Your Opinion: Arrogant attitudes prevent community progress

Dear Editor:

Gus Wagner seems to lament the lack of "progress" recently in our community. Wagner is a perfect example of the arrogant attitude which prevents progress. In 2012 he was campaign manager of the Transformation tax. During the initial meeting of the opposition he came in late and toward the end of the meeting started to argue about the issue. His arrogance reflected the attitude of the Chamber of Commerce. They were surprised when they were soundly defeated.

Wagner stated that he was behind the curtains for many local political meetings. The people behind the curtain think they are lords who can dictate orders to their serfs. His idea of "progress" is to impose a regressive sales tax that shields his well-heeled patrons from paying their fair share as property taxes. Often the proposal favors a special interest group such as the chamber or Realtors. We of the opposition appreciate the inept campaign of Wagner and the Realtors. Opposition must only disseminate the truth and the people see through their shallow platitudes. Large amounts of money may persuade the uninformed but Cole County voters usually see through their misleading and selfish plans.

Outrageous proposals could be from the out of touch but I believe that the goal is to give some advantage to special interest. An obvious clue is when the campaign revolves around key words, but avoids explaining the complete proposal. Opportunity was the key word. Salvage yards was the Realtors' scare tactic. It is no wonder that they wanted to shield the substance of their proposals.

A successful initiative should be fair. An important vote should be during the general election in November. A February or August vote is a sure tip that a special interest group is trying to minimize turnout so that their motivated voters will outnumber the rest of us.

It should be a good proposal and not something concocted by an elite group behind a curtain. Honesty is paramount. For example our incoming presiding commissioner has supported every recent sales tax. He was treasurer of the Transformation sales tax campaign. Now he says that he is opposed to any increase in taxes. That splitting of hairs allow him to push any renewal of a sales tax and to claim "no increase in taxes." We deserve better ideas for all the people and not just the special interest.