We all want to be loved … by voters

According to several people I’ve spoken to this week, Mayor Wood announced on other local media outlets that he is not running for reelection. Of course, he also said this last year before he flip-flopped and decided to keep the revolving door open, so it’s hard to know what to believe.

My assumption is that he secretly wants to be “drafted” to run.
“We all want to be loved/We all want just a little respect/We all want to be loved/So tell me what’s wrong with that.” -DC Talk. *FYI, that lyric is from their 1998 Supernatural album in case someone wants to get the Mayor a copy.

Planning Commissioner Neil McCarroll is the first challenger to officially declare his intention to run for Council in June – the election, appropriately, will be held on 6-6-06.

“So Neil,” I asked, “Seeing as you’d be a fiftysomething lawyer potentially replacing a fiftysomething lawyer, is a vote for you a vote for the status quo?”
“Well actually, I’m 61,” said McCarroll, illustrating at least one key difference—a sense of humor.

He then related a recent event where he was stopped on the frontage road by Rick’s Sport Center behind another car, waiting to cross the street and fuel up at the Shellmart. Just then, he heard a loud thunk on his roof. Someone had literally “lunked a snowball” onto his car.
“So I got out of the car and I could see there was a young man whose car had been blocked in waiting for me to go. And I asked him if he’d lunked the snowball onto my roof.”
“Yeah, well you were just sitting there like an old man, blocking me.”
“I am an old man … and you’re an inappropriate little jerk.”
“Well, that’s your opinion.”
“And I’m sticking to it.”

What the incident did illustrate is McCarroll’s concern that the General Plan Update focuses on what is anticipated to be an escalating transit/traffic/parking problem, while McCarroll emphasizes that we have a problem right now. “If I get my way, we’ll be talking about transit and parking immediately.”

McCarroll said the Town needs to take action in the same manner that Mammoth Mountain took action in the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s to relieve horrible lift line congestion.

Other Remarks:
*”The Advocates for Mammoth have made a number of insightful comments. We need to address these comments. Their concerns are our concerns.”
*”I hate it when someone says, ‘I’m an environmentalist.’ We’re all environmentalists.”
*McCarroll believes local taxpayers, not developers, should foot the bill for a Recreation Center.
*And speaking of Rec Centers, in response to The Sheet’s query about whatever happened to plans for a Rec Center following the big to-do held at the Shilo Inn two years ago with expensive outside consultants, McCarroll exclaimed, “That’s why I’m running. There’s no such thing as a new idea. It’s about follow through.”