It’s the middle o’ the month of June, and with it, the kiddies are outta school for the next 8-10 weeks. It’s a lesson in how fast life can git when your having fun. Tempus does fugit, and the older yew git, it’s not whether your having fun, that’s for sure. The Class of 2025 is now out the door and have officially become “alums” as they say these days. Here in the Asylum by the Sea the locals were graduated last week with all the fanfare and pomp that one expecks. And, for good measure, they got some fine weather for it, something that has not been in large supply in these parts.
Sweetie, I remember a lotta wet springs, but this one has to be one of the longest stretches of rainy weather we’ve seen in a loooooong time. Almost every weekend has been wet, and it seems everytime yew look out the portal there is something coming down. There should be no problem with the tomato plants this year, unless more ran gives ‘em rot.
So, yeah, the kiddies are graduated, and going off whilst the rest of the student body preps for its summer vacation, and jest like clockwork, last week we had a reminder of what happens during this time o’ year. Jest when we started to have temps outta the 60s, the local sun worshipers were out in force, not only on the weekends, but during the week. Some even attempted to wade in the Sound. Then it happened. Bacteria levels were “up” forcing the beaches to be closed.
It seems this is a feature of June more than any other. Something like this happened last year around this time. So, the beaches were closed. It was a short closure as these things gen’rally are, but still it’s a reminder.
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With the coming of June, yew knew the political season was gonna git underway. Jest after Memorial Day in odd-numbered years the mayoral season gits underway, and this year was no exception. As expected, Dorinda Keenan Borer put her monicker in for a second term and one does not see too much opposition coming her way.
This is historic as much as anything else. Only twice as the berg rejected a one-term mayor: the first was when Billy Heffernan was ousted in 1973. It didn’t have a thing to do with anything other than the continual food fight that the then Harold Allen faction was having. The entire thing was ginned up, and a good guy got ousted by Bobby Johnson. Johnson went on to have four terms before leaving office. Then a real food fight follyed, and George Dunleavy and Donald Wrinn duked it out, only to have the whole primary nullified over illegal absentee ballots (no some things never change) with a re-do on election day. The second time had to do with incompetence more than anything else. Clemente Evangeliste was ousted after his first term by H. Richard Borer, Jr. after a budget battle that left the city on the short end of a $17 million budget gap, one that was documented, but still got passed by default.
No one expecks that this time. The current Borer is very popular, has governed as a reformer, and now has the grand prize of getting rid of the state review board, known as MARB. That monkey coming off the back of the body politick will be a major plank of her platform Iyam sure.
In fact, it really ain’t a question of much more than who is gonna be the cannon fodder in this next go-round amongst the opposition. Usually, the Demmies are split amongst their tripartite cliques, but over the last two years, Ms. Dorinda has squelched the usual contentiousness we’ve seen for the last 20 years or so. Usually by this time effen anyone even thought of running for the Actors Colony, that name would be floated about and see effen there is any support. That usually happens around Memorial Day.
In the three weeks since, no Demmies have been mentioned as interested in trying to oust Madame Mayor, and no one expecks one, either.
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That leaves whot the GOP is gonna do, and the answer might be “not much.” Sammy Bluejay came around and we were discussing what the party could do – if anything. As Sammy pernted out, last time, they had a strong candidate in Barry Cohen, who jest lost the mayoralty by 30 or so votes in 2021. But the Dorinda steamroller put an end to the GOP’s hope to stop a 32-year drought from the third floor, and Barry left politics. Truth to tell, the GOP in the berg was itself rife with factionalism – still is – and until it gits its ship righted, it’s still gonna flounder.
So, the query remains. Will there be an opponent of any import, or jest a name on a ballot that expecks to git clobbered in the general election. Time will tell, but we ain’t heard of any takers thus far.
As said, the party has taken on some water with (keeping with the ship metaphor) exits from the party and complaints about the current leadership under Dave Riccio. But Dave ain’t the problem anymore than former leaders of the party are a problem. The problem is the culture of the party.
Until the leadership can git the movers and shakers to get together nothin’ will happen. Cohen was a good candidate, love him or hate him, and should have eked out a win in ’21, but it was the party apparatchiks who did the most damage.
Then last time, the party had to spend money it didn’t have on a primary, which turned out to be a three-way race with Cohen coming out on top, beating out Steven Mullins (who has since left the party) and Paige Weinstein (also a expat from the party), who was known by no one.
There have been some attempts to shore up the remainder of the organization. The ninth districk for example is having monthly confabs to cobble support, but not much else is done citywide. Sammy sez he doesn’t expeck much will happen this time around. Even perennial candidates will probably sit this one out cuz of the popularity of the current incumbent. The wondering in the political desert seems to be continuing for the city’s opposition organization.
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Nelly Nuthatch came in and said that effen there are two people who should be smilin’ from ear to ear its Police Commission member John Carrano and former commissioner Ray Collins III. After about five years, the duo finally got what they were workin’ so hard for: the reestablishment of pensions for WHPD hires. Since about 2009 or thereabouts, the police had 401(K) situations and that led to some very bad results.
The switch from pensions was a cost-cutting measure when the city was trying to pare down a recurring shortfall in the budget, but also to recoup some leverage on budget matters. It was a good idea at the time, but it led to bad results. The city was hiring new recruits only to have them trained, on staff for a couple of years and then exiting for other PDs with pensions.
It got to the pernt that the city, which should have about 120-plus on the PD staff were at about 107, and couldn’t retain officers. It was Carrano and Collins who brought the issue to the public in this very papyrus about five years ago, and they worked to overturn the status quo.
The idea did gain traction with the politicos, who saw they were spending a fortune on people, but losing officers monthly.
It took a bit of coaxing with the MARB, but the issue was resolved, and with the new budget the pension is now funded. It’s been a long road, but Carrano and Collins deserve kuodos. We’re sure Chief Joseph Perno is happy he’s got that little tool in his toolbox now.
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With all that’s going on, attention will now turn to July 3 and the fireworks. We ain’t heard of any change in this year’s schedule, and the Fireworks Committee has been putting on fundraisers for much of the year to pay for the event, which brings thousands to town – more than once more than 100,000.
Iyam sure we’ll see the weekend “Fill the Boot” campaigns by the local members of the various fire brigades in topping off the money needed. Already, Cobina’s neighborhood has begun sounding like the Battle of the Marne without the taxicabs, with people popping off their own noisemakers.
Sooo, that will be the next item on the city agenda. Then it turns to the Savin Rock Festival, which we see is already the subject of billboards flashing along I-95. Before yew know it, it’ll be late July and the Back to School sale ads will be in plentitude.
The pernt is, we will have come full circle and tempus does fugit like we said above. The summer is a great time in these parts…too bad it seems like the shortest season!
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,
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