Subscribe via email

Grab our RSS Feed

Hometown Political Shenanigans

by Bill Dusty

Standing atop the ruins of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno’s failed attempt to slip a “Pay-As-You-Throw” (PAYT) trash collection system onto the citizens of Springfield, I’ve come to wonder how it could be that the Mayor ever thought he could slip this by a populace that had so recently been promised an abolition of the trash fee entirely.

Surely, Sarno – or someone in his administration (anyone?) – must have known there would be an angry outcry. The Mayor didn’t even try to soften the blow by broaching the idea of a PAYT plan ahead of time. He just plopped the budget in front of the City Council, and there it was.

Pay-As-You-Throw is not a bad idea, per se – although it is perhaps a more suitable plan for smaller cities and towns. Folks here in Springfield already avoid the current trash fees (both the $90 per-year fee as well as the bulk trash fee) by dumping in vacant lots around the city or down wooded embankments in Palmer. I can’t see them buying city-approved trash bags at upwards of $2 a bag.

But even so, it’s not the plan itself that touched off the political firestorm so much as it was the way it was dumped in our collective laps.

The PAYT “bombshell” was the second time in Sarno’s short term as mayor that he opted to keep the public in the dark about government goings-on (the first being the banishing of the Springfield City Council from city department budget review sessions this past spring). Yet the Mayor continues to assert that his administration is one that is striving for “inclusiveness” in government.

But inclusiveness for who?

Sarno should understand this: He did not make a campaign promise to lower the trash fee. He did not make a campaign promise to reform the trash fee. His promise to the voters of Springfield was to eliminate the trash fee. Anything less, no matter how well meaning, will be a failure.

Sarno’s insistence that he only learned of the city’s inability to do without a trash fee upon reaching office rings a bit hollow when considering; a.) the city budget is a matter of public record, readily available online; b.) as a member of the City Council before winning the mayor’s office, he was privy to even more knowledge than what the average Joe can get online; and c.) Sarno was repeatedly asked during his campaign where the money would come from to replace the trash fee, and he repeatedly dismissed the inquiries and assured city residents that he would find the money somewhere in the budget.

But such was not to be.

And the news may only get worse for Sarno as time passes on, as this recent story by the Valley Advocate’s Maureen Turner brings up the Mayor’s funding problems when it comes to the second big campaign promise of his candidacy, the hiring of 50 new police officers for the city.

These are not small issues for the Mayor – and if his advisors are patting him on the back and assuring they will be, then they are kidding him. Sarno took the mayoralty of Springfield from a very capable Charles Ryan on the populist wave of two issues: Eliminating the trash fee and the hiring 50 new cops. The first is already not going to happen. As for the second, even if it did happen, Springfield’s crime problem is not the result of a lack of police officers, it is the result of a lack of community leadership and proper parenting in those communities most afflicted with violent crime. Teen pregnancy, single parent households, and high school drop outs are the malaise of the inner city. Until these issues abate, the poor communities of Springfield will continue to suffer the anguish of violence and death on their streets.

*

ANYONE GOT A KNIFE?

Predictably, Springfield City Council finger pointer Jimmy Ferrera waited in silence until the winds of public opinion blew stiffly against Domenic Sarno before making his move to oppose the Pay-As-You-Throw proposal. It seems after two years of City Council experience, Jimmy has yet to pick up tips from veteran Councilor Timothy Rooke.

Rooke has been critical of Sarno for so long, now, the Mayor barely acknowledges his nemesis’s hatchet tosses. (Extending that sentiment, Sarno also apparently won’t give The Valley Advocate the time of day, either.) The two veterans could probably have tea together on election day without ever raising an eyebrow at each other.

On the other hand, Sarno and Ferrera were allies in their crusade against the Finance Control Board last year. Oh, the beers they must have shared as they bad mouthed the Staties. But nowadays, Sarno’s just another slab of red meat on the FCB platter for Jimmy. And you can bet Sarno’s going to remember that if things start going his way at about this time next year.

*

THE CHELAN BROWN SAGA – PART IX

Is she still running? We’re likely to find out today (Friday). Chelan Brown’s campaign for the Massachusetts 11th District has been quite the eventful ride, thus far. From residency gaffes to controversy within her activist group, AWAKE, after a registered level 3 sex offender made an appearance at a school event (this just prior to her announcement to run for office), to the campaign Web site debacle that plagued her just last month, Brown has been easy fodder for the blogger-mill and Internet forums on an almost weekly basis. On this Friday we’re supposed to find out how the state Ballot Law Commission feels about her running for office in a District she apparently has no official record of ever having lived in until just this past April. (In fact, she voted twice outside of the 11th District just this past year.) Brown reportedly submitted bills and rental receipts to verify her residency in the District, so we’ll see how things pan out for her. Stay tuned.

[UPDATE: Commission rejects challenge to Brown's candidacy.]

The people of the 11th District deserve better than what Brown supposedly has to offer. According to a Reminder story this past week by Mike Dobbs, Brown said she wants to wage a clean campaign. That’s fairly laughable in light of her phantom residency, Web site issues, and determination to violate city rules by having a level 3 sex offender appear at a school function despite public school policy forbidding such. Brown also reportedly took the opportunity to officially announce her run for office directly in front of the office of current state Representative Benjamin Swan. In your face, Ben!

In the Reminder article, Brown touts her “proven history of getting things done” as qualification for running for office. I’d like to see that list of accomplishments. Brown is the head of a civic organization whose actual achievements are not recordable. (Did an AWAKE program really make young Angela decide to stay in school? Did a stirring speech by Chelan actually stop Kenny from deciding to join a gang?) Such civic groups thrive in impoverished communities, yet these communities continue to wallow in poverty. Where is the accomplishment?

Truth in fact, Brown has accomplished very little academically and virtually nothing career-wise. Her primary job skill appears to be speaking in front of a microphone. And while many politicians throughout history have captured office by virtue of their poise behind the podium, the people of the long-suffering 11th District deserve much better.

As long as emotions trump intellect, however, they are unlikely to get it.

* *

Posted by Bill Dusty on Jun 20th, 2008 and filed under Cities & Towns, City Hall, Elections, Feature Stories, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.