The Fourth Ward
The fourth ward is currently represented by Ray Ambrose.
Ray Ambrose
Ray has served on Davenport’s council for a number of years. He does not have any presence on the web, does not even have an e-mail address. I’ve heard mixed reviews on his responsiveness as a council member. He calls back who he wants if he wants. He did fill out the QCTimes Q&A.
Strengths – Ray has always taken a strong stand on public safety which is a major issue in his ward.
Weaknesses – While he claims to be for public safety his votes and ideas seem to say otherwise. He helped disband the NEO. He hasn’t put forth any new or innovative ideas to help the city. People are pretty fed up with the current council and he is one who I see supporters backing away from.
Lisa Lewis
Lisa is a newcomer to the local political scene. The starch opposite of Ambrose as far as availability, her e-mail is risaroo@earthlink.net and she has been extremely responsive. Her issues are Quality of Life, Community/Communication, Progress.
Strengths – Lisa is coming in with a fresh new perspective/attitude and ideas at a time when voters are looking for change. She is responsive and communicates well with others. She has already hosted more events in her ward than I think Ambrose ever did.
Weaknesses – Ambrose does have a loyal group of followers who will attack on inconsequential issues as they have in the past. So far issues such as her length of time living in the ward have been brought up on other blogs. Hey, if you can’t attack on issues I guess you have to grasp at something.
Summary
This will be yet another very close race. I think because of the upset people feel over votes in rental inspections over the past two years, Ambrose has a large hurdle to overcome. And it appears he is not campaigning. I predict the final vote will be within 10%. Lisa’s relentless door knocking may just be what puts her over the top and gives the 4th ward a new voice.
31 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
-
Recent Comments
QuadCityImages on Promise me this Snarky Chick on Promise me this anon on Promise me this Snarky Chick on Promise me this pioneer98 on Promise me this
I really enjoyed reading Lisa’s opinion on issues so I am copying them here for you all to read.
QUALITY OF LIFE – The 4th ward is at a crossroads. Our neighborhoods are rapidly turning over and it is up to those of us who remain to determine the future of the area, for better or worse. It’s up to us whether we turn things around or if we allow conditions to erode, and I think we need a strong leader to bring folks together and get things moving in the right direction. Everything from peeling paint to potholes to barking dogs to overgrown weeds fits into this category — the so-called “little things” that determine an area’s livability. We can do better, but we need to get proactive about it NOW.
COMMUNITY/COMMUNICATION – We need to bring people together, and I will have regular ward meetings every month. I’ll also host a blog for the ward and will try to find funding for a quarterly printed newsletter. Communication needs to flow in both directions between an elected official and the people he or she represents, and residents need the chance to to be in the same room together on a regular basis so they can communicate with one another, too. The 4th ward is big and diverse – geographically and economically – and we need to find ways to bring people together as a community. What matters most to someone SoLo is often very different than what matters most to someone NoLo, for example.
PROGRESS – The 4th ward deserves a representative who can work well with others and can garner the kind of support needed to get things moving forward in west Davenport. We need someone to do more than simply go downtown and vote — it’s time we had a true advocate for our concerns and needs, who can build relationships with others and bring something home to the ward.
An alderman in Davenport has two major duties, in my opinion . The daily job of problem-solving and troubleshooting in the ward is critical, because it directly impacts quality of life. It is the most basic and direct human connection between government and the people. The role of alderman as council member and fiduciary is an extension of that connection — advocating for and expressing the will of the people he or she represents in a powerful and responsible way, at the same time working diligently to protect the interests of the city as a whole.
We also need to support the new police chief as the department is restructured so we can get more trained officers on the street and out from behind the desk. We need to find the funding to begin (and complete) the West Side Sewer project – without it, there can be no further residential or economic growth on this side of town — and without growth, we might as well rename everything west of Marquette Street “East Buffalo”. We need to ferret out waste in the budget (and it’s there, believe me) and put the majority of our resources into improving infrastructure and services in the next five to ten years.
And finally, we need to put our foot down as an electorate and demand an attitude adjustment in council chambers. Enough of the ego-driven nonsense and name-calling. We must stop putting personalities before policy, and stop putting politics ahead of progress.
As always, thanks for the opportunity, Snarky Chick. I welcome input and questions from anyone in the blogosphere (or elsewhere in the city) via my email address or by phone at 563-528-1437.
Two weeks to go!
Best,
Lisa
Oh Snarky….I’m so disappointed in you. If you don’t like Ambrose just write it. Don’t lie about him, don’t try to misinform people. If you want to support Lewis, let her run on her own merits. Don’t do her mud slinging for her.
I know Ambrose and I know Lewis. I know their strengths and weakness, and you didn’t hit on one.
Call Ambrose 324-7143 and do you home work.
I’m voting for Ambrose because:
He returns everyone’s calls, and helps everyone.(why he continually gets re elected)
He votes no fees, no taxes, more infrastructure more safety.
He is not suckered in by special interest groups who will throw large amounts of money at anyone who will run against Ambrose.
His enemies consist of special interests groups, and people he holds accountable. Which one do you fall in Snarky?
I have an Alderman Ambrose story. The bus drivers came to him to complain about the hardship on the handicap when the bus route was changed. Ambrose showed up 6:00am in the snow, with his kid to see what the problem was. Sure enough the handicap riders, trying to get to the handicap developments center (along with other riders), had to wait at a shelter near a build (not on the street) then cross four lane traffic to make the connecting bus. Ambrose took care of it. He is my hero.
I get a kick out of election time. So many people are begging me for my vote. However, after election time they forget their platform. Except Ambrose. I’m voting for him again. He never seems to acquire the ‘amnesia’ of the others. I liked Arhens too, I wish he had run again.
Ambrose is a good guy. Calls a spade a spade. You know where he stands. He is a good man. 4th is lucky they have him running. When he gets re elected I will dance an Irish jig.
Anonymous must be one of the ones Ambrose called back. I was one he ignored and I agree with Snarky.
Snarky your an idiot and have been listening to QCIs talk about againsters too much. Your siding with the wrong people on almost every post you make.
The “bulldog” needs to GO!
RUN LEWIS RUN!
I have to laugh at some of these comments. First, comments 3-6 were written by the same person.
Second, I have no agenda beyond educating people on candidates and provide a short summary as a starting point for discussion. Posters have done a good job on other threads of providing additional information.
And third, I haven’t sided with any candidate yet, I have predicted who I think will win even though in some cases it isn’t who I would necessarily vote for. And I acknowledge I’ve been wrong before, if I were 100% correct I’d be busy buying lottery tickets not writing a blog. I don’t plan on giving my personal opinion on who I think are the best candidates because I don’t think it’s relevant. Any posters opinions are as valid as my own. I’m sure my opinion colors my perception in some cases but I try to be fair. Ambrose would have been easier to provide information for if he had been available via the web. He is not so all I have to base my summary on is his brief QCTimes Q&A where he lists no ideas on how he will accomplish his goal of shrinking government and providing basic services/lowering crime.
If you think anything I’ve listed is incorrect, please say so. That’s why I provide this forum.
Sorry snarky, but its clear who you side with.
Oh and Lisa just sent out a negative mailing….she must be getting desperate!
Hi Snarky, We decided if we made negative comments about Ambrose you would not care that we use this computer.
How about you just use the same name instead of trying to fool people by posting multiple times with multiple handles?
I live in the 4th ward and got her mailer just now. NOT A NEGATIVE WORD IN IT – you liar!
Ambrose made a huge mistake by voting to eliminate the NEO dept at the request of the QCRPA. He and the others who did this need to be fired by the public. Not only was it a bad decision, but it set us back in these areas of blight years. Plus, it also eliminated the public process. He needs to go. Same with Lynn and Hamer.
He also did not vote in favor of staffing the new NEO under the fire dept. Nice job Ray, get your head out of the booze.
Just got my mailing from Lisa yesterday also…..NOT A NEGATIVE WORD IN IT! I even went back and read it again, thinking I missed something. How about you explain what is negitive?
I’m still waiting to hear what I was wrong about with Ray. I seemed to have hit someone’s hot button.
Snarky,
Snarky,
You just hit a home run, kicked the winning point, scored a touchdown, shot a winning goal.. however you want to say it, good job. Lisa and Jenn will be the long awaited great addition to the city and will be giving the slumlords hell. I will take a day off work just to calibrate with them. Then, on my way home, I’m going to take a dump on Ambrose’s lawn.
Hi, folks –
I just sent Snarkette a .pdf of my recent postcard mailer. If she is able to or inclined to indulge by posting it, she’s welcome to do so. I don’t suggest that in order to promote my campaign – merely to let people see that there is nothing negative in my message. That’s not my style. I am a “hooray for our team” and not a “your team sucks” kind of person.
What I hope for most is a strong turnout at the polls. The electorate always gets the government it deserves – good, bad or otherwise. It’s up to voters to show up and vote their preference. If it’s not me, then so be it. I will at least know I ran a clean and positive campaign and offered myself as part of the solution.
Lisa Lewis
Ok…Ok since only one computer gets one opinion, we will go under one name, we decided on ‘4 for davenport’. Thank goodness the ballot box doesn’t discriminate against those of us that don’t have computers-We already voted, absentee for Ambrose.
Since noone thinks Lisa’s mailer ‘Nothing good has gone on in the 4th ward since flo’ (Nice thing to say about Stolly-Some people don’t care who they trash as long as they win) then you have a different opinion of negativism then we do. But by looking at Davenport ones pac disclosure, I’m sure the campaign manager they bought Lisa made her do it.
Jim Stolley apparently doesn’t mind, he and his wife are voting for Lisa Lewis.
When you post from the same computer multiple times in a row you set off the spam flag. I have a million better things to do than to try to track people’s posts.
Please look at the card. The resident does not say “nothing good has gone on” – he says that (IN HIS OPINION) “things have gone totally downhill”.
Now, I could have turned down his offer of the quote – or could have asked him to soften or change his views, but I don’t operate that way. It runs as he intended or not at all.
And as the man said when he handed me the piece of paper, “Lisa, people may not always like me, but they all know I’m honest.”
How can you ask someone like that to be who they aren’t?
Lisa L.
PS: And yes, Jim and Mary Stolley have been very supportive and helpful to me. I have respect and gratitude for anyone – including my opponent – who has given of their time and energy in public service.
I know someone who has been against Lisa since day 1.
She is an Ambrose suppoter and has been for a few years.
The other day when the mail came she was very impresses by Lisa’s post card and has changed her views.
She voted Ambrose in hte primary but will be voing Lisa in the General
Good Luck Lisa, I can’t vote for you, not my ward but I knwo many in hte 4th her are voting Lewis
“She voted Ambrose in hte primary but will be voing Lisa in the General.”
Oh come on people, if your going to lie, at least make it a beleivable one. THERE WAS NO PRIMARY IN HE 4TH WARD!!! There are only two candidates. I’m all fo Lisa, but lets not lie for her. She wouldn’t want it that way.
“4 for Davenport” May be the only (4) votes Ambrose gets. Keep the path Lisa, you are our choice
I agree – Lisa you are a great choice.
I have been questioned about my views on the issues and told that people are disappointed because there are no viable or qualified candidates…it makes one wonder what “qualifications” these people are talking about. I would like to ask people to define what makes someone qualified to hold a position on the Davenport city council? Is it to be funded by PAC’s, to be unemployed, a home owner, a lawyer, a resident for less than a few years, have out of state donors, be an insider? I’m wondering because I am confused on what people want. I know that the people that want to have control on this council goes to great lengths to keep honest people from being elected.
An immigrant (legal, by the way) to this country asked me the other day what the qualifications are to *run* for office in the city of Davenport. I shared what I knew – beyond the basics, that one doesn’t even need to be registered to vote – and he was both heartened and taken aback by the seemingly lax standards for getting on the ballot.
But this led us into a conversation about what qualifies a person to *serve* and he and I agreed that this is a matter for voters to decide – for better or for worse. An electorate always gets the representation and government it deserves. The only sad part of this is that so few people exercise their right to participate in making that decision.
Lisa L.
PS: I think I know who #24 might be referring to. I received a really nice note in the mail over the weekend from a resident in the ward who would have voted for Ambrose in the primary, but will be voting for me in the general election. We had a really long talk last week and she has changed her mind as a result. Maybe my mailer helped, too.
OR this is someone entirely different. In which case I’d be all the happier that there is more than one.
Thanks #24.
Lisa L.
Do you have an election web-site Lisa?
I have to vote in the 6th ward,but if there was a way to transfer that vote to you…………..
What a breath of fresh air,…………..good luck.