Ferrera Stumbles Coming Out of the Gate
by Bill Dusty
El Presedente didn’t waste anytime showing his leadership ability – or lack thereof – with the 2012 edition of the Springfield City Council.
Springfield City Councilor Jimmy Ferrera (photo: Michael Beswick)
With years of past precedence to look back upon for guidance as he mulled his selections for various sub-committee postings and chairmanships, Ferrera instead chose the revenge route by stiffing two of the most intelligent and productive members of the council, whose primary disqualification for committee appointments appears to be that they dared hesitate to support him from the get-go.
“I had to accommodate the individuals who supported me early on first,” Ferrera said in a recent Republican story by Peter Goonan. “Some councilors were last to commit to voting for me for president and they received whatever was left over.”
Then, in one of the more bizarre examples of political double-speak (that in all likelihood went right over even Ferrera’s doughy head) the new president added this gem of a statement: “It was not a political process.”
So… it wasn’t about politics, Jimmy, it was just about who supported you politically?
“I characterize the appointment he gave me as immature,” responded snubbed City Councilor Michael Fenton in the same article.
Both he and City Councilor Timothy Allen incurred the wrath of Ferrera for daring think that Allen might be the wiser choice for president of the City Council.
For his failure at total allegiance to Ferrera, Fenton received a single posting – to the one-person, largely obscure Animal Control Advisory special committee, which Fenton will not actually be able to take due to a job conflict. (Fenton said Ferrera knew of the job conflict when he appointed him to the committee.)
Likewise, Allen received a single appointment himself, to the Human Services committee.
Contrast that with what Ferrera’s loyalists received, with City Councilor Zaida Luna being awarded five total committee appointments and first-term City Councilor Kenneth Shea – who just got elected this past November – getting four committee appointments from the grateful Ferrera. City Councilor Timothy Rooke snared three appointments, all chairmanships, including chairmanship of the Finance Committee (actually a good place for him).
Political payback, of course, isn’t all that unusual, and the president of the City Council does have the right to make appointments at his pleasure. What most makes these appointments so damning in their makeup, though, is that Ferrera was, first, so blatantly obvious about it, and then second, proceeded to arrogantly deny any political play-making.
“That’s the way business is conducted and that’s the way politics is conducted,” said Rooke in Goonan’s story. “To the victor go the spoils.”
Indeed. If only Jimmy Ferrera could be so up-front about it.
But then again, there’s a good chance Ferrera wasn’t alone in his decision-making process.
Ferrera’s always been a guided missile in Springfield politics. From the day he first arrived on the Council, he’s been mentored by his “good friend” (and former City Councilor) Brian Santaniello. And since Santaniello was a close pal of former Springfield Mayor Mike Albano – who these days poses as a “consultant” – it wouldn’t be that big of a reach to assume Ferrera’s been influenced by him, as well.
Ferrera’s “smack down” politics, which his handlers apparently believe will make him look more manly, instead tends to make him look more like a stooge. One of his hallmark moments came back in 2010 when he sponsored a home rule bill that would have given a one-year mandatory jail sentence to both prostitutes and their johns. At the time, Ferrera said anyone who voted against his bill would be accommodating crime. His bill lost by a vote of 1-11.
Fast forward to this year, and Ferrera finally had his life-long chance to be The Man. He could have shown everyone that leadership is all about making the tough decisions and putting the best people for the job in the places they need to be.
Instead, though, he chose to chant “Nya, nya, nya-nya, nya!” to Fenton and Allen.
President of the City Council, indeed.
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12 Responses for “Ferrera Stumbles Coming Out of the Gate”
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Can I just go on record saying that this photograph is the PERFECT one for any article referencing Ferrera, especially those showing his, um, trying to be diplomatic here, um debilitating ineptitude! I think it is also the same photograph being used for the new Twitter handle @JFerreraquotes.
There’s also another one that Beswick took, showing him standing behind his city council chair with his hands splayed in the air – as if he’s saying, “What’d did I do??” – http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/11/springfield_city_councilor_jam_2.html
Two classic Beswick pics.
Gosh guys….do you miss Amaad? lol
That second photo is the one on JFerreraQuotes.
And, without getting into an argument, as you all know I did vote for Amaad. I think it is like those bumper stickers from after Watergate that said, “Don’t Blame me, I’m from Massachusetts.”
Please, all, let’s not descend into an anti-Rivera tirade and just be united in our Ferrera-induced gastric malfunctions.
I don’t believe it’s an “either-or” situation.
It’s unfortunate that a city of Springfield’s size has had to rely on such an undistinguished group of people to conduct its business throughout the years. Neither Ferrera nor so many of the other people who have sat on the council are qualified to run a small business, never mind a city of over 150,000. One of the primary reasons this city continues to wallow in mediocrity is because its leadership is voted in based on wink-nod favors and “who you know” politics instead of actual qualifications.
And there *are* more qualified people running.
What an absolute shame and total embarrassment it is that a man with such a distinguished career as Charles Rucks got beat out on election day by a bunch of niddling neighborhood goofs with phony smiles and sweaty palms.
I don’t disagree, but a surplus of ignorance helps the mediocrity along, too.
No hiding behind screen names – I am Brian Sears and the previous President of the FPCA – Jimmy Ferrara has been a disappointment, not that I ever expected much.
My biggest memory of JIMMY is when the Planning Dept recommended the “new” zoning ordinances and Jimmy wouldn’t be “embarrassed” into the new zoning ordinances. He threatened me, as a volunteer neighborhood association member for not registering as a registered lobbyist under Springfield new lobbyist laws and has yet to ever call for the “new” zoning oridances before the City Council. I still have yet to hear from the City for not registering as a lobbyist or that JIMMY wants to talk about the now old new zoning ordinances.
If I’m thinking of the same thing, I believe that was the zoning initiative that Linda Langevin also worked on. (There were several meetings she attended, including at least one at City Hall, as I recall?) I don’t think she ever had to register as a lobbyist either
I was never asked to register as a lobbyist nor, to the best of my knowledge, were any of the other CAC volunteers. I’m not sure why Brian was singled out by Jimmy. It is unfortunate that nothing ever came of the zoning modernization project; it certainly wasn’t an “embarrassment.” A lot of very hard working people spent endless hours (including negotiations with local businesses and contractors) developing a well thought out and user friendly document. I think that perhaps Springfield is its own worse enemy.
Springfield Forward was behind the zoning issue ..they fed e-mails to councilors….as for the zoning Phil Dromey is holding it back at this point.
I for one hope it comes up soon so we will have it in place to aid with the torando recovery.
It’s a shame to see John Lysak as an early supporter of Jimmy’s. Probably how he got the Vice-President position. They all need to go.
I know Jimmy a very little bit from back in the day, with a few familial connections in between. Even bought a car from him once when he was a car salesman. Not to say I hated him or anything, but he always struck me as kind of a pud. I know that’s not the most intellectually profound description but if you’ve ever talked to him I think you’d agree it’s pretty accurate. Is there anyone in a position of “leadership” in this city who isn’t useless?