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Topic: Ever Held an Elected Office?

Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 07-21-2004 04:19 PM

Anybody here held a local office? What was the experience like, was the time spent rewarding, worth the aggravation? A friend is considering making a run for a county board position.

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Aaron Mehocic
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 804
From: New Castle, PA, USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 07-21-2004 04:55 PM

I once interviewed for an emergency position on our local school board in which if given the opportunity I would have needed to run in the next election to stay on. I did not get the position because I had a teaching degree and some board members thought I was only interested in getting in good with people who would eventually rubber stamp my hiring. In essence the guy who got the job has a niece studying education . . . go figure.

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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 07-22-2004 02:00 AM

I have held office once. It seems like it really isn't an office but it really was! Back in 1991 I successfully ran for the office of Mayor for the University of Utah Housing Authority. It was not like student president or anything, it was a real office with real duties and real consequences.

My duties involved... authorizing or suspending eviction proceedings on tenants, preparing annual budget and authorization of rent increases, acting as judiciary in all complaint proceedings regarding tenants, both civil and misdemeanor, and a few other things as well.

Of the nearly 3000 votes that were cast, I received about 70 percent of them. It was a pretty nice little victory.

I was also the last Mayor. The constitution of the housing authority was changed by the previous administration and was endorsed and put into effect by general election the same time I was elected. Funny thing is, my platform was very much AGAINST the new constitution.

Now the administration is mostly figurehead, with the university holding all the strings. I took it upon myself to make sure that certain things were done while I still had power, as the new changes could not take effect for one full year after ratification. I accomplished my goals and loved every minute of it.

I stepped down mid-term in 1992 to run for the Utah House of Representatives. I lost in the primary election by 2 percentage points, which added up to about 75 votes in my district.

After that I have instead worked on many other campaigns instead of launching my own again.

I was considering a run for Governor this year, mostly a token gesture to get my name out again, and then take a state office in 2006.

I will be running for the utah house or senate in 2006, and expect a good battle and expect to actually win this time. The last time I ran in 1992, I admit that I was sidetracked by other issues and did not run a good campaign, and considering that I spent only NINE dollars on my campaign, as opposed to my opponent who spent 17 THOUSAND to defeat me, the fact that I lost by only about 75 votes was actually pretty cool. If I had only spent mabye a few dollars more... hmmmm....

Public office is not what it is cracked up to be. It is full of responsibilities that most sane people would never take on, and you get blamed for EVERYTHING, good or bad.

But I am a sadist, so I love it.

CIAO

Dave

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Ryan Luby
Film Handler

Posts: 70
From: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Registered: Jun 2004

posted 07-22-2004 02:34 AM

I was elected Class Napper in high school.
It was a pretty cool gig..all I really had to do was sleep through class.

All in all it was a good experience and I'm happy to say that I made my class proud of my napping abilities.
I assume that all elected positions are this fun and refreshing and give you a [thumbsup]

with a full vote of confidence.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 07-22-2004 09:16 AM

I was elected a Governor of the SMPTE, as well as being elected to various posts in the Rochester section of the SMPTE, including Chairman, Secretary-Treasurer, and Manager.

Served as Chairman of the SMPTE Projection Technology Committee for a total of four terms (8 years). Pat Moore of Ballantyne-Strong is the current Chairman, after Bobby Pinkston's four year service as Chairman.

I am currently the Chairman of the Inter-Society Committee for the Enhancement of Cinema Presentation, after serving as President and Secretary-Treasurer. Ted Costas of Dolby Labs is the current President of the Inter-Society, and David Tuckerman of New Line Cinema is the current Secretary-Treasurer. J. Wayne Anderson of R/C Theatres is the Chairman emeritus.

Hard work, but very enjoyable. Also gives an opportunity for "networking" and friendships with other professionals working in film, digital cinema, and television.

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Mark J. Marshall
Film God

Posts: 3188
From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 07-22-2004 09:20 AM

Show off.

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Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 07-22-2004 10:20 AM

I sat on the board of directors for the Stage Employees Federal Credit Union. Pretty cush job--show up once a month for meetings to decide on rates to charge or pay, choose investments for rollover, decide on services to offer members, and once a year review salaries and raises for the employees (all three of them). We had about 850 members at the time; I was nominated and elected by voice vote at the annual shareholders meeting and served two terms. Decided not to run again when I was hired to fly full-time at Scenic Airlines. It was fun. Would do it again.

[ 07-22-2004, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: Paul Mayer ]

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 07-22-2004 10:44 AM

I was elected twice as Financial-Secretary of IATSE Local 224. Talk about all work and no fun. It is amazing what goes into an organization and all of the little details to making it run successfully. This is even more so when money is involved. It was like a second job (and paid nothing).

Still...elected office is something people should try. It can definately build character.

Steve

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 07-22-2004 11:19 AM

I have been the sec/treasurer of IATSE Local 173 now for several years and it is a thankless job

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 07-22-2004 03:36 PM

Uhh, okay. Okay, yeah... I was, ya know, President of the United States and stuff, one time.

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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 07-22-2004 06:23 PM

I like building up my post counts! [Razz]

No point making a good point if I can just get my post count up! [Eek!]

No real point in actually seeing that the topic is not "imaginary people you have been"! [evil]

NO NOT AT ALL!!!

I thought it was a good heartfelt question to ask and I felt very proud of my response. I feel a little less so at the moment, kind of cheapened a bit. [Frown]

My cudos to those that replied with good heartfelt honest answers. My wrath upon the rest for messing with the politico! [evil]

CIAO

dave

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 07-22-2004 06:52 PM

Humm... let's see... Dave did not ask the question. Yet Dave, apparently having no sense of humor, is free to pass judgement on those who are not him, attempting to impose his will regarding the composition of forum replies.

Why am I not surprised?

I have no intent to build my post count, as I have quite enough to last until Christmas, thank you.

I'm just a smart-ass. [Razz]

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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 07-25-2004 01:26 AM

quote: Tim Reed
Humm... let's see... Dave did not ask the question. Yet Dave, apparently having no sense of humor, is free to pass judgement on those who are not him, attempting to impose his will regarding the composition of forum replies.

Why am I not surprised?

I have no intent to build my post count, as I have quite enough to last until Christmas, thank you.

I'm just a smart-ass.

Why is it people never learn! [Eek!]

Tim I am well aware of how self important you want everyone to think that I am, and completely unaware of the fact that my sense of humor, completely cynical as it is, knows no bounds, nor do you really know me at all.. so let's go to the heart of this argument...

The original question was...

quote: Bill Enos
Anybody here held a local office? What was the experience like, was the time spent rewarding, worth the aggravation? A friend is considering making a run for a county board position.

Your response was...

quote: Tim Reed
Uhh, okay. Okay, yeah... I was, ya know, President of the United States and stuff, one time.

My next response was...

quote:
I like building up my post counts!

No point making a good point if I can just get my post count up!

No real point in actually seeing that the topic is not "imaginary people you have been"!

NO NOT AT ALL!!!

I thought it was a good heartfelt question to ask and I felt very proud of my response. I feel a little less so at the moment, kind of cheapened a bit.

My cudos to those that replied with good heartfelt honest answers. My wrath upon the rest for messing with the politico!

What you don't see in the the qoute from my post is the usage of those neat little Graemlins!!! [evil]

Go back and follow along for at least a minor glimpse of my evil and sick sense of humor.

If you want to insult me fine! Go for it. Be prepared for my wrath! [Mad]

Thomas P. can attest to my unending and unsparing attacks that destroy all those who dare to cross my path! [Big Grin]

The real and true fact here is that you did not have any valuable input to the question posed in this forum thread. My post in response was valid as I in fact DID post something of value in direct response to the posed question, as did many others.

Also, you were not the ONLY one to post without any meaningful content, WHICH IS WHY I did NOT attack anyone by name! It wasn't an attack, a judgement, it wasn't me feeling all so powerful. Last I checked, I wasn't a moderator! I don't think I know it all, but I do feel compelled to defend myself if I feel that I in fact have a basis with which to do so, as in this case.

This isn't the first time I have been attacked, for fun or otherwise, and on this site too. I will always defend myself, or ANYONE else on here that gets an unjust thrust thier way. I am an equal opportunity offender, and defender.

You are free to go ahead and post whatever the hell you want to! You can call me names and insult me, whatever. You can even try to tell people you know what kind of a person I am. But you never saw me attack you by name, nor qoute you, nor make any complaints about you or send you personal messages to you etc etc etc, until now that is, as you did that to me. Kind of a tit for tat thingy, and I know it isn't good Karma, and I will probably get a speeding ticket tomorrow for it, but damn I needed to spout!!! [Mad]

My response was a cynical look at other responses that I still feel was justified and quite humorous to those that actually might have an actual sense of humor.

I have always felt that statements made in a thread that have nothing to do with the thread are distracting and time consuming for those that actually might have a life outside of film tech and have limited time and resources to have to search through miles of unending posts that have nothing to do with the source question, and serve to do nothing other than put up post counts and make one feel like they are involved in something that they have nothing to do with.

I am probably guilty of that on several occasions, doesn't make it right. In fact here we are wasting time on this. I have had debates that went better than this.

Thats goes for all threads, not just this one. I took it upon myself to make the cynical comments because I did feel a personal sting as the subject is very near and dear to my heart. Yes I have a sense of humor. No I cannot speak for the person who asked the question. But yep, I can talk a bunch of crap too just like you.

I can also take a joke. What you said about me was not a joke. It was personal, it was meant to hurt, defame, embarass, maybe get me to shut up, and if you really knew me that was the worst thing you could do is insult me, then I never shut up! [Big Grin]

So Tim, I stand by my remarks. If they upset you do have my deepest apologies, they were not intended to be directed solely at you, nor to hurt anyone. That is always the LAST thing I want to do. Really. Ask anyone that knows me, or at least try to know me.

Ciao

Dave

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Nate Lehrke
Master Film Handler

Posts: 396
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 07-26-2004 04:27 AM

quote: Dave Williams
I have always felt that statements made in a thread that have nothing to do with the thread are distracting and time consuming for those that actually might have a life outside of film tech and have limited time and resources to have to search through miles of unending posts that have nothing to do with the source question, and serve to do nothing other than put up post counts and make one feel like they are involved in something that they have nothing to do with.

Wouldn't your entire post be falling into "the nothing to do with the thread" and "are distracting and time consuming" example you named? But than again, putting a disclaimer like "I am probably guilty of that on several occasions, doesn't make it right. In fact here we are wasting time on this." makes it all okay. [Razz]

I guess I would fight the battle by not fighting the battle at all; or just start a new topic. You know, people like us with a "life outside of film tech and have limited time and resources to have to search through miles of unending posts" need not waste our times with this. [Big Grin]

(Yes, one more post & one step closer to mod!) [Smile]

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Rachel Craven
Madam Moderator

Posts: 2190
From: Pensacola, FL
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 07-26-2004 09:52 AM

Come on guys, is the fighting necessary?

Topic closed, this thread could have been continued but once again people just can't get along, hence no political discussions. [Roll Eyes]

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