“I was for the raise before I was against it.” Sounds familiar from a politician. Councilman Mickens has never seen a pay raise he did not like since he joined the council. In fact he has been very vocal about his pay since joining the council. In May, did he not break the tie vote to raise his daily stipend as vice mayor from $40 to $200 a day to fill in for the mayor? And wanting to give the mayor a hefty raise which Mayor Gaskin said he would reject, might be in case he became mayor in the future?  And to repeat, as stated in The Dispatch, “He never saw a pay raise he didn’t like.” I have always thought a public service job was about “public service,” not self gratification. But what do I know? I’ve always had to work hard for the dollars I was paid and have tried to be a good steward. Spending what you have not worked for is an easy job.

A few thoughts about the debate. VP Harris never did answer the first question she was posed. “Is the economy better today than when you took office three plus years ago?” Instead she said what her plans were. President Trump closed the debate with a question to her, “If you have such grand plans for the future and all, why didn’t you start three-plus years ago?” That’s a reasonable question for most Americans that shop at Walmart. Be careful who you vote for in November. Our future does depend on it!

God Bless America!

Lee Roy Lollar

Columbus