The purpose of this post is to (eventually) discuss the future direction of the Milton Coalition Blog.  But first, thanks to my many readers.  I appreciate your trust, confidence, and respect . . . that is what has kept me blogging and advocating for citizens.  Thank you! 

Because of you, the MC Blog is more successful than ever.  I have the most ever email subscribers.  Adding a few subscribers here and there over 7+ years translates to a lot of readers.  More importantly, the number of non-subscribers coming directly to the blog has spiked . . . more than doubling previous highs set in run-up to the 2017 election.  Since July 1^st, the MC Blog has received around 14,500 views.  If blog post email opens are added, the number of views climbs to nearly 25,000 total views in the past 4+ months.  Election day alone saw 624 views of the blog, as voters sought candidate information.  This election season, I also sent three emails to my list of petition signers.  Open rates and click-through rates were stratospheric . . . in one case, nearly 72% and 22%, respectively.  I am humbled by this high level of engagement and trust.  Thank you.

Please understand that I also have my detractors . . . and some of them are vicious.  They have tried mightily to impugn my credibility and to smear me, but their cheap shots have done no harm but rather steeled my determination.  Their middle school name-calling and bush-league tactics have only increased the power of the blog.  Each time they mention my blog or my name, blog viewership trends upwards.  (I think they have finally realized this, so now just refer to me as The Alpharetta Blogger.)  These detractors often complain that my blog disseminates “disinformation,” “misinformation,” “false narratives,” etc.  However, NOT once have they written to me to dispute a single fact, despite multiple invitations to do so.  Neither has Council Member Rick Mohrig, who incessantly whines about “lies,” ever reached out.  This silence speaks for itself.

My eight-year political journey has often been arduous and sometimes lonely.  I have invested over $15,000 and 3,000+ hours in my good governance efforts.  I have posted 2 petitions, spoken over 100 times before Milton City Council, and published around 370 blog posts.  I supported Laura Bentley’s bid for council in 2017.  I believe my support was dispositive in her election.  However, once in office, Bentley quickly turned her back on her supporters.  We weren’t needed anymore.  Bentley betrayed her hardline zoning stances to support the granting of 28 variances at Birmingham Crossroads.  Worse, while in office, Bentley employed the same political tactics she had criticized in her 2017 opponent.  Belatedly, I realized there was not a dime’s worth of difference between Bentley and her predecessor Bill Lusk.  Most troubling, Bentley did not deliver on her campaign commitments—especially her promise to shift power to citizens.  Sadly, Laura became just another dissembling politician. 

My endorsement of Bentley hurt the Milton Coalition brand and for several years, I was exiled to a sort of political wilderness.  However, I continued to engage when I sensed opportunities to regain citizen trust.  I stuck to my principles, believing that when citizens were presented with the facts and with logic, they would continue to seek out the blog . . . and my brand would be restored stronger than ever . . . and it has been.  And I had confidence that, untethered from ethics and sound advice, Bentley and Moore would ultimately commit self-destruction that I would catalyze by exposing their misdeeds . . . and self-destruct they did and in quite dramatic fashion.  Please understand that my goal was not revenge, but rather redemption (for myself).  Thankfully, my faith in Miltonites (to see through the thick fog of dishonesty and distraction) was confirmed in your unwavering support and more importantly in your sage voting at election time.

My endorsement of Bentley was my biggest blunder, but also led me to my most important insight about Milton’s politics . . . that huge damage was being done to good governance because of factionalism in Milton.  My goal became defeating this factionalism and convincing citizens to leave behind the destructive politics of the past.  Since the founding of the city, two factions have been battling each other for supremacy:  the Bailey-Bentley-Moore faction and the Lusk-Kunz-Mohrig faction.  In truth, these political cliques differ little in their policy positions and neither cares much about principled governance.  Often, their disputes were positively juvenile and got so bad at one point that an organizational psychologist was engaged . . . but to no avail.  Policy and principles took a back seat to personality politics, with both sides competing to be the coolest kids in city government.  Citizens were the losers.  However, with the 2023 elections, these fractious factions have finally been exorcised from city government.  By the 2023 campaign, Milton’s two political sects found themselves so weakened that they loosely allied to jointly promote Mohrig, enlisting the aid of Milton’s Lunatic Fringe.  Nevertheless, they could barely muster 40% of votes for Mohrig . . . a testament not only to their impotence but also to the wisdom of Milton’s voters.  Citizens have chosen a new path that leaves behind Milton’s long-damaging sectarian politics and its more recent spasm of hyper-partisanship to focus on a better and less fractious future for Milton.  I am pleased about the small role I played in the demise of Milton’s two political factions.  Good riddance!

My political journey has also been an intensely personal journey.  While sometimes difficult, traveling the political high road has been also enlightening.  I have learned a lot about myself and my fellow humans.  I have made many lifelong friendships.  My political sojourn has increased my self-awareness and made me a better person.  My faith in principled leadership has been fortified.  I have made some mistakes, but I have no regrets.  Mistakes are inevitable. What is important is to admit those mistakes, to learn from them, and to soldier on.  That is why I continued my advocacy in the wake of my misjudgments about Bentley (and Moore) and the resulting damage to my reputation and the Milton Coalition brand. 

This brings me to my purpose with this post.  Although now living in Alpharetta, I had unfinished business in Milton.  That business is concluded.  I have been instrumental in defeating both of Milton’s long-warring factions.  Six of Milton’s factional candidates (Mohrig, Bentley, Lusk, Moore, Thurman, and Kunz) have been defeated outright or wisely chosen not to run in the face of certain defeat.  A few other candidates put up by one faction or the other have been defeated.  The Lunatic Fringe has been largely neutered.  With Moore and Mohrig gone, their venom has no outlet . . .  Milton’s radicals have been defanged . . . only their loud, annoying, but harmless, hissing remains.

My work is done.  I have achieved the redemption that I sought.  Other priorities call.  Family, friends, work . . . and my health.  A week from now, I undergo open heart surgery.  Accordingly, I will focus on recovery and not Milton politics . . . and not the blog.  And when I return, I will blog at a much lower volume.  And my focus will shift to 1) political lessons learned and 2) profiling Milton businesses, community service organizations, and difference-making Milton citizens.  If I absolutely must re-direct my blog to Milton politics, I will.  However, I am confident that Milton’s current council will get back to the business of the people and to Milton’s strategic objectives.  I believe that 2023 was likely my last Milton election.  I am happy to advise others, including council members, on politics and governance . . . if they seek me out.  However, I believe my destiny lies elsewhere and my role in Milton will recede . . . that is my wish . . . we’ll see.  My hope is that other ordinary citizens will take up the mantle of good governance.

In closing, thanks again to my many readers.  Thanks for your trust, confidence, and respect.  It is more appreciated than you realize . . . it has been sustaining.

Advocating (as always) For Clean, Competent, Courageous, and Citizen-centric Government,

Tim

Note:  Time permitting before my surgery, I still plan to publish a post “Reflections on Elections.”