That was a campaign slogan gracing Irondequoit’s lawns and adorning the sides of select Irondequoit automobiles last fall.
And why shouldn’t it have?
Why would anyone running for office say they were a fan of politics? When was the last time a candidate claimed that it was a good idea to say politics would be central to their governing philosophy.
It should never be about politics. Problem is: it’s always about politics.
If you’re someone who’s running for office, by default - you’re a politician.
There’s a whole group of party committee members who nominated and (claim to have) worked to elect you. There’s the dinosaurs of your political party, who built the party from the ground up in the 1950s and 60s, and feel it is their right to dictate what goes on at Town Hall.
And, not to be forgotten, there’s the acting DPW Commissioner, who was groomed by the local GOP to lead Irondequoit into a new era of prosperity, yet committed the ultimate act of betrayal and joined into the dark side a few years ago, befriending the Democratic Town Supervisor and other members of the opposition party. Even though he spent the next four years rebuilding Irondequoit’s infrastructure; was told by certain morons in the Town that he was handing out favors to “connected friends” and had to deal with a “good ole boys” culture in the highway department where using taxpayer dollars to pave someone’s driveway is acceptable behavior – Marty Piecuch was a victim of classic Irondequoit politics.
Yes, if you’re Mary Joyce D’Aurizio, you have to fire the most qualified person working in Irondequoit Town Government. There is no way Marty Piecuch can serve as your Commissioner of Public Works. Why might you ask? Because Mary Joyce D’Aurizio probably realized the day after she was elected: it’s all about politics.
If it weren’t, why wouldn’t she have just reappointed Piecuch to the DPW post at the first or second Board meeting? She did not and should offer an explanation as to why.
Was Piecuch not worthy of a post that is probably the most apolitical in town (you plow the roads, you fix the roads)? Did Piecuch not oversee the most impressive infrastructure investments in our Town’s history? Was Piecuch not the first DPW Commissioner in quite some time to realize that you can’t simply sweep today’s problems under the carpet, especially when it comes to the ground beneath our feet?
These questions are deserving of answers.
Now, the buzz around Town is that MJD begged Piecuch to stay on board, only after he informed her of his intention to leave, a few weeks ago. I suppose she should have expressed the same appreciation to Marty when she hired someone who doesn’t even live in Irondequoit to serve as our Director of Developmental Services and offered him a far more plentiful salary than that which Piecuch makes.
On the Irondequoit Democrats twitter site, there is a “tweet” about this topic, crying foul:
DPW Marty Piecuch should have been re-hired at the previous two Board meetings. He was an invaluable asset to the town and will be missed.
I hope the Democrats make an issue out of this because Marty Piecuch represents all of the best things about Irondequoit. He’s saved us million in the years to come and never backed down to the idiots like Bob Ament who seem to think the Town isn’t responsible for preventing its own roads from falling into Irondequoit Bay.
Am I angry about this? You bet I am, because I hate it when campaign lawn signs lie to me!
Yet, what makes me happy is another rumor I heard. Apparently, Marty is moving on to better things in life and has landed a new gig where I’m sure he’ll be better appreciated. I’m sure for someone as qualified as Marty, it didn’t take long to land on his feet. I doubt, however, he listed his former (short-term) employer as a reference.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Whuh Whuh Whuh Whuh What did you say?
Shortly after winning election, most likely while trying to balance her responsibilities as a law office comptroller and the new Supervisor-Elect, Mary Joyce D’Aurizio levied her opinion on a major issue affecting our Town in a November 9th WROC-8 story.
The issue at hand: the Rochester Broadway Theater League (an unofficial subcommittee of the Monroe County GOP), and possible new sites for a new performing arts center, something that the woman she had recently ousted, Mary Ellen Heyman, wanted in Irondequoit.
Here’s what she had to say:
“There's no doubt that the city of Rochester needs to be the heart of Monroe County," says Irondequoit Town Supervisor-Elect Mary Joyce D'Aurizio.
Both towns are contenders for a new performing arts center. A shake-up in leadership in Irondequoit is bringing caution. Supervisor elect Mary Joyce D'Aurizio says a downtown theater is what's best.
"We suburbs that surround the city will be much more viable and will grow so long as city center is as strong as it possibly can be."
You can only imagine how furious these comment must have made Arnie Rothschild, Chair of the RBTL -who by the way has donated more money to the local Republican party than a Robutrad worker on a strip club binge. It’s no secret that Arnie is still bitter at Mayor Bob Duffy for killing Renaissance Square and the RBTL’s hopes of a new PAC on Main & Clinton. Many believe the whole notion of a suburban site was concocted as a big “Up Yours” to Mayor Robert of Nazareth.
Thus, imagine how local GOP must have felt upon seeing the new rock star in Irondequoit siding with the likes of Bob Duffy and (gasp) Irondequoit’s own Joe Morelle.
Over the next several weeks, I’m sure that Arnie, Bill Reilich and a large quantity of Republican Party employees working in the Monroe County Office Building, educated our Supervisor-elect on how things really work in the Republican Party.
Fast forward about 2 ½ months. It appears our fair Supervisor has finally wised up, evidenced by an affirmation in support for a RBTL facility at Irondequoit Mall in a January 19th Irondequoit Post article:
“To me, it (Medley/Lake Ridge Centre) is the only place where the new (RBTL facility should go,” D’Aurizio said. “We feel it should be here; we have the plan and the infrastructure in place so that once the funding comes through, it can get started the fastest.”
She continued to carry that tune in a D&C article, dated January 27th, where she firmly states:
"There's definitely no place for a casino in the plans (at Lake Ridge Center), but there definitely are plans for RBTL, and I would love to see that.”
Nice to hear about the casino, but perhaps our Supervisor should explain why she had such a dramatic change of heart on such an important issue.
Maybe, in the November news story, she was so caught up in the moment, that she forgot what type of person she truly is, described in a post-election story on WROC-8:
“I tend to be more of an artsy cultural person so I’m hoping to bring more of those types of events into town."
Well, that’s noble. But if that’s the case, then why would ya say “Not in my (husband, Frank’s office park’s) backyard” to a theater only five days later. Yes, you’ve returned to your “artsy” principles in recent days, but all this waffling is making me hungry for IHOP – which reminds me: nothing would go better with a matinee performance of Wicked than some stuffed French toast right across the parking lot.
Yes, I know this is a lot of news stories, and I apologize for lack of chronological ordering. Nevertheless, it paints a picture of somebody who might want to do a better job at either: (1) staying consistent with her views on important town issues that may or may not affect development in our town and/or (2) explaining what may have caused you to change your mind, whether it be Scott Congel’s charm (lol); Arnie’s wrath or the ghost of Ethel Merman saying “if you build it, donations will come.”
The issue at hand: the Rochester Broadway Theater League (an unofficial subcommittee of the Monroe County GOP), and possible new sites for a new performing arts center, something that the woman she had recently ousted, Mary Ellen Heyman, wanted in Irondequoit.
Here’s what she had to say:
“There's no doubt that the city of Rochester needs to be the heart of Monroe County," says Irondequoit Town Supervisor-Elect Mary Joyce D'Aurizio.
Both towns are contenders for a new performing arts center. A shake-up in leadership in Irondequoit is bringing caution. Supervisor elect Mary Joyce D'Aurizio says a downtown theater is what's best.
"We suburbs that surround the city will be much more viable and will grow so long as city center is as strong as it possibly can be."
You can only imagine how furious these comment must have made Arnie Rothschild, Chair of the RBTL -who by the way has donated more money to the local Republican party than a Robutrad worker on a strip club binge. It’s no secret that Arnie is still bitter at Mayor Bob Duffy for killing Renaissance Square and the RBTL’s hopes of a new PAC on Main & Clinton. Many believe the whole notion of a suburban site was concocted as a big “Up Yours” to Mayor Robert of Nazareth.
Thus, imagine how local GOP must have felt upon seeing the new rock star in Irondequoit siding with the likes of Bob Duffy and (gasp) Irondequoit’s own Joe Morelle.
Over the next several weeks, I’m sure that Arnie, Bill Reilich and a large quantity of Republican Party employees working in the Monroe County Office Building, educated our Supervisor-elect on how things really work in the Republican Party.
Fast forward about 2 ½ months. It appears our fair Supervisor has finally wised up, evidenced by an affirmation in support for a RBTL facility at Irondequoit Mall in a January 19th Irondequoit Post article:
“To me, it (Medley/Lake Ridge Centre) is the only place where the new (RBTL facility should go,” D’Aurizio said. “We feel it should be here; we have the plan and the infrastructure in place so that once the funding comes through, it can get started the fastest.”
She continued to carry that tune in a D&C article, dated January 27th, where she firmly states:
"There's definitely no place for a casino in the plans (at Lake Ridge Center), but there definitely are plans for RBTL, and I would love to see that.”
Nice to hear about the casino, but perhaps our Supervisor should explain why she had such a dramatic change of heart on such an important issue.
Maybe, in the November news story, she was so caught up in the moment, that she forgot what type of person she truly is, described in a post-election story on WROC-8:
“I tend to be more of an artsy cultural person so I’m hoping to bring more of those types of events into town."
Well, that’s noble. But if that’s the case, then why would ya say “Not in my (husband, Frank’s office park’s) backyard” to a theater only five days later. Yes, you’ve returned to your “artsy” principles in recent days, but all this waffling is making me hungry for IHOP – which reminds me: nothing would go better with a matinee performance of Wicked than some stuffed French toast right across the parking lot.
Yes, I know this is a lot of news stories, and I apologize for lack of chronological ordering. Nevertheless, it paints a picture of somebody who might want to do a better job at either: (1) staying consistent with her views on important town issues that may or may not affect development in our town and/or (2) explaining what may have caused you to change your mind, whether it be Scott Congel’s charm (lol); Arnie’s wrath or the ghost of Ethel Merman saying “if you build it, donations will come.”
Monday, February 8, 2010
Her Heiress Essley
Did you catch the Irondequoit Post congratulating Councilwoman Debbie Essley for voting against sending Judge Valentino to his MANDATORY training and certification program? Apparently, because Essley and D’Aurizio can afford to pay for their voluntary sightseeing junkets to NYC, Essley thinks Judge Valentino should be able to pay for his mandated training. While Essley and D’Aurizio are wandering around gawking at the bright lights of Times Square, Judge Valentino will be sitting in a classroom learning about judicial ethics.
Essley’s move is a cheap political shot by an ignorant politician. Serving on a town board isn’t rocket science, but somehow Essley still hasn’t figured out how to balance her ability to pay for sightseeing trips, and Judge Valentino’s requirement to attend MANDATORY training.
It’s absurd for the town to require its elected officials to pay for their own mandatory training and certifications out of their own pockets. Any reasonable politician knows this. Those trainings can be expensive and prohibitive to people without a lot of money. The poll tax for our “ruling class” was done away with a long time ago and it’s a shame that Essley is trying to bring it back to Irondequoit.
I know a lot of good people who are living paycheck to paycheck, and I do not think it should be the town’s policy to prohibit them from serving in government. I don’t know Valentino’s personal finances, but it’s not up to Debbie Essley to be the wealth police, making judgments on what individuals can afford.
I’ve got news for Councilwoman Essley, just because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, doesn’t mean the rest of us were. People without personal wealth should still be allowed to serve our town without providing bank statements to Heiress Essley for her approval. Essley and D’Aurizio have a lot to learn about running a town government because they clearly have no idea what they’re doing.
Essley’s move is a cheap political shot by an ignorant politician. Serving on a town board isn’t rocket science, but somehow Essley still hasn’t figured out how to balance her ability to pay for sightseeing trips, and Judge Valentino’s requirement to attend MANDATORY training.
It’s absurd for the town to require its elected officials to pay for their own mandatory training and certifications out of their own pockets. Any reasonable politician knows this. Those trainings can be expensive and prohibitive to people without a lot of money. The poll tax for our “ruling class” was done away with a long time ago and it’s a shame that Essley is trying to bring it back to Irondequoit.
I know a lot of good people who are living paycheck to paycheck, and I do not think it should be the town’s policy to prohibit them from serving in government. I don’t know Valentino’s personal finances, but it’s not up to Debbie Essley to be the wealth police, making judgments on what individuals can afford.
I’ve got news for Councilwoman Essley, just because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, doesn’t mean the rest of us were. People without personal wealth should still be allowed to serve our town without providing bank statements to Heiress Essley for her approval. Essley and D’Aurizio have a lot to learn about running a town government because they clearly have no idea what they’re doing.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Et Tu, MJD?
You might imagine that November 3rd was an exciting day for Bobby Ament. After spending the previous six months of his life actually caring about the Town where he lived (recently moved home to)…only to find a Town Government that apparently possessed too much dignity to want to work with him…he could claim victory.
Irondequoit’s Pied-Piper had led his loyal following to vote against the evil establishment in Irondequoit, and a new day had dawned with the election of (One-man office) Comptroller Mary Joyce D’Aurizio. Ignore the national Democratic mood that could have allowed a Pet Rock running on the GOP line to run a competitive race. Ignore all the other people who had relentlessly opposed the Heyman administration for four years. Nope – in his mind, Bobby Ament elected Mary Joyce D’Aurizio.
I can only imagine the day, back in mid-October, when MJD cut the deal. All those “Vote Change” signs would now become “Fresh Leadership” signs. Translation: Bobby the Bully would now go to the same houses, and force the same unfortunate voters to place a new lawn decoration in front of their homes.
And on November 4th, Comptroller/Superivosr-elect D’Aurizio probably would have done anything for Bobby. Until, of course, she came to the same realization that so many others had before: the guy's f%&cking crazy!!!!
However, unfortunately, for Comptroller/Supervisor-elect D’Aurizio, there was no way in hell Bobby wasn’t going to redeem the cash value of his good deeds performed on her behalf.
Thus, the only question was: 1)What project would Bobby insist the town execute immediatly and 2)How long would it take for him to turn on the current administration, just as he’d turned on the previous one.
And just as the 7 year old cries when she doesn’t get the pony she wants for Christmas, thus declaring her hatred for her parents forever: Bob Ament wanted an Ice Skating rink, didn’t get one, and has thus declared war on Comptroller Emeritus D’Aurizio.
However, being the expert strategist he is, trying to hide his true anger, he is having his better half throw the punches. Below is the email being distributed by, of all people, Mrs Bobby Ament. I’ll let you read it for yourself, and will extract only one passage that left me tearful and thankful we have such a loyal patriot in our Town.
“The only person who cares is the one NOT on the payroll.”
God bless the Town of Irondequoit. And God Bless Bobby Ament.
Dear Friends, I know that many of you are waiting with baited breath for the installation of Irondequoit 's 2 full size outdoor ice rinks! One was to be dedicated to hockey for our teams who only get 50 minutes per session of ice time at Lakeshore and one for family skate. Bob secured donations for the large portion of the funding required to create the rink (specialty liners and materials). The original location was to be Camp Eastman with a dedicated cabin to serve as a warming hut.
Problem #1: Director of Parks and Rec, Mike Spang, gave Bob incorrect slope information regarding the terrain of Camp Eastman ; it was only when a friend of ours surveyed the land with a highly technical GPS system did we discover the slope was untenable. Then, the plan was to relocate one rink to the land behind Pinegrove Community Center and one to a school property within EICSD.
Problem #2: The Town waited and waited and waited in securing the secondary locations under the domain of Superintendents Crane and Allen.
Problem #3: Because the Director of Parks and Rec, Mike Spang, waited for over two weeks for a response from Home Depot, who was to supply additional materials we are too far behind schedule to build this year, and missed the arctic cold snap to freeze the rinks. The Town of Irondequoit would have had to come up with approximately $1,000. for materials which Home Depot would not cover. So, because of their inaction and inability to pay, our community has no outdoor skating. The Town of Sweden managed to fund a $50,000 ice rink for their community. see D & C article: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100120/NEWS05/1200318/-1/GREECE/New-outdoor-skate-rink-succeeds-at-Sweden-Town-Park)
So, while the town pays roughly $70,000 per month (no typo there) in overtime, they can't manage to find $1,000 for ice rinks which in the past dotted our community. If Mike Spang had not wasted weeks, Bob would have raised the money to move forward and we could all be skating right now. Bob still offered to fund raise the remaining $1,000. as of last week and have the rink installed by last Friday, to no response from the administration. It seems as though the Supervisor who earns $63,000 and the Parks and Rec Director who earns $85,000 don't feel outdoor activity is a priority for our kids. The only person who cares is the one NOT on the payroll.I urge all of you to e-mail or call Director of Parks and Rec Mike Spang and Supervisor Mary Joyce D'Aurizio and tell them that FREE projects for the betterment of our community should be acted upon SWIFTLY. For your convenience, you can feel free to cut and paste the following messageDear Supervisor and Parks & Rec Director:I/We are extremely disappointed in your inaction and lack of commitment to the youth of this community in failing to act on the ice rink project. I/We hope that this will not be repeated in future projects offered to the town.
Their emails are: mjdaurizio@irondequoit.org, mspang@irondequoit.org
Please please please take a minute to do this. It is absolutely unconscionable that our town administration failed to make a few simple phone calls to ensure that our community would have a winter activity for all. Future projects, including library renovations and sports fields are waiting in the wings. These are problems which have plagued the town for decades. They may wither on the vine if you don't let them know you care! As always, you are welcome to forward this onto your friends.
Future posts will be dedicated to topic relevant to this issue, namely:
1) What plant from the woods behind his Pinegrove mansion Bobby must be smoking to make him think this would only cost $1,000?
2) Will Mary Joyce D’Aurizio demand that Bobby return the mixed tape she made for him?
3) Will Mike Spang and Mrs. Bobby Ament face each other down in the six-sided ring of fire?
Stayed tuned, folks and enjoy the (snowy) drive.
Irondequoit’s Pied-Piper had led his loyal following to vote against the evil establishment in Irondequoit, and a new day had dawned with the election of (One-man office) Comptroller Mary Joyce D’Aurizio. Ignore the national Democratic mood that could have allowed a Pet Rock running on the GOP line to run a competitive race. Ignore all the other people who had relentlessly opposed the Heyman administration for four years. Nope – in his mind, Bobby Ament elected Mary Joyce D’Aurizio.
I can only imagine the day, back in mid-October, when MJD cut the deal. All those “Vote Change” signs would now become “Fresh Leadership” signs. Translation: Bobby the Bully would now go to the same houses, and force the same unfortunate voters to place a new lawn decoration in front of their homes.
And on November 4th, Comptroller/Superivosr-elect D’Aurizio probably would have done anything for Bobby. Until, of course, she came to the same realization that so many others had before: the guy's f%&cking crazy!!!!
However, unfortunately, for Comptroller/Supervisor-elect D’Aurizio, there was no way in hell Bobby wasn’t going to redeem the cash value of his good deeds performed on her behalf.
Thus, the only question was: 1)What project would Bobby insist the town execute immediatly and 2)How long would it take for him to turn on the current administration, just as he’d turned on the previous one.
And just as the 7 year old cries when she doesn’t get the pony she wants for Christmas, thus declaring her hatred for her parents forever: Bob Ament wanted an Ice Skating rink, didn’t get one, and has thus declared war on Comptroller Emeritus D’Aurizio.
However, being the expert strategist he is, trying to hide his true anger, he is having his better half throw the punches. Below is the email being distributed by, of all people, Mrs Bobby Ament. I’ll let you read it for yourself, and will extract only one passage that left me tearful and thankful we have such a loyal patriot in our Town.
“The only person who cares is the one NOT on the payroll.”
God bless the Town of Irondequoit. And God Bless Bobby Ament.
Dear Friends, I know that many of you are waiting with baited breath for the installation of Irondequoit 's 2 full size outdoor ice rinks! One was to be dedicated to hockey for our teams who only get 50 minutes per session of ice time at Lakeshore and one for family skate. Bob secured donations for the large portion of the funding required to create the rink (specialty liners and materials). The original location was to be Camp Eastman with a dedicated cabin to serve as a warming hut.
Problem #1: Director of Parks and Rec, Mike Spang, gave Bob incorrect slope information regarding the terrain of Camp Eastman ; it was only when a friend of ours surveyed the land with a highly technical GPS system did we discover the slope was untenable. Then, the plan was to relocate one rink to the land behind Pinegrove Community Center and one to a school property within EICSD.
Problem #2: The Town waited and waited and waited in securing the secondary locations under the domain of Superintendents Crane and Allen.
Problem #3: Because the Director of Parks and Rec, Mike Spang, waited for over two weeks for a response from Home Depot, who was to supply additional materials we are too far behind schedule to build this year, and missed the arctic cold snap to freeze the rinks. The Town of Irondequoit would have had to come up with approximately $1,000. for materials which Home Depot would not cover. So, because of their inaction and inability to pay, our community has no outdoor skating. The Town of Sweden managed to fund a $50,000 ice rink for their community. see D & C article: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100120/NEWS05/1200318/-1/GREECE/New-outdoor-skate-rink-succeeds-at-Sweden-Town-Park)
So, while the town pays roughly $70,000 per month (no typo there) in overtime, they can't manage to find $1,000 for ice rinks which in the past dotted our community. If Mike Spang had not wasted weeks, Bob would have raised the money to move forward and we could all be skating right now. Bob still offered to fund raise the remaining $1,000. as of last week and have the rink installed by last Friday, to no response from the administration. It seems as though the Supervisor who earns $63,000 and the Parks and Rec Director who earns $85,000 don't feel outdoor activity is a priority for our kids. The only person who cares is the one NOT on the payroll.I urge all of you to e-mail or call Director of Parks and Rec Mike Spang and Supervisor Mary Joyce D'Aurizio and tell them that FREE projects for the betterment of our community should be acted upon SWIFTLY. For your convenience, you can feel free to cut and paste the following messageDear Supervisor and Parks & Rec Director:I/We are extremely disappointed in your inaction and lack of commitment to the youth of this community in failing to act on the ice rink project. I/We hope that this will not be repeated in future projects offered to the town.
Their emails are: mjdaurizio@irondequoit.org, mspang@irondequoit.org
Please please please take a minute to do this. It is absolutely unconscionable that our town administration failed to make a few simple phone calls to ensure that our community would have a winter activity for all. Future projects, including library renovations and sports fields are waiting in the wings. These are problems which have plagued the town for decades. They may wither on the vine if you don't let them know you care! As always, you are welcome to forward this onto your friends.
Future posts will be dedicated to topic relevant to this issue, namely:
1) What plant from the woods behind his Pinegrove mansion Bobby must be smoking to make him think this would only cost $1,000?
2) Will Mary Joyce D’Aurizio demand that Bobby return the mixed tape she made for him?
3) Will Mike Spang and Mrs. Bobby Ament face each other down in the six-sided ring of fire?
Stayed tuned, folks and enjoy the (snowy) drive.
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