seeing who has voted over the last several elections. They know by name, address and age whether you are a likely voter. This is how newbies prioritize their outreach and efforts and this information informs incumbents on how to frame their decisions on the councils that they now occupy. This needs to cause everyone to ask some introspective questions:

Am I relevant to these candidates? 

Why would they listen to my concerns? 

So, are you registered to vote?

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2009 Voting Data by Age Groups for Traverse City

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In a future post, I’m interested in exploring the differences in concerns and issues between the age groups. It’d also be instructive to explore the commonalities. I suspect that for the latter there are far more than might be imagined. If you have some perspective of the subject, please leave a comment or send me a message. It’d be greatly appreciated.

Question from the coffee shop:

Do you have a positive story from a recent trip around town? A situation where a complete stranger gave you a little extra consideration?

Perhaps, they simply smiled. Or, perhaps you did.

A connected community: some of us intimately, others of us complete strangers.

A community coming together. Reflection. Support. Celebration.

In memory • Carly Jean Lewis • 6.15.94 – 6.14.11

At one point this weekend, I was sitting on my front porch drinking a beer. In the time-span it took to drink that beer, 15 people rode by on bicycles, 5 people walked by, 2 people rolled by on skateboards and 2 people drove by in SUV’s. The neighbors across the street ate dinner on their front porch.

Welcome back summer living.

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* Note, the only people who appeared to ignore the pavement directive on my street were those people in the SUVs. Is there a need to go 35 here?

** Note II, the author neither affirms nor denies complicity with the informal mid-block traffic calming markings shown in the image above. 

The hump day of Smart Commute Week: How is it going? Anyone take the bus yet? 

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Due to circumstance, I’m driving to Smart Commute Week breakfast this morning. The reality made me think of a previous week where I committed to driving everywhere I needed to go–no matter the distance.

I actually enjoy the act of driving, but quickly get fed up with it when I need to drive places so close that I don’t even get to listen to a complete song. Anyway, we have some new readers to MyWHaT since January, so I thought I’d highlight the results today: Car-dependency Is Humorous When It’s Simply A State Of Mind

There were minor cost findings, but the real value of the experiment was the intangibles that I found, some of which that I list here and are explained in the original post.

• Road-rage Happens
• Navigators Make Driving Better
• Pet-peeve #1: Getting in and out of cars
• Pet-peeve #2: Stop signs and red lights
• Driving Induces More Driving
• Time: I didn’t seem to gain any by driving
• Anxiety/Stress Increased
• Reflection: I’m fortunate, I’m mostly car free

Announcement

Ride of Silence

(click for lager view)

Yesterday’s annual Ride of Silence was well attended and pretty straight forward. It is a powerful experience to ride in solidarity with one hundred other people. Riding silently in a group of such great people is a lot more difficult than you might think. I resisted to chat, with a few slips, but I couldn’t shut off the mind.

As we rode for 30 minutes, I couldn’t help thinking or noticing a few things: 

• Same Rules, Same Rights, Same Responsibilities: It is a mantra, it is shorthand and it needs an update. Same rules? There are and need to be more rule differences like the Idaho Yield As Stop. Same rights? I consider self-propelling a natural-born right, driving my 2-ton transport pod is a privilege. Same responsibilities? This seems created from the road agencies; shouldn’t more responsibility be placed on me when I’m driving the larger and more destructive vehicle? That’s the thought behind most of Europe’s strict liability law. In Michigan, as drivers, we don’t even have to stop at a cross-walk. Responsibility, in my opinion, rests with the user of the weapon. That said, again, I do pledge to be more responsible, you?

• Share the Road: Everyone slows down and allows for funerals to pass, so let’s ride two-abreast on the street–it’s more fun. 

• Riding a Bicycle is Fun: As the silent group passed a father and daughter riding bicycles on a dirt trail next to the TART Trail, a big smile went across my face when I heard the little girl squeal in delight as she coasted down and up a small valley. “Weeeeee…heee-heee….weeeeee!” #WhyWeRide indeed.