In Defense of Ron and Tim

So when I first read the article posted on the Patch (and also the one in the Herald-News) that Garrett Peck was blaming Ron and Tim for ruining his Senate bid, I got a huge smile. Like, ear to ear smile.  For those of you who don't know, they are, along with several others, the collective thorn in the sides of this site.

"Ron," or "Ron Jidzny," both being the commenting name ostensibly of the same person, is the commenter who holds within his brain a working knowledge of the exact imaginary lines that determine what is and isn't Plainfield, you'd be convinced he was not only the editor, but founder, CEO and Cartographer Emeritus for Rand-McNally.

"Tim" has been known to unleash tirades at the worst (best?) possible moments against a wide variety of people, most notably the Plainfield Police Department, the Plainfield Fire Department, the Plainfield Public Wor....you know what, if they wear a uniform that has the word Plainfield on it, I'm sure he has a vendetta against them. That includes (I assume):

Plainfield Shriners

Plainfield Little League Baseball Umpires

The short-lived Mainstreet group "Up With Plainfield!"

I've gotten dragged through the coals by both guys at various points during the seven months I've been writing for the website.  They have to get their points across and they don't care who they insult to get from point A to point B.

They have gone out of their way to offend other writers and commenters on the website. They are the evil that fights everyday against the good commenters such as Ed Arter, John Tips, and Despiser of Obama (just kidding, DoO is awful).

That said....

RON AND TIM DID NOT COST GARRETT PECK HIS SENATE BID.

Garrett Peck cost Garrett Peck his Senate bid, and now he is having a temper tantrum and trying to take Tim and Ron down with him. This reeks of spilt milk, rotten eggs and any number of other things you'd find in an unkempt rural kitchen.

I didn't vote for him. We are both from the same town. Apparently quite a few others felt the same way.

Perhaps, people didn't want to vote for him because, in his campaign ads and the stock photo the Patch uses, he always looks at the camera as if he is just barely hiding his contempt for the people he has to loom over with this political power.

Perhaps, he lost because people were more willing to vote for a woman in Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, who is a veteran teacher and leader and shaper of minds.

Perhaps, Garrett lost because he never really said he was going to do anything in his commercials in the lead up to election.  He just mud slang at Bertino-Tarrant and rested on the laurels of the Republican party.

Seriously, if you are a Republican, how do you lose a seat to a democrat in THIS area of the state?  Commenters didn't do in Garrett Peck's bid to win the Senate. 

Are Tim and Ron the same person?  I hope not.  I want to know that there are two individuals out there shining on like the crazy diamonds that they are.

I can say this with some certainty: within the next couple weeks, thousands of people will at least glance at the words I say here tonight.  And I can personally GUARANTEE that I couldn't sway an election. 

Garrett Peck lost by 6 percent of the vote.  Perhaps being 6 percent less smarmy next time you come up for re-election? 

I think the thing that most has Peck's panties in a twist are Tim's continuous assertions that Peck was somehow a no-show trustee.  And since I've apparently got no life, and I love you all, my snowflakes, so very, very much, I actually took the time to go through and read the notes from EVERY village board meeting from 2012 and debunk some myths that Tim was asserting about Peck.

Tim was very clear that Peck was a no-show trustee who always abstained or voted no.

Here are a few numbers I'm gonna twirl your way:

In 2012, Garrett Peck voted yes 91 times. He abstained from voting exactly once. 

Though Peck did lead all trustees with four absences from village board meetings, I'm assuming that on August 20th, Peck, along with Mayor Collins and trustee Rippy, only no-showed because it was Board Member Ditch Day and they were at the amusement park.

Among the things Peck voted no on (he did so a grand total of 7 times):

He is against the demolition of property on Route 59 so that Overman-Jones can expand their parking lot, of which they lost part of during the Route 30 expansion.

In August he voted no on amendment on overnight parking. I'm vague on this, but to my recollection, Plainfield police wanted to limit the amount of times you could call in a car parked on the street. Peck and I believe Bonuchi voted no.  Probably a smart thing to vote no.

Does anyone drive through downtown Plainfield, and as they leave town towards Four Seasons, they see that really nice, old white house next door to Harris Bank, across the street from the school? Do you know why that house will never sell?

Because it has no driveway and Plainfield police will literally be doing backflips for the privilege to issue parking tickets to whoever decides to purchase the place and is forced to park on the street at night. BACKFLIPS, I TELL YOU!

Tim said that Peck was anti-local business, of which Peck is a mixed bag. Peck voted no earlier this year for a Plainfield Think Tank to help attract local businesses and put them in a position to succeed. That's bad.

He also voted yes to allow Tailwinds Distillery into the town, which is just quite a little shade of great! As a fan of their rum, I've gotta do a quick tip of my top hat to everyone who voted to allow them into the town. Here is to me hoping that more distilleries open up in Plainfield. That would be pretty sweet.

The most glaring thing Peck did all year was to not show up to the biggest, most controversial, spine tingling, grab-your-pitchforks-because-something-is-going-down vote of the year: The backyard chicken coop vote!

So was Tim full of it when he was saying those things? OF COURSE HE WAS!

But we also need Tim. We need Ron. We need Eyes on Plainfield. These are not people who cost Garrett Peck the election. The fact of the matter is, America, as a whole, saw Democrats fight their way back into power in many branches of government. Peck was simply fighting for the losing side.

See, the thing about Comment Trolls is, we need them. If Tim and Ron weren't harassing me, nobody would be commenting on the things I write in the first place. People read me. The unique hits on the website say so. Tim and Ron simply act out and say something. 

Not having them would make this site an incredibly boring place. One that is void of any kind of debate or conversation that takes opposing sides.

If they weren't around, all we'd have are hillbillies defending their families members and telling us to stay out of their business when they get arrested.

I'd rather not pull back the curtain on who Ron and Tim, or whoever operates both accounts, is. I'd rather have them causing trouble and stirring the pot.  The website is infinitely more interesting with them as a part of it. Most of you guys are just a quiet majority. You read the things we say. You either agree with them or disagree with them, but you don't vocalize your support or dissonance towards us, either way.

We need them. I need them. My writing would get lazy if it wasn't for people who attack me from the shadows. I have to stay on my toes as to what is going on in the world of politics, pop culture, and locally. I can't put my guard down for a moment, because if I do, they will be there to put me in my place.

Garrett Peck needs to call off the dogs and take a long look in the mirror and remember that responsibility is the person staring back at him.

Because hey, if you can't handle the trolls, how are you going to cross the bridge to enlightenment?

Editor's note: The views expressed in Local Voices blogs are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Patch Media Corporation or its employees.