It’s not about politics

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.