I have known John Marshall Lee for over a decade. I got to know him through the few city council meetings I’ve covered. He is always there to point out oversights and things the city council should know. Some council see him as an annoyance, but John does his homework and I feel the citizens of Bridgeport would get a real eye-opener of the wheelings and dealings so I offered John his own column. Here is a little more background on him:

Born and schooled in New Haven, to age 21. Came to Fairfield to learn the
professional vocation of “people insurance” which morphed into a role as a
“financial listener”. After 23 years there in active community service moved to a
wonderful water view in Bridgeport for the most recent 33 years still active in
public service.
Doing It Local asked me to present a brief introduction to my writing efforts.
While I have penned poetry occasionally, a Psalm as a part of a spiritual practice,
and addresses to elected City bodies, blogs and letters, my theme often relates to
the way we set expectations or form customs, as distribute rights, levels of
power, and habits (locally or wider and to organizations which people follow).
What I hope to encourage is public attention to principles and responsibilities, to
the funds that are spent or budgeted when political bodies make decisions that
call on taxpayers. Oversight is necessary on a variety of fronts yet is not routinely
and formally respected or called for, I believe.
Specifically, I attempt to gather some current information and data, then
“compare and contrast” the story to what might be, often asking questions that
have no currently completed narratives that answer those questions. I encourage
provisions of necessary information in the light of values like OPEN, believing that
when information is shared the citizen can fulfill a public role . ACCOUNTABILITY
encourages the provision of data from various times, or datasets, and perhaps a
contrasting chart to let the reader see the value of activity provided by the money
expended. Another marker called for is TRANSPARENCY which sees the
information as trustworthy in general and therefore not subject to much more
than routine research. The final value is HONEST. Only needs mention in a time
when “fake news” was not describing “fiction” but rather “fantasy” meant to
replace basic grounding, with continued learning and reflection.
I do a good deal of reading and recommend texts that offer value to young and
old. And while not a prophet or seer by any stretch, I believe actions do have
consequences. Since I ask many questions I closeout many of my works with the
words “Time will tell”.