News Man Weekly: Keith Porch, part II; A history of Labor Day

well greetings and salutations and welcome once again to the newsman weekly podcast and again thanks to local country singer Luke Watson for supplying our theme song Smoke and Drink folks welcome to episode number 11 of the world's top rated podcast I'm going to keep saying that until somebody comes in and proves me wrong maybe that'll happen maybe it won't anyway today is a special post Labor Day edition of the newsman weekly in a few minutes we'll finish the second part of the conversation we started last week with Mansfield safety service director Keith porch if you missed last last week's show please go back and listen to the interview we talked about Keith's background as a law enforcement officer and the beginning of his transition to the civilian side of the city today we're going to talk to Keith about his current role and some additional duties that have been assigned by mayor jod Perry Keith will join us in just a few minutes before we get started though guys let's all just stop for a moment and recall the reason we all just enjoyed a three-day weekend Labor Day observe the first Monday in September Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers the holiday is rooted in the late 19th century when labor activists push for a Federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America's strength prosperity and well-being before it was even a federal holiday Day Labor Day was organized by labor activists and individual states after Municipal ordinances were passed in 1885 in 1886 a movement developed to secure State legislation New York was the first state to introduce a bill but don't know if you know this Oregon was actually the first to pass a law recognizing Labor Day on February 21st 1887 during that same year four more States Colorado Massachusetts New Jersey and New York passed laws creating a Labor Day Holiday by the end of the decade Connecticut Nebraska Pennsylvania had all followed suit and by 1894 23 more States had adopted a Labor Day holiday on June 28th 1894 Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday now who first proposed this holiday for workers it's not entirely clear but two workers can make a solid claim to the the founder of Labor Day title some records show that in 1882 Peter Maguire General Secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor suggested setting aside a day for a quote General holiday for the laboring classes end quote to honor Those Who quote from Nate rude nature have devel delved and carved all the Grandeur we behold end quote but Peter McGuire's place in labor history has not gone unchallenged many believe that machinist Matthew Maguire not Peter Maguire founded the holiday Recent research seems to support the contention that Maguire later the Secretary of local 344 of the International Association of machinists in Patterson New Jersey actually proposed the holiday in 1882 while he was serving a secretary of the central labor union in New York according to the New Jersey Historical Society after president Grover Cleveland signed the law that created a national day the Patterson Morning Call published an opinion piece stating that quote the souvenir pin should go to Alderman Matthew Maguire of this city who is the Undisputed author of Labor Day as a holiday regardless both Maguire and Maguire Maguire and Maguire they're spelled differently attended the country's first Labor Day Parade in New York City later that year many Americans including folks around here celebrate Labor Day with parades and parties festivities very similar to those outlined by the first proposal for a holiday which suggested the day should be served with a street parade to quote exhibit the strength and a spree decor of the trade and labor organizations of the community followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families this all became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor day that we all enjoy today so my hats off and congratulations to the men and women who go to work every day and keep doing the work that makes this a great country that's enough for now let's take a quick break and when we come back I'll again be joined by Mansfield safety service director Keith porch for part two of our conversation stay with us and we're back I'm again joined by Mansfield safety service director Keith porch and we're going to continue a chat that we started last week so welcome back Keith thanks again for joining us in thanks for having me Carl all right now you took office back in February in terms of end of February as the new safety service director and it's been a busy six months kind of a baptism by fire so to speak uh City budget had to be hammered out uh issues involving potential cannabis dispensaries have been discussed for months uh there was some controversy over the installation of weekend speed bumps on the Miracle Mile along Park Avenue West to reduce cruising so tell me about the top lessons you've learned in your first six months as the uh civilian safety service director in the city of Manfield well top lessons so I I I uh my number one top lesson that I've learned so far in six months is to make sure that uh I get uh that I reach out to all members of staff to make sure that I'm well informed uh before I can make those decisions that uh ultimately are are put out to to our citizens and uh you know we have a lot of great folks that work uh within the the city building within city government and you know clearly I'm I've stepped into a new realm and as as you've mentioned and uh it's uh you know starting to delve into those operations and and uh to really learn from them uh the the people in those uh segments of the the police department that H that I haven't you know work with on a daily basis but and so it's it's now for my ears to be open and start start paying attention and listening it's interesting I've been covered I think I covered my first city council meeting back in these 90 or 91 U I always enjoy and folks may not be familiar when Mansville city council meets the council sits down on the lower row couple of at large Council sit up on the second row but the rest of that back row is taken up by the now the finance director the mayor uh the safety service director the Public Works director the law director and I always enjoy the first couple of meetings uh when the new folks sit in those chairs for the first time uh first they're called upon to offer some kind of a report by council president when the time is right but then you also I mean you were very good at coming up and speaking to council about Police Department related ISS issues how does that change when you're now sitting in the back row you're a bigger part of the administration and we have local lawmakers who are asking questions and saying things that it's it's just a different feel what's that been like for you it it is Absolut it's the other side of the coin it is an absolutely different feel and uh you know I uh I view those moments of me sitting in Council uh And discussing uh what our employees are doing to to the council members is extremely important and and Ive I have always viewed you know I want to share the good bad and ugly everything cannot be perfect and I would I would never sell that as such and and uh I believe uh uh just because in my past of being as from my former position listening to council folks is uh you know we weren't told or they weren't they they felt uninformed on on a particular topic and I and I never uh want any council person blindsided and and and fully updated on on everything that's going on within the city and but it is uh you know different speaking about different other uh other Departments of normally I'm down there on the floor level speaking to Council on particular items of the of the police department and uh yeah I uh you know I I do want to give them the good and bad nug to make sure that all council members are informed I guess I take that as my number one goal now one of the things that uh has been some source of controversy this year and this actually began I think the effort toward this actually began last fall when you were still the police chief and that's how do we fix because some uh the cruising issues on the Miracle Mile on Park Avenue with folks uh racing on the street especially on motorcycles uh maybe just engaging in some uh improper Behavior so uh you guys ultimately got city council to pass anti- cruising legislation which limits the amount of time somebody can drive back and forth on the Miracle Mile and then you also put in speed bumps yes on the weekends and I got to tell you as someone who drives a Honda Civic a speed bump on the Miracle Mile is uh quite an adventure even when you slow down to 5 or 10 miles an hour like I do so how success sucessful has the legislation and the speed bumps been what's been the summer uh what's the summer been like out on the Miracle Mile this year now I will be performing uh giving some uh some info to Council next council meeting oh we're going to break some news again yes so uh so yes they they they wanted wanted an update on this particular question of activity on the mile um and what's uh been occurring since the the installation of the speed bumps and the cruising ordinance of course I do have the chief uh compiling that information and uh we'll be handing out those sheets to everybody at Council but I can I can tell you at this point Carl that and uh you know people sit on different sides of the fences on when we talk about speed bumps I've I I know the mayor I know I have been and the police chief have heard folks that love them that have that's had a profound impact on what was occurring out on Park Avenue and and then on the other side absolutely hate them and want them want them gone so I can tell you that without a doubt we have definitely the stop the the 80 to 100 m hour drag race down Park Avenue and uh now the speed bumps uh and I thought I I made it clear within Council the speed bumps were never intended it's not going to stop squealing tires or the short burst traffic of you know the way some folks decide to operate either motorcycles or or Vehicles it it always had to be in conjunction with enforcement activities of the police department and uh and it just we it was never the intent of just hear speed bumps and the police department's just not going to be out on Park Avenue that is absolutely Ely was not the goal but uh you know it has it definitely stirred a hornet nest you know people have come out to give uh good opinions both ways and uh you know it uh I I you know people passing through the city of Mansfield course you know I and I I don't like speed mumps either I you know who who likes to have to to slow down but you know I I think uh uh the the reasoning of why they were installed you know I can understand that and I can understand that as a citizen even if I wasn't within city government and and this was truly truly a last resort you know this uh we had uh talked about uh what other measures that could be taken out there and uh I I ultimately view that in the future as you know I I believe that's going to be an engineering uh problem that maybe we can solve that through an engineering solution you know and but there's a lot of things that uh uh that would have to happen before uh we would be able to tackle that and and ultimately when we talk about engineering Solutions whether if that's roundabouts or whatever uh actions that could be taken that you know that always comes back to how much is that the Mighty Dollar right nothing uh with those type of things are cheap and uh the last thing I want uh is uh to have any more fatalities on that stretcher road so uh that's uh been the main the main goal of that well one of the things that you've had to do since becoming safety service directors now you are also responsible for the Mansfield Fire Department yes we have a law enforcement officer a veteran law enforcement officer now overseeing our friends in in the in the fire division um I see the leadership of the department uh Chief Dan Crow uh I think just got the job late last year they've developed new mission and vision statements and what was the driving force behind those changes what's the goal behind them and how's it been as a uh as a cop now of working with the fire division so closely you know I uh I always uh worked well with with them in the past and certain members of the fire department and and we' always have some ribbing going back and forth but now that I'm the the boss over that I I have to take a more serious look in into their operations but I've always enjoyed uh uh the poking back and forth with from the the former Fire Chief and his Command Staff and uh you know it's uh it's it's been a good time and I you know uh yes you know the chief Crow is a new Fire Chief and uh a sharp guy and uh somebody that will take the Mansfield Fire Department into the future when we talk about uh the mission and goals and value statements that he's developing I think that I can sum that up to uh how we can best be more efficient with the operations of the fire department and how we serve the citizens of Mansfield so uh those are again one of the reasons why I'm sure he was picked uh to be the fire chief and and it's going to take uh our fire department uh clearly into the future now traditionally in Mansfield the safety service director was responsible just to manage police and fire uh mayor Perry is added a few more jobs for you to manage uh you now have oversight of Permitting and development City Building Maintenance and Mansville armarm Regional Airport um what led to those changes how have you adapted to those duties and what have you learned about the Departments uh the new departments that you're now responsible for and at what point did Jody come to you and say hey I got a couple things I need you to take care of here so there was uh well let me tackle the first question it was was I wasn't blindsided by the mayor it was it was a conversation we had shortly after taking over uh when I became the safety director and and I I think it's it's regards to workload you know the Public Works director uh you know of course has a lot of departments and uh we we want to make sure every department is is having an equal eye on that and obviously I uh would jump at the chance to to assist in in the administration's operations to help the mayor out uh in any way that I can uh the mayor uh wanted to obviously work with me and she wants to be more involved in codes and permitting which is phenomenal I mean I you can see from that that she definitely uh wants to be eye in those operations for the future of our city so which typically you know a mayor could say Okay director handle that but she definitely wants to essentially her and I tag team that department and and help out those operations you know the uh codes and permits and Community Development you know again we're we're coming back to Dollars and cents and you know the as far as Personnel what needs to be done to make sure that we are taking proactive steps in those departments instead of being reactive and I have always believed codes and permits is is the future of our city and and it and it uh sets a staple of what we expect within the the our jurisdiction and you know I'd like to look at our zoning our our our codes and make sure we're up to date because I'm sure some of those haven't been updated since the 40s and 50s and to take a more uh 21st century look at them so I think it's interesting um to have a kind of a former law enforcement guy overseeing codes and permits especially the enforcement side I remember one of the first things I heard way back in the day of community policing was the broken window concept if you know when a house gets a broken window let's get that fixed because one Broken Window becomes three becomes 10 uh in terms of codes and permits one deteriorating house becomes two becomes five how you know what approach are you taking in terms of enforcing more maybe more stringently some of the codes and permits uh violations that are out there well you know uh initially I want to look at so our housing inspectors or inspectors could be able to site on site for violations and at some point that was taken away so I and I believe just sent over to the from the police department to handle I believe that our housing inspectors should be able to handle those type of violations while they're on site so I definitely want to take a look at that to make sure we we can get back to that you know the the blight the the grass the you know just the um uh the immediate visual violations that you can see on a daily basis need to be uh handled and tackled right away you know I know that our housing inspectors are are they you know they're they're they're busy and they're hand they're trying to uh to stomp fires daily I I want to get Beyond The Stomping of the fires and them to be looking at Pro actively violations instead I'm not it's a strong word to say ignore but when they're handling other things kind of the minor things uh fall to the bottom of the list and I I believe make immediate impact of that low hanging fruit and you know nobody uh when when codes are not being followed or ignored in regards to grass and and blight and certain uh maybe junk on property you know those are in my mind as I sit today easy things that we can fix and it just has a better feel and view within the city when those things aren't ignored it is essentially the broken windows so if you take care of one two won't pop up and and when you're ignoring the one and where it's not a big deal all of a sudden we have 10 and then that problem becomes so massive looking ahead for the remaining four months of 2024 and into 2025 what what are kind of your goals uh in your role as safety service director for the next several months anyway as as we uh move into yet another New Year here soon well my my main goal I I mean clearly I the uh the big budget uh of I you know I'm responsible to almost $32 million between police and fire can you write me a check make it out to newsman weekly podcast and we'll buy pizza hey so I you know I I want to make sure uh you know the big poll there is is the budgets for the safety forces and I want to make sure that obviously they have the equipment they need to do their job and the personnel and uh it's uh but there's you know one pot of money so you have to make the best decisions you can and I definitely want to uh to do that in conjunction of working with the police chief and the fire chief and um so you know yeah so I I I want to make sure that uh we we appro uh present an appropriate budget with our safety forces and ultimately I will hold the police chief and fire chief to the four corners of their budget to make sure uh you know we're doing what we need to do to to better enhance Service uh for our citizens for 2025 all right folks we're going to have to leave it at that for today Keith thanks once again for joining us us for a second week on the news main weekly podcast and I will be back in a second to put a bow on this week's podcast and folks until then please remember what Mark Twain said if you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything