The Person or the Atmosphere?

Wednesday was an interesting day for the political scene in Worcester.  Two state elected officials resigned from their posts and one local official announced that he was not seeking re-election.  This was great for opinionated people such as myself, but I don't feel the need to pile on as media outlets did.  I am skeptical of these "resignations", because people usually are forced out or fired for similar actions.  However, the condition of our state political landscape doesn't surprise me that it went down the way it did.

Let's start with City Councilor Joe O'Brien's decision to not seek re-election.  This is not as juicy as the other two individuals and it doesn't truly fall into the same category, but there is something here.  The landscape of Worcester politics perplexes me in general because we have a Mayor and a City Manager, both reporting to the City Council.  So, who is really in charge?  I really need somebody to explain that to me one day.  But with regards to Councilor O'Brien, I never really got the sense he wanted to be there.  I mean for his first run on the council he went for the "Top Job", mayor.  Two years later he didn't want to be anymore, and then two years after that he didn't want his councilors seat either.  I commend him for not running and as he put it "letting someone else have the opportunity to serve", but it just seems, to me, that he was there because someone else wanted him there.  I may be wrong, but that's how it looks to me

Let's move on to Rep. John Fresolo.  If the rumors of what happened are true then this was a right call by the state representative.  I know Mr. Fresolo and he has always been nice and cordial to me.  We may not agree on politics but he always responded when needed.  However, that does not give him a pass in this case and he understood that.  If he decided to stay this would have been a black mark on him and as he put it in his resignation he would not have been effective.  If what allegedly happened did happen then he abused his power and to some extent at the cost of the taxpayers, and that is just not right.

Lastly, Lt. Governor Tim Murray's resignation from office to become the head of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce.  Of all three departures, this one will carry on well after he leaves office.  It can be argued what Murray did or did not do for Worcester when he was a city councilor and then Mayor.  But one thing is for sure, is when he got to the State House is where he made his mark, and I am not saying this as a good thing.  He has been mired by controversy for the past several years and his inevitable exit had to come.  I just thought he would just ride off into the sunset after his term was done.  Leaving before that just makes people wonder if there is something he is hiding.  Why does his new job pay twenty five percent more than his predecessor? Just asking.

The issue with these three stories isn't personal integrity, the words politician and integrity rarely collide in the same sentence.  The issue is that the way the legislature is set up, particularly in Massachusetts, it breeds corruption.  In Massachusetts, the previous three Speakers of the House were indicted, and one is currently serving a Federal prison term.  But that is the state of affairs everywhere; nothing gets done because the elected officials don't want it to get done.  They just want you to keep sending them back to be "The Experienced Choice", but politics is such a mess, why do I want to keep sending the same hacks back.  If term limits and balanced budgets aren't requirements of the job, then this will never change.

Rep. Fresolo and Lt. Gov. Murray got too comfortable in their positions.  They felt untouchable, and when someone feels untouchable, they get reckless.  Fresolo took advantage of a per diem system that in all honesty should not exist.  The job requires you to be in Boston on certain days, why should you get extra for it?  When I used to commute to Boston, Hartford, Providence and Saugus I never got extra for it, why should our elected officials?  If the other actions that Fresolo is accused of doing are true, then he should have been fired.  Murray got too greedy when he got into the big boy's seat and he let it spin out of control.  From "assessing storm damage" in the dark at 108 mph, or the fraud with the Chelsea Housing Authority Director, or the campaign fund fraud, his actions are borderline criminal and yet he gets to resign and get a better paying job.  Why Not?  The system is letting him do it.  Bravo!

Maybe Joe O'Brien was getting too comfortable and did not want to go that route any longer.  Maybe.

3D

If you don't take it from, ask my wife.