It may be summer, Felicia, but that don’t mean things in this Vaudeville show we call West Haven ain’t percolating – politico-wise – as it has since we’ve writ this regular missive. In fack, these past couple o’ weeks have been really busy with matters pertaining to the governing class hereabouts.
Sammy Bluejay has been keepin’ busy perched around the Actors Colony, listening in on the recurring saga that is the Rossi Administration v. MARB. After all these years, I won’t bore yew with calling them the Municipal Accountability Review Board, yew should already know that. Tennyrate, things have heated up in the tense relationship betwixt Herroner and the members of the panel. The most recent set-to bein’ the lack of some ethics forms that weren’t signed by a significant number (10 percent) of the municipal employees.
Interestingly enuff, Sammy noted that the same excuse given for the lack of the materials was somehow given for this. The information was available and sent, but not forwarded to the MARB. This is a similar scenario given about at least two other things in the past few months, one concerning the auditing firm that resigned in situ, and the police pension revision and budget that MARB said showed a deficit.
Sammy noted that maybe his friends the carrier pigeons would be more effective in getting things to the various offices, cuz it seems that somewhere between City Hall and said offices, things go missing.
Needless to say, the MARB, which has been flexing its powers since the city got the dubious honor of being the first in the state to go Tier IV, wasn’t havin’ any and is now talking about encouraging the Legislature to impose some sanctions against our fair city. Now, Cobina ain’t a big fan of the MARB and thinks the whole Tier IV thing is just bureaucrats wanting more control, but with the agendas of the meetings being sent out ahead of time, wouldn’t it behoove someone in the Actors Colony to make sure that things are completed – at least insofar as the records requested are concerned?
The thing is, says Sammy, not only doesn’t the MARB show any respect for the city, it is now of the opinion – not said but it doesn’t hafta be – that our people are non compos. That’s a Latin phrase, sweets. Loosely translated, incompetent.
Meanwhile, MARB members have stated it’s their goal to change the culture around the Actors Colony, and methinks they are going to do it or die trying. The next few months might be fun to watch as the penel members seems to have reached the end of their tether, and Herroner is miffed by the way she and the city are treated. Get the popcorn, it’ll be an interesting few weeks.
~~~
Nelly Nuthatch brought this into Cobina and whilst she is impressed by the sentiment regarding the stance taken, the use of buzzwords to diminish the opposition is not a good look. I am referring to the latest kerfuffle between Trenee McGee, the sitting rep of the 116th Assembly District and her challenger Joe Miller.
Kudos to McGee, foistly, for bucking the Democratic Party and voting against the abortion bill that the General Assembly passed and was signed by Ned Lamont. She spoke eloquently and forcefully about what the evil has done to the African-American community. Miller, is on the other side, interestingly, jest like one would expeck of a white liberal.
Where McGee went wrong – and this ain’t the foist time she has fallen into this – is she called Miller a “supremacist.” Huh? She didn’t say “Joe Miller is a supremacist,” but the context of her comments were abundantly clear. It’s a low blow and what they like to call an “unforced error.” Nope. It’s dirty politics meant to shut someone up and belongs nowhere in a civil society.
What methinks went on is the lady determined she was takin’ an unpopular (in her party) stance on the issue, and had to maintain her woke bona fides by using silly buzzwords like “supremacist.” She should be roundly booed for this, and, in a saner world, lose some credibility. Don’t hold yore breath waiting for that to happen.
~~~
Then, Iva Lootey came in with this nugget about Barry Lee Cohen and his attorney asking the judge in his recent lawsuit to reconsider her verdict. To recap: she agreed there were multiple problems with the way absentee ballots were handled, and had some strong words in her decision, but she only moved on nine ballots rather than 14 more, which would have put the entire isshew in another realm. There’s a bit difference between 21 ballots off and less than 10. The request is to add into the number those other ballots, which probably changes the calculus of any appeals of the ruling going forward.
As Iva and I were talking, I reminded him what Cobina said about the ruling when the decision came down: the judge punted. She found all kinds of things wrong, but wouldn’t tread into the territory of calling for a new election. Courts hate to do that.
As of this writing she ain’t made a decision, but it could come down by the time yew git this missive. Remember the entire election hinged on 32 votes by a relative newcomer to the political scene – and a Republican on top of it. But, the fack the city came into the news about fraudulent use of federal Covid money just months before, labels – party labels – kind of became non-issues in many people’s mind.
~~~
And Madame Olga passe this way on the day that former State Rep. Michael DiMassa’s wife pled guilty to a lesser count of wire fraud, and admitted in court that she took money and gave it to her husband. This portends an interesting situation.
Honey bunch, that’s the second guilty plea by my count. John Bernardo pled guilty and is set to be sentenced in late September, now the Mrs. is a convicted felon and will be sentenced at a later date. One wonders when DiMassa himself is gonna plead out hoping that he won’t be a guest of the federal government in one of its secure facilities for a very long time?
That’s usually the way these investigations work with the FBI getting all its smaller fish netted, hoping to get the big fish. And, it’s lookin’ more and more like they are counting DiMassa as the “big fish.” I still am sad about this, Felicia. Setch a promising individual with soooo much to offer, and somehow, somewhere, things went amiss. He lost his positions, his job, his reputation. Was it all worth it?
He still has to face the bar of justice in court and his trial is ready to begin, but it ain’t looking good unless they have some info not heard about in the last year or so.
~~~
You can’t make this up. The need for a new Allingtown Library has been an issue in the borough for two or three years – at least since before Covid, when the former site at the old Forest School building was vacated when new owners took over. Now we hear the Village Improvement Association has come up with a plan where they are gonna build a building and have, more or less, committed to same.
As luck would have it, word came down that CVS in Allingtown is ready to move out of its building, and that might be a perfect location for a new Allingtown library. Not sure what the VIA is gonna do, or if it’s interested in that site, but effen it can switch gears legally, that might be the place to put the facility. Plenty o’ space and more than 50 parking spaces is a win-win. We shall see what transpires. Nothing in this burg is ever easy.
~~~
In the good news department, it was nice to see the members of the Sandy Point Association and members of the Vertical Church getting together to freshen up the area around the Point. People getting involved in setch projects is jest such a nice change of pace from the usual nonsense we hafta talk about on a regular basis. Tennyrate, kudos to those people for their good work, and care for our city.
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,