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.

Fun Times in Worcester

I've taken the last couple of weeks off from writing because I went on a family vacation.  A nice family road trip down south is definitely a way to relax.  But oh how the tides have turned in our city.  When I left there was uproar over the city council voting to let the City Manager negotiate a host agreement with Mass. Gaming and when I got back there was a new uproar,  the fact that the body of "Suspect #1" was being prepared for burial right here in Worcester, I miss all the good stuff.

I would have had an opinion of the body being in Worcester if I only cared, unfortunately I din't.  I cared about the body being in Worcester just as much if the body were in Cambridge, Brighton, Russia or Burkina Faso. I don't want my lack of caring about it to be misconstrued as a lack of respect of the injured and the deceased, it's not.  I just don't want to give this clown more thought dead than I gave him while he was alive. I prefer to honor the victims by standing behind them and their families as they embark on the road to recovery and the grieving.  Not by protesting a dead body, which does nothing to help the victims and their families move on.

"Suspect #1" should be buried because, as Worcester Police Chief said in his press conference, "We are not Barbarians".  As Central Mass native Charlie Pierce noted in Esquire magazine that bad guys that have died all were all buried.  Boston Strangler Albert DeSalvo was buried, Lee Harvey Oswald was buried, Benito Mussolini was buried, heck, even Adolf Hitler was buried nine times before he was ultimately cremated.  That is just what we as a society do, we bury the dead.

As I read the papers after the protests at the local funeral home began, a new outrage was developing as to the cost of having police officers at the funeral home to keep order and keep the media somewhat at bay.  The number was estimated at roughly $10,000 a day.  Now people are taking the police department to task for the cost.  I can sit here and discuss the cost of police details, but that's not the issue.  Freedom of speech is usually not free, there is typically a cost for these protests and it very rarely goes to the protesters.  So if people wanted to see those costs go away, the protesters needed to pack up and go home.

I am not saying that the protesters were wrong; they should always speak out for what they believe in.  But  in theis case the protests were doing more harm than good.  Harm to a local business man who was just doing the right thing.  Harm to a community that was using its police resources to protect order and being re-allocated from their normal duties.  There are just times when it's just good to walk away and know in your mind that you made the difference.  Now that the body is gone from Worcester let's get back to a more important discussion in Worcester.  To Slot, or not to Slot

3D

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

Boston and Commonwealth Strong

Last Monday is the latest day that will live in infamy.  It was just another day in which I was going about my day.  I had attempted a round of golf in the morning with my father-in-law, and then came home to do some chores in the yard.  My wife was home with the girls and was entertaining them and a friend that had stopped by.  It was a normal day in our house; then, I checked my phone.

Around 3:45 pm I looked at my phone to check e-mails and I poked around Twitter and I was taken aback by what I was reading.  A bomb went off at the Boston Marathon?  At the finish line?  I went into the house and asked my wife if she knew what was going on in Boston.  Her response, "ahhhh, No!”  I put the news on and the news became reality for me.  I immediately began to think about the people that I know that usually take in the Red Sox game and then head over to Boylston Street to catch the finish line of the marathon.  I also thought about the people that received bib numbers from my company, that sponsors about a dozen runners a year. I also thought about friends that went into to Boston to support friends of theirs.  At that point there were two dead and roughly forty injured, I had hoped that was all.

The next few hours and days were a whirlwind to this story because so much misinformation was reported it was tough to keep up with what actually happened.  First, there had been several un-detonated devices found and unarmed, and then there wasn't.  There was a report of up to fifteen dead, and then it was back to two.  Then there was a report of ball bearings used in the bombs, then there wasn't, then there was again.  Then there was the report of a third explosion at JFK Library, then it wasn't an explosion or related.  Finally, was that they had a Saudi National in custody and was a suspect, then he was a person of interest, then he was just being questioned.  Lastly, the "person in question's" apartment was searched and "bags" of stuff were taken out of it.  He was then declared no longer a person of interest.  It was all way too confusing for me, I had to stop watching.

The irresponsible reporting by the media could not overshadow the complete coordinated effort that it took place over the next couple of days to apprehend one of the two suspects responsible for the bombings.  The other suspect was killed in a fire fight with police.  I truly must commend the overall effort it took.  From Governor Deval Patrick, all the way down to the Watertown resident who discovered the suspect was hiding out in his boat, it was very impressive.  There wasn't a time throughout the afternoon on Friday I did not think the authorities had the situation under control.  The press conferences may not have led you to believe that but with the way things were being reported over the previous days could you blame them.

Did the police overreact by locking down everywhere ea st of Watertown?  I can see that argument but I really didn't think so.  It's easy for me to say that now because the decision was successful.  But without the help of that resident in Watertown the situation may not have been resolved as quickly as it was.  It wasn't as if people complained; more people stayed indoors for this request than when there is a major weather event.  That just shows how much the people of Massachusetts wanted the suspect caught.  Watching the people celebrate in the streets after the suspect was caught gave me goose bumps.  It was truly wonderful to watch.

Saturday was a wonderful day in Massachusetts.  Even though the region was still grieving and recovering from Monday's events, there was still a reason to rejoice.  The outpouring of support from across the nation was overwhelming to say the least.  To see the New York Yankees say they were united with Boston just shows you how great a nation we live in.  On the news that morning they showed reaction in stadiums across the country and everyone was truly excited to see that the suspect had been caught.

I cannot state enough how grateful I am to the police, the first responders and volunteers at the Marathon.  It was truly amazing watching people run into harm’s way to aid the injured and get them out of harm’s way.  I have always been a supporter of police officers because they have a job like no other.  This past week they and the entire Commonwealth showed that we are truly #BostonStrong.

If you can please donate to The One Fund at onefundboston.org, and also next year why don't you join me at the 118th running of THE Boston Marathon.

3D

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