Just My Opinion:
In his August 6, 2020 comments to the Lancaster Sun, Lancaster Town Democrat Vice Chair Ron Giza minced very few words. As I understand his comments, those words can be reduced to this paraphrased sentence: "A vote for Wozniak is a vote in support of all that is Ruffino."
The Town Council seat on Tuesday's ballot will determine majority control of the Lancaster Town Council. Therefore, I thank Mr. Giza for his refreshing words of candor; words which will guide my hand when marking my ballot.
During the 2019 campaign for Supervisor, Ron Ruffino represented himself as, and pledged to be, a "fiscal conservative." On election day, Ruffino won the Supervisor's seat by a mere 123 votes; a very tepid "Proceed" to the "most qualified and experienced candidate for Lancaster Supervisor." That victory margin, in my opinion, was hardly a mandate to deviate from his pledge to "fiscal conservatism." In fact, a late November, 2019 poll conducted by the Lancaster Bee suggested that only 43% of Lancaster residents were happy with Mr. Ruffino's election, while a whopping 57% expressed displeasure.
I was pleasantly surprised when Supervisor Ruffino himself seemed to acknowledge the public's discontent when he noted "I need to prove to people that they selected the right person." Those words suggested a humble and appropriate observation which held the hope for a positive future for Lancaster; the perfect teed-up opportunity to functionally assuage the concerns of an ambivalent town.
Regrettably, starting with the first Town Council session under his direction, Supervisor Ruffino seemingly squandered that opportunity. In his conduct as Supervisor, Ron Ruffino has revealed himself to be perceptively arrogant in leadership, contradictory of his previously self-touted conservative credentials, self-serving in his legislative proposals, petty and perhaps highly partisan in his executive appointments, self-indulgent in the privileges of the office, clumsy in his public presentations, awkwardly whiny in self-pitty, and highly temperamental in his interactions with concerned residents.
Leadership that embraces arrogance, elitism, self-interest, and testiness simply does not, and will not, well serve the broad interests of Lancaster as it emerges from the Covid era. In that connection, the Lancaster voters simply can not afford to shrug-off Mr. Ruffino's previous performances.
Mr. Wozniak, the Ruffino-endorsed Democrat candidate for Town Council, lacks a tested legislative record, and it appears that the only significant measure of his "ideology" resides with its compatibility with that of Supervisor Ruffino. In my opinion, Mr. Woziak would not prioritize the role of advocate for the Lancaster taxpayer and resident over the function of Ruffino enabler.
Lancaster does not need another Ron Ruffino "CHUMP," it needs a Ron Ruffino "CHECK."
In light of what might be termed the 2021 budget calamity, and with the Town Council majority at stake, I am voting for Dawn Gaczewski.
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