Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: MicroBalrog on April 09, 2010, 08:25:16 PM
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Rice Lake Voters Elect 19-Year-Old Mayor
RICE LAKE, Wis. (WCCO) ―
A young man wearing a Hollister T-shirt, shorts and sandals picked up election signs Wednesday in Rice Lake, Wis. The 19-year-old wasn't a campaign volunteer. Romaine Quinn is the new mayor.
Quinn, who served one year on the Rice Lake City Council before being elected mayor on Tuesday, said, "Age, I don't think, necessarily makes a difference, I mean, it's about the issues."
Judging by the talk at Maxine's restaurant, he might be right.
"Apparently, a lot of people wanted change," said 78-year-old Del Hanson, who voted for Quinn.
A couple seats down the counter, Richard Cerminar wished he could have cast a ballot for the young candidate.
"From what I understand, an extremely nice young man," said Cerminar, who lives just outside Rice Lake proper.
Cerminar thinks Romaine's big win had a lot to do with what happened on Manwaring Avenue and other roads around town.
"They cut down trees that were 40 and 50 years old and put in sidewalks nobody needed or wanted," he said.
"They just didn't listen," said George Erickson. "Basically everybody on this street didn't want a sidewalk."
The "improvements" being made by the city are effectively taking away half of Erickson's front yard.
It doesn't help that the project got started late last fall and is still ongoing.
JoAnn Erickson said her front yard has been a muddy mess much of the past several months.
The Ericksons and their neighbors filled the council chambers to protest plans to put in sidewalks.
"The council wouldn't listen, but Romaine was one that said, 'I think we should listen to the people,' and no, they wouldn't," Joann recalled.
"People want someone who's proud to serve as mayor, but still humble enough to realize he's no better than anyone else in town," said Quinn, who takes political science classes at the University of Wisconsin-Barron County.
He cites Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican congressman from Texas, as his political role model.
The Ericksons voted for a young mayor once before. JoAnn said that was a "disaster."
She's not worried about Quinn's fitness for the job or his age.
"Doesn't matter. He's got a head on his shoulders," said JoAnn. "He'll do fine. I'm sure he'll do fine. It'll surprise me if he doesn't."
During his campaign, Quinn told voters he wants to hold the line on taxes, replace the city administrator and, of course, reconsider plans to put sidewalks all over Rice Lake.
He beat incumbent mayor Dan Fitzgerald with 53 percent of the vote.
Paula Engelking, Producer
Contact Paula
http://wcco.com/local/19.year.old.2.1620097.html
Micro Sez:
This kid is a upright citizen. That's what everybody needs: people willing to actively work within the political process.
He also won an election against an incumbent mayor. These are the hardest kind.
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Anyone think this was the "Hope and Change" Obama promised? 19 year old libertarians, defeating incumbent mayors with 53% of the vote?
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I repeat myself....The Sleeping Giant awakens.
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This is the kind of "change" we need. People who aren't politicians. People who haven't spent decades dreaming of campaign donations, book tours, private golf get togethers, $300 haircuts, and interviews with the MSM. I agree with Micro. More people in office need to be the type who have real lives and jobs, and then decide to do the public job because it needs to be done, not because they and their family have spent lifetimes angling towards the cushiest public job they can get.
Sometimes I wonder what direction the country would go if say in 2010, all Congressional seats as well as the President and VP were vacated, and an entirely new Executive and legislative branch was elected all at once, but not by campaigning, but by national lottery. Just pick 537 US Citizens randomly and tell them to get to work.
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If he can do the job, then good on him. =)
Age =/= responsibility, contrary to popular belief.
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Anyone think this was the "Hope and Change" Obama promised? 19 year old libertarians, defeating incumbent mayors with 53% of the vote?
QFT (and awesomeness)
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For every Mighty Quinn leaning rightward there will be three leaning leftward. Caveat emptor.
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The incumbent must have really ticked off a lot of people.
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We just got a new (and very young) mayor here in Manitowoc. His dad runs one of the local unions.
Also had several aldermen replaced this last week, again by union members.
Next couple years should be interesting...
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Can public officials go on strike? :P
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Strings, do you remember that one of the most active WCCA members (Frank Tower) became mayor of Oshkosh? He couldn't have been more than thirty at the time. A pro-gun, pro-CCW conservative mayor in Wisconsin. What are the odds?
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Yep, I remember that: he was afraid that pics of him from the MG shoot would hit the net.
Not sure if he's still mayor or not though...
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Just pick 537 US Citizens randomly and tell them to get to work.
Couldn't be any worse =|
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People were saying it couldn't be any worse back 2008.
They were wrong.
Remember, it can always get worse. And not only can it get worse, it probably will get worse if we don't do anything about.
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He cites Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Republican congressman from Texas, as his political role model
Wonder who tailers his wookie suit? (just kidding, I like much of what Paul stands for but there are just too many deal breakers for me to support him)
Just pick 537 US Citizens randomly and tell them to get to work.
Hell No! I won't go! There ain't enough big enough to make me go to D.C.
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Just pick 537 US Citizens randomly and tell them to get to work.
Do we get part of the $300,000 State Department liquor budget.
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This,
Strings, do you remember that one of the most active WCCA members (Frank Tower) became mayor of Oshkosh? He couldn't have been more than thirty at the time. A pro-gun, pro-CCW conservative mayor in Wisconsin. What are the odds?
...and the original post made me think...
Wouldn't it be funny if they joined Bloomberg's anti-gun mayor group and raised all kinds of heck with them?
Yeeee-haw!
Terry, 230RN