From Mohrig’s campaign website:

The above screen shot is from Council Member Rick Mohrig’s campaign website.  And I don’t want to mince words.  Mohrig’s assertion (in the first sentence) that “In 2016, I was the deciding vote (from my hospital bed, not kidding) to ensure any new lots in Milton are 1 acre+” is a blatant and unequivocal lie.  And the hundreds of citizens that fought this rezoning know he is a LIAR. In fact, just the opposite is true. Mohrig voted initially voted FOR the rezoning he is referencing. Mohrig was the deciding vote FOR the sewer extension and FOR the rezoning to higher density. But for his vote, the rezoning would have been dead. Instead, Mayor Lockwood had to veto the rezoning so that the rezoning had to come again before Council. After the mayor’s veto and because of overwhelming public outcry, Mohrig did eventually reverse his original vote FOR the Ebenezer rezoning. Following is the story with documentation (photos, videos, and excerpts from the Milton Herald).

I was a leader of the opposition to the Ebenezer rezoning to higher density cluster housing enabled by a private packaged community sewer system.  In fact, in opposition to the rezoning, I started the Milton Coalition Blog and posted 2 petitions.  And I can assure you that Rick Mohrig was strongly in favor of the rezoning and voted FOR the rezoning on April 25, 2016.  Following is the excerpt from the Milton Herald about the rezoning.  Notice that only Mayor Joe Lockwood and Council Member Burt Hewitt voted against the rezoning; Mohrig voted FOR the rezoning. And in fact, had Mohrig not voted FOR the rezoning, the rezoning would have failed on a 3-3 vote; a tie results in denial of the measure being voted upon. Because of Mohrig, as you will read further on, this issue was kept in play, resulting in a huge battle that divided the community.

Following is a photo of Mohrig pusillanimously voting for approval of the rezoning.  You can also view a video of his vote.  Use the following link and advance to 6:20:28

The only reason that the issue returned to council was because Joe Lockwood courageously vetoed the ordinance (ostensibly) on procedural grounds (but in reality to give citizens another chance to fight the rezoning).  (This was Lockwood’s second and last veto while he was mayor for 15 years.)  Following is a screenshot from the Milton Herald about the veto and the approval of another rezoning hearing scheduled for June 20, 2016. 

It was at this time that I started a new Milton Coalition blog (to replace a previous single-issue blog), and I posted a second petition that eventually garnered over 1900 signatures.  Click here to go to the petition:  Milton Coalition Petition.  For this second hearing, we brought the full force of the community down on Mohrig.  Many hundreds of people wrote letters against the rezoning.  So many people showed up in opposition that a holding room with a video monitor was established in the City Hall lobby for the many people that showed up and weren’t allowed into council chambers because of capacity limits.  Ninety-nine citizens—the most I’ve seen in my 8 years of involvement in city politics—signed up to speak in opposition.  More than 90% of nearby residents signed a petition against the rezoning.  (Note:  Milton’s Community Development also recommended denial and the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denial.)  So yes, overwhelming citizen (and staff and Planning Commission) opposition coerced Mohrig to reverse himself and vote against the rezoning the second time it came before council.  BTW, Mohrig also lies at his campaign website when he states that he was the deciding vote against the rezoning.  Had he voted again for the rezoning, it still would NOT have passed on a 3-3 vote.  A tie votes results in denial, not approval.  You would think someone who had been on council for over a decade would know that . . . unfortunately, like his reversal, this inconvenient fact about council voting protocols does not fit Mohrig’s heroic narrative about himself. Following is an excerpt from the Milton Herald, confirming that Mohrig “switched” his vote in the second hearing, reversing the “earlier approval.”

So what happened with the Ebenezer property?  At various times, under AG-1 zoning rules, the Sweet Apple developer claimed the property could support 45 to 55 homes (although it was definitively proved that percolation tests for individual septic systems would not support these numbers of homes).  Well, it turns out that the site plan (under AG-1 zoning) for Sweet Apple shows only 34 home sites, compelling evidence that the proposed Sweet Apple cluster-home subdivision would have entailed a 32% to 62% increase in density (vs. AG-1 zoning density).  Imagine such a density increase metastasizing across Milton through similar rezonings and the resulting deleterious effects (e.g., increased traffic congestion; overcrowded schools).  Following is the actual AG-1 Ebenezer build-out plan.  Note that trails and green space (without septic drip lines that had been proposed under the cluster home plan) were incoporated.

Following is a more in-depth blog post that I wrote about the Ebenezer rezoning:

City Council Candidates Have a Lot of Studying To Do . . . Start with the CSO

So NO, Mohrig is NOT a protector of Milton from overdevelopment as he claims.  He is not a protector of Milton’s quality of life.  Quite the opposite.  Mohrig has often lined up with developers against citizens.  In fact, Mohrig voted FOR the very last sewer extension approved by council in Milton, doubling the density over what would have been allowed without sewer.  Following is a link to a blog post I just wrote on Mohrig’s vote FOR sewer extension:  Sewer Creep:  Mohrig Touches Third Rail in Milton Politics and Will Finally Pay the Price in 2023 Elections  Yes, facts are indeed stubborn things.

Mohrig is a serial and audacious liar.  The Ebenezer rezoning is similar to the recent controversy over the District 3 polling location.  Mr. Mohrig adamantly opposed a polling location for his own district (District 3), citing an additional and paltry $4,500 in costs.  Only through overwhelming public pressure and shaming did Mohrig again (like the Ebenezer rezoning) reverse his initial vote AGAINST the District 3 voting location.  (I suppose the Orwellian Mohrig might also try rewriting the elections chapter of Milton’s history.)

Miltonites, we need a District 3 representative that does not have be coerced into doing the RIGHT thing for his constituents . . . a representative that chooses citizens over special interests, like developers and Milton’s lunatic fringe.

Advocating for Truth in Politics,

Tim

Note:  As always, I am providing the source materials for my blog post (in the order in which they appeared in the Milton Herald), so readers can draw their own conclusions:

Council Approves Rezoning and Community Septic on Ebenezer Road

Mayor Lockwood Vetoes Ebenezer Rezoning

Council To Revisit Ebenezer Rezoning

Council Reverses and Denies Ebenezer Rezoning

Uniting the Community with Positive Land Use Solutions – Tim Becker Editorial

Ebenezer Road Saga Ends With No Fanfare . . . Recap of Events Including Mohrig Flip-Flop