Post by lazychair politics on Apr 16, 2007 10:06:15 GMT -5
Couldn't have said it better myself. From the Pall-Times this past Saturday on the opinion page.
Mayor must get control of his administration
In what some would say amounted to a startling display of public courage for a politician, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who wants to be U.S. president, defended his support for the administratioin’s (sic)“surge” in Iraq during an interview with a CBS reporter. The reporter suggested that McCain was betting his entire campaign on the current Iraq strategy.
McCain replied that he'd “rather lose a campaign than lose a war.” McCain, in one utterance, separated himself from other such hopefuls with his baldfaced honesty and willingness to take a stand.
A political lightyear away, here in Oswego, Mayor Randy Bateman needs to find the same kind of public courage to handle the assault on his administration by political enemies and those within his own party.
Witness the ongoing kerfuffle between realtor Laruren (sic) Comerford and Democratic Councilman Ed Harrington, D-3rd Ward. Then there’s the fullbore (sic) assault on the competency and professionalism of City Engineer Tony Leotta. Now, from within the mayor’s own party comes stinging criticism that echoes back to the dark days of the Gosek administration — the establishment of a committee to perform city business outside the public examination of a formal meeting or with knowledge of other council members.
Through all this, the mayor has failed to lead the city publicly toward resolution.
In the case of Harrington and his unapproved home improvements, as well as the campaign against Leotta, the mayor has seemingly stood by and allowed his political enemies to soften the ground around him. This has made him appear weak and “out of the loop,” two issues which will undoubtedly be used against him in the future.
The break with his own party members on council borders on foolishness. It’s true that councilmen Dick Atkins and Ed Harrington can be disagreeable, but they were elected by their constituents to participate in government and its decisions. Circumventing them for whatever reason denies thousands of their supporters the access they purchased with their votes.
Atkins being shut out while a secret committee evaluates who will investigate fire department operations is particularly questionable. Atkins, D-7th Ward, is the reason this
long-overdue study is being considered in the first place. It was his investigations and his revelations that demonstrated the need for this project in order to put an end to the public bitterness and public carping between City Council and the fire department.
So what should the mayor do?
For starters, he needs to address the Comerford-Harrington issue. The mayor should bring it to an end. Left to drift again, the issue will haunt his entire term in office. Same with the Leotta accusations. Either they are true or they are not. Either Leotta has the mayor’s support or not. And, as for the fire department committee, it wouldn’t hurt if the mayor did some backtracking to loop in the rest of City Council to avoid any appearance of deception.
Mayor must get control of his administration
In what some would say amounted to a startling display of public courage for a politician, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who wants to be U.S. president, defended his support for the administratioin’s (sic)“surge” in Iraq during an interview with a CBS reporter. The reporter suggested that McCain was betting his entire campaign on the current Iraq strategy.
McCain replied that he'd “rather lose a campaign than lose a war.” McCain, in one utterance, separated himself from other such hopefuls with his baldfaced honesty and willingness to take a stand.
A political lightyear away, here in Oswego, Mayor Randy Bateman needs to find the same kind of public courage to handle the assault on his administration by political enemies and those within his own party.
Witness the ongoing kerfuffle between realtor Laruren (sic) Comerford and Democratic Councilman Ed Harrington, D-3rd Ward. Then there’s the fullbore (sic) assault on the competency and professionalism of City Engineer Tony Leotta. Now, from within the mayor’s own party comes stinging criticism that echoes back to the dark days of the Gosek administration — the establishment of a committee to perform city business outside the public examination of a formal meeting or with knowledge of other council members.
Through all this, the mayor has failed to lead the city publicly toward resolution.
In the case of Harrington and his unapproved home improvements, as well as the campaign against Leotta, the mayor has seemingly stood by and allowed his political enemies to soften the ground around him. This has made him appear weak and “out of the loop,” two issues which will undoubtedly be used against him in the future.
The break with his own party members on council borders on foolishness. It’s true that councilmen Dick Atkins and Ed Harrington can be disagreeable, but they were elected by their constituents to participate in government and its decisions. Circumventing them for whatever reason denies thousands of their supporters the access they purchased with their votes.
Atkins being shut out while a secret committee evaluates who will investigate fire department operations is particularly questionable. Atkins, D-7th Ward, is the reason this
long-overdue study is being considered in the first place. It was his investigations and his revelations that demonstrated the need for this project in order to put an end to the public bitterness and public carping between City Council and the fire department.
So what should the mayor do?
For starters, he needs to address the Comerford-Harrington issue. The mayor should bring it to an end. Left to drift again, the issue will haunt his entire term in office. Same with the Leotta accusations. Either they are true or they are not. Either Leotta has the mayor’s support or not. And, as for the fire department committee, it wouldn’t hurt if the mayor did some backtracking to loop in the rest of City Council to avoid any appearance of deception.