The Beat Goes On…
I’ve been singing all week a Sonny and Cher song, “The Beat Goes On” because that’s all I can think of when watching the City Council meetings.
During last Tuesday’s meeting on October 16, I was eagerly awaiting for the appearance of Columbia Gas’ president, who had been invited by Councilor at-Large Brian De Peña. I could tell there was something wrong because councilors were texting during the Public Participation portion and even during the discussions. People seemed nervous or upset and soon I found out there was a big blow up between De Peña and Council President Kendrys Vasquez.
Councilor De Peña met Stephen Bryant on Monday, October 15 at a meeting with Fr. Joel Almonó and other community leaders. He asked Mr. Bryant if he would be willing to attend the council meeting and when he accepted, Brian rushed to place it on the agenda for the following day as an “emergency” item. The City Charter requires that these last minute items be requested by three councilors; Councilors Ana Levy and Estela Reyes affixed their names to the request.
Several Columbia Gas representatives were at City Hall on time but, when Council President Vasquez found out, he refused to allow them to speak and they were told to leave. He said to Councilor De Peña that he had been disrespectful towards him by putting something on the agenda without consulting with him first.
It was an embarrassing position for Brian before his guests and for us a wasted opportunity to let Columbia Gas know how we feel. The main complain I hear is the lack of information we are getting and we missed the chance to ask them directly. I hope you take the time to read what I wrote on page 17 regarding the real situation that no one talks about. All because the Council President’s ego was hurt!
Selection of the City Attorney
And yes, the beat goes on with the selection of the city attorney. During the last time it was brought up, they tabled it. Last Tuesday, out of the blue, Councilor Marc Laplante requested to bring it out tabled items and the majority agreed. Very quickly, they took a vote for Eileen Bernal’s application and councilors David Abdoo, Estela Reyes, María De La Cruz and Kendrys Vasquez voted YES. Voting NO were Pavel Payano, Jeovanny Rodriguez, Marc Laplante and Ana Levy. It was a tie because Brian DePeña was out of the room so they decided to table it once again.
A big surprise was that Councilor De La Cruz voted for Eileen Bernal when she wholeheartedly supported Brian Corrigan. We could see that Councilor Payano leaned over and told her that she just voted for Eileen and she argued that she did not. She thought the vote was to bring it out of tabled items. I have to wonder if she understands everything that goes on at those meetings.
The next morning Councilor De Peña could be heard on the radio complaining about the refusal to allow Columbia Gas to speak before the council but he didn’t try to fight for something he did correctly. I am willing to bet that if he had not told his guests to leave per order of the council president imposing our right to hear from them, other councilors would have supported him. This is proof that he’s not able to fight his battles in the council.
Even worse is that the council president is taking good lessons from the mayor on becoming a dictator where only his opinion counts.
Like beating a dead horse
Last week, there were people from the Secretary of State’s Office evaluating the personnel in the Elections Department. Let’s wait and see what will be coming out of that.
“Hiring the best qualified.” It sounded so good when Mayor Daniel Rivera said that he would only hire the best qualified candidates for city jobs! Immediately, after taking over in January, we saw his real side. He had a list prepared since Thanksgiving and fired dozens of employees for political reasons. Then, he gave those jobs to friends and campaign contributors.
Remember Andrew Wall? He had been Engineering Assistant for almost 20 years under City Engineer Santo Nicolosi. That position did not require a license which he had not been able to obtain but he had the education, the degree and the experience. He was quickly fired and replaced with (you guessed it) Theodoro Rosario, an agronomist with no idea as to what runs under the pavement.
Last week I wrote about the discombobulated way streets are repaired and worked on. I distinctly remember how the city council used to discuss the order in which that would take place, allowing the utilities to do their part before the paving could be done. He was always available when people called with complaints, going in person (in his own car because there was no such thing as city cars) to inspect the roadway and sidewalk repairs.
Mr. Wall is famous for knowing exactly what runs under our feet. Through the years, he memorized every gas line, electric cable, every pipe and sewer line. Your cannot put a price to that knowledge and politics should never take the place of experience.
Someone reminded me the other day about the infra-red patching trailer like the contractors use that the city bought to help them make better repairs to roads when they dig them up or to fix larger pot holes. I wonder what happened to it. I wonder if they still use it or is collecting dust in some garage. If anyone knows the answer, please let me know.
Turkish flag raising
Don’t forget the Turkish flag raising will be on Sunday, October 28, at two o’clock in front of City Hall.
