Jeff Kissinger, Ed Liberman, and Heather Reimer and their families attended the Village Easter Breakfast this last Sunday.  Jeff Kissinger, Ed Liberman and Heather Reimer are candidates in the Party for Putting People First for the upcoming election on Tuesday April 7th, 2009 and did not attend the Village Easter Breakfast for any campaigning but simply for their kids to have some fun.  They didn't wear any clothes, stickers, or colors to promote their party and nor did they speak to anyone about the upcoming election.

On the other hand, the Party for Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow all wore yellow shirts and also had a yellow sweatshirt with blue text (the same as their yardsigns) that was laying on a chair in plain view that said VOTE April 7th where they were serving the food.  If pursued this could be a violation of the law, but in any case they certainly took an unfair advantage of a village function to promote themselves.

Jeff Kissinger came up to the counter to get an orange juice and was talking to trustee Jack Germann.  Just after Jeff Kissinger finished shaking hands with trustee Jack Germann, the mayor's wife Wanda Lumpkins loudly and dramatically told Jeff Kissinger "HOW DARE YOU COME TO THE [VILLAGE] EASTER BREAKFAST!!!"  Wanda Lumpkins also accused Jeff Kissinger of lying about things in the election.  Jeff Kissinger said that this is not the time or place for a discussion about the campaign and walked away while Wanda Lumpkins continued shouting.  This occurred in the village garage where the Easter Breakfast took place.  There were approximately 80 people present.

About 5 minutes later, Wanda Lumpkins then approached the table where Ed Liberman, Jeff Kissinger and their families were eating.  She loudly told Ed Liberman "HOW DARE HE AND JEFF KISSINGER ATTEND THE [VILLAGE] EASTER BREAKFAST!!!".  Jeff Kissinger told Wanda Lumpkins that "this is our village too and this is a village sponsored event".  She stated that we were not to do any campaigning at the Easter Breakfast even though the mayor and other trustee encumbents were campaigning themselves by showing their yellow with blue text campaign colors.  Ed Liberman pointed out that people from the Avon Township were campaigning by wearing stickers on their shirts.  Jeff Kissinger said that he also saw them campaigning.  Wanda Lumpkins told Jeff Kissinger that he should go over and tell the Avon Township people with campaign stickers to stop campaigning in an attempt to provoke them when she was really ok with them campaigning.  Jeff Kissinger told Wanda Lumpkins that she was the one who brought no campaigning up.  Ed Liberman told Wanda Lumpkins that he wasn't saying much because this wasn't the time or place to discuss this.  Jeff Kissinger said he agreed and Wanda Lumpkins then walked to another table.

This incident sheds some light on how our current mayor, some of the trustees, and now the mayor's wife feels about our village.  It is apparent that they feel that it is their village and we can participate in our village only if they approve and are part of their closed society.  It appears that they believe that the village is an extension of their property rather than something that all of our residents have an equal opportunity to.  It is a disappointment that the mayor's wife made a scene at the Village Easter Breakfast rather than be professional and respectful of the families of Ed Liberman, Jeff Kissinger and Heather Reimer especially with their young children present.  It also appears that the scene that Wanda Lumpkins made was campaigning in itself because it was meant to try to humiliate Ed Liberman and Jeff Kissinger but instead it reflected poorly on Wanda Lumpkins' behavior.