Sucking us dry

[Jim Ostrowski]

The machine is slated to install Francis G. Warthling as the new commissioner of the Erie County Water Authority. Under normal circumstances, I would favor a man with good business experience, but he's also the head of the Lackawanna Democratic Party. That means he has helped install officials who run a bloated political machine there. It also means he'll maintain the status quo at the Authority: political patronage and high water rates and huge sums to local law firms for churning legal fees.

Call your legislators! They are meeting at 2pm today.

http://www.erie.gov/legislature/legislators.asp

[Jim Ostrowski]

No one cares?

This is actually important.

The News just reported that we have higher water rates than desertous Arizona.

[BigGuy]

It is easy to stand outside and rail against the status quo.

How will your only succesful candidate, Ms. Locklear, vote on this appointment?

I agree with the numerous prior comments that you just like to see your name in print. Style, no substance.

Offer an alternative, Mr. Free Buffalo. Otherwise your voice is, in reality, lost in the wind.

Well done is beter than well said.

[steven]

Well done is beter than well said.

Im warning you in advance. I plan to steal that line .

[WNYresident]

Well spell better correctly though Steven. HA... Look who's talking.

[Jim Ostrowski]

"It is easy to stand outside and rail against the status quo."

No, it's not. It's easy to be a hack and make good money taking orders from the political boss.

"How will your only successful candidate, Ms. Locklear, vote on this appointment?"

Another canard. 20-25 officials lost or retired last year.

"I agree with the numerous prior comments that you just like to see your name in print. Style, no substance."

Gratuitous insults = intellectual bankruptcy, and anonymously delivered bespeak cowardice as well.

We've published 11 studies in our first under funded year, far more work products than the Partnership and Control Board whose total budget is $4.4M

"Offer an alternative, Mr. Free Buffalo. Otherwise your voice is, in reality, lost in the wind."

Wrong again. I wrote a report explaining why authorities don't work and recommending alternatives.

"Well done is beter than well said."

What have you done?

[Jim Ostrowski]

The News recently reported that our water costs more than Arizona's, a desert.

Today, the County Legislature appointed the least qualified of three men seeking to be appointed to the Water Authority.

No one mentioned that he was chair of the Lackawanna Democratic Party and a heavy political contributor.

This was clearly a vote for the status quo at the Authority, a political patronage pit which has expensive lawyers in house and out house.

I never heard so much nonsense in my life. Tim Kennedy said he voted for the machine candidate because he called him up, never mentioning the $100 donation he had received from Mr. Warthling.

Credit goes to Kathy Konst, Cynthia Locklear and Damon Smith for opposing the nomination.

Lynn Marinelli suggested that the legislature's discretion was limited by state law. Attorney Locklear corrected her, correctly. Since all nominees were Democrats, any legislator could have voted for any one of them.

The following Democrats endorsed Warthling and betrayed the ratepayers:

Marinelli, Kennedy, Ianello, Kozub, Reynolds, Mazur, Whyte, and Loughran.

Maria Whyte is a real hypocrite. She represents a racially-mixed district. She boasts of her commitment to "racial justice." She was endorsed by Western New York Hispanics and Friends, Women's TAP Fund, and Stonewall Democrats of Western New York. And she passed a resolution in honor of a "diversity" event the same day she voted against highly-qualified lawyer John Elmore, who would have added real diversity to the Authority.

A sorry performance overall, reinforcing my belief that we should abolish the county legislature and substitute a modified board of supervisors.

[count alucard]

Sorry Jim, but a huge majority of voters are very suspicious of lawyers and Elmore is a lawyer. He may be a great guy but people rank lawyers right up there with used car salesmen and strip club owners. All the candidates suck. Just another reason why Authorities should be dismantled. Jim, I believe you have been pounding the drum on that one.

__________________________________________________ _______________

The count says:

"It's better to look forward than backward."

[steven]

would be nice to have real engineers on the water board and not just political hacks.

[WNYresident]

Who was the other left over politician that got an engineering position over there? Come people... lets think back... [errie music........] Kuwik?

[Jim Ostrowski]

What can I say? I've been a harsh critic of lawyers and judges (see my book), and also a defender of them (see my book). That topic is too vast to broach here.

Bottom line: Elmore was defeated not because he was a lawyer, but because the machine can't tolerate somone they don't control. Elmore owed them no favors.

Ironically, many law firms have gotten rich from the Authority's patronage regime, so the way to "stick it to the lawyers" was to name a reformer like Elmore.

[count alucard]

What has Elmore done in the name of reform? I will say that Jim Ostrowski is a reformer even though I don't agree with him all of the time. Sometimes I think he's out in left field, way out in left field. Elmore has always seemed to be part of the legal establishment. Just the image he presents. If reform is representing high profile pieces of ****, then he's a reformer.

[Jim Ostrowski]

Informal poll:

Did anyone call or email your legislator about this issue as a result of my post?

[Chris in Parkside]

Informal poll:

Did anyone call or email your legislator about this issue as a result of my post?

I called and emailed Lynn Marinelli but not because of your post. Is that an option?

[Jim Ostrowski]

Thanks. The truth is, this Water Authority appointment was really important, but only one person on this site took action. Well, two if you count me.

Keyboard activists?