Vision, Accountability, Freedom

Middletown Citizens,

Over the past few months I have been fortunate enough to meet many of you and hear your opinions and ideas on the issues facing our city. I do not proclaim to have a simple and quick solution to the obstacles we face. Also, I understand some folks might disagree with my stance on some of the issues. However, I pledge to everyone that I will stand on my principles and use my experiences, education and reasoning to make the best decisions for Middletown. You will always know where I stand and why.

If elected, I will push to implement a stated vision for what Middletown is to be. Like every successful business, our town must have a vision for which government and citizens can aim. From the adopted vision statement, we can began to outline a plan that indentifies obstacles to achieving our vision while specifically assigning responsibility for fixing or removing obstacles(Section 8 housing, Economic Development, Infrastructure repairs.. so on) . This will allow us to have timeframes and standards for resolving issues in a timely manner. This plan will also give citizens and city officials a clear picture of which government entity is responsible for what specific issues, areas or obstacles. The era of vagueness and evading the issues at hand must stop!

Lastly, I am deeply concerned about our reliance on the federal government for quick solutions to our problems. The United States Constitution and our Founding Fathers specifically called for restraints on federal power (See 10th Amendment US Constitution). Over the past 80 years we have seen our federal government creeping into areas that it was never intended to occupy. Each time a state, county or town holds out its hand for money, power is centralized and freedom is lost. Middletown’s case is no exception. The money redistributed by Washington comes with restraints and control. This gives our federal government a hand in how we run our city. This has long term ramifications that we cannot afford. We must consider long term solutions to problems that do not involve federal funds and control. We must not continue to sell our sovereignty for a short-term quick fix. Join me on November, 3 2009 to bring back accountability and long term solutions for our town.

Josh Laubach
3rd Ward Candidate
Middletown