Two top lieutenants in the Newton Police Department, who were part of the controversial investigation into a former chief’s secretary, cleaned out their offices and unexpectedly left this week, Deirdre Fernandes reports for Boston.com
[Chief Howard] Mintz said he wasn’t expecting their departures, “not the way it unfolded.”
Police department seems to be in shambles. Several embarrassing moments this past year. Not forgetting about a $600,000 lawsuit pending.
Are you really running for mayor this year? What would you propose to do about the “shambles”?
Max, it’s not just the police. Look at Craig Manseau, Dolores Hamilton, the building dept heads. Should I go on?
As far as your question as to am I running, yet. I’m collecting signatures and sometime near the 4th of July I will be more definitive.
As far as what I would propose, I think a turnover of leadership would resolve whatever problem(s) is/are going on. I told the Mayor several years ago that the city employees were unhappy and he poo-poo’d it. I wouldn’t give him names and I still won’t, but he ignored my comments and did nothing.
Since Craig Manseau is gone, I can say he was one of them. He felt like the Mayor threw him under the bus in the Jonathan Yeo decision. Respect goes 2 ways.
Tom, I’m pushing you on this thread because I think you’ve opened a big subject in what matters to Newton in the next few years. By turnover of leadership, do you mean Chief Mintz, or Mayor Warren?
Max,
I am referring to the administration (Mayor Warren).
Tom,
As a rank and file member of the department I know for a fact you haven’t spoken to many, if any, of us. Please do not post that the department is “in shambles” when you are an outsider looking in.
Many in the department are proud of the work we do, and are looking past these moments, not back. We cannot, and should not be judged by a few incidents. A department in “shambles” would not continue to operate as effectively as our rank and file have.
RankAndFile, are you referring to the Framingham Five’s Egg-Cellent Adventures?
Or are you referring to Former Chief Cummings’ contretemps?
Are you referring to Jeanne Sweeney Mooney’s $600K+ lawsuit against the city?
Or are you referring to Vincent Nygren’s Sweetheart Deals at Stop & Shop?
Your department is getting $500K/year from the recent override package. At what point will the $1M/year that is spent on overtime pay be reduced, since your department will be getting more people?
The reason why Shrewsbury has less crime than Newton even though Newton’s per capita spending in the police department is greater than Shrewsbury’s is twofold:
1. Newton police get more money than Hingham police
2. Shrewsbury police don’t spent their time egging houses, kicking their secretaries or stealing meat from Stop & Shop
I can conclude that the Newton Police Department offers Newton taxpayers the same lousy deal that the Newton Public Schools offers Newton residents in relation to Shrewsbury’s police and school operations.
Compared to Shrewsbury taxpayers, Newton taxpayers pay more for less when it comes to police services, just like with public education. And we pay enough already. We pay a lot of taxes and quite frankly ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/specials/snapshot/snapshot_mass_police_budget_2011/
Wow. Just – wow. And I can conclude that you have really outdone yourself with this one. Good luck to you.
Maybe not in shambles… buy why are so many commissioners or department heads gone (and some cases not replaced) already?
Warren Administration casualties:
Michael Kruse, planning department commissioner
Beverly Droz, volunteer services
Joseph LaCroix, fire chief (retired)
Matt Cummings, police chief
Craig Manseau, elections department secretary (retired)
Stephanie Gilman, public buildings commissioner
Rositha Durham, purchasing director
Nancy Forrester, director of performance management
former CIO (don’t have his name)
Janet, I think our “rock-star mayor” has fallen in love with himself.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x1775209832/Spector-Is-Newtons-rock-star-Mayor-Setti-Warren-going-to-leave-us
It wasn’t my newspaper/blog that dubbed Setti Warren as “Newton’s rock-star mayor”
Then again, it wasn’t my newspaper/blog that endorsed him for Mayor instead of Bill Heck.
Also, do you know who this “Tricia” character is? I don’t think anyone outside the Reibman blogosphere knows who “Tricia” is and I’m not sure many people from the Reibman blogosphere know who “Tricia” is either.
Tricia has a history of being one the most active parents in the Newton school system. If you’re a teacher and one of her kids is in your class, you have a parent who is ready and willing to go above and beyond to help out whenever there’s a need. The reason you don’t know her is because she contributes her time and energy without fanfare or calling attention to herself. She’s also incredibly smart.
Joshua, Do you insist upon knowing the full legal name of every person on the blogs? The “rules of the sandbox” permit people to blog here and at the NewtonTab using either their real names or a pseudonym and, as I have now tried explained to you on several different threads, there is a great history in this country of anonymous political speech. (Have you ever read “The Federalist Papers”?) It is far more productive to respond to the content of a post than to obsess over who is doing the posting.
Lisap, when a semi-anonymous character like Tricia, Hoss or Terry Malloy engages in Alinskyite ridicule towards me, then yes I do.
I understand that there is a great history in this country of anonymous political speech. Considering Tricia’s worldview is of the same worldview of the current ruling class, she has no need to hide who she is.
As for responding to the content of her posts, I shouldn’t have to respond to every little non-sequitur that she throws up lest it seem like I’m refusing to answer what she says.
Joshua, it isn’t for you to decide whether someone needs to use a pseudonym or not. If you choose to engage with posters who use pseudonyms then you really can’t cry “foul” and start demanding a public outing of who people are.
Two jokers:
Tom Sheff said, “I think a turnover of leadership would resolve WHATEVER problem(s) is/are going on.”
Said without knowing if or what problems there may be. Sloppy logic and rhetoric for a guy who’s thinking of running for mayor. With Hess-Mahan in the race, is there any good reason for Sheff to run?
Joshua Norman uses Shrewsbury as his benchmark? What’s with this guy? Shrewsbury? Hingham? Those towns are a quarter of the size of Newton, with completely different demographics. What kind of analysis is this? Cherrypick the towns that work best to fulfill your goals?
What a couple of jokers
Charley M, I compare Newton against Hingham and Shrewsbury because those towns do a better job providing public services than Newton and do it for less money. Furthermore, those towns also show how the bureaucratic socialist model of more taxes, more spending and more borrowing doesn’t work.
Newton taxpayers pay more for less and we pay enough. Newton taxpayers have paid for new schools, we’ve paid for buildings, we’ve paid for roads and we’ve paid for streets and sidewalks but the city has spent this money elsewhere. That is true, they have spent the money elsewhere. My group and I opposed the recent override package because we believe that we should take the money we spending elsewhere and use the money from elsewhere for the schools, the buildings, the roads and the streets and sidewalks because in a $331M general fund budget the money is there. Overrides are a poor remedy for poor fiscal management and poor stewardship of assets.
Joshua, you have no idea what my worldview is, or whether it matches the “ruling class”, whatever that is. You may find this hard to believe, but there is more to life – in this little city and beyond – than local politics, newspapers, and blogs, and my decision to comment under my first name only has nothing to do with a “need to hide” from anything or anyone. When I began commenting over on the TAB blog 6 or 7 years ago, it was actually on the same topic you’re on about over there now – Special Education. And since I am actually a real person with real children, I chose not to use my last name to protect their privacy. As to who knows me in this little blogosphere, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve met many, if not most, IRL, whether at a blog night out, working on a campaign, holding signs on election day, over coffee, on a baseball or soccer field or at a hockey rink, at church, at Star Market, or at my post in the damn Blue Zone in the rain. I’m easy to find.
Thanks Jane and LisaP – we single-namers have to stick together ;)!
Jane, LisaP and Tricia,
I’m happy to have met all of you.
Gail
Tricia, you supported the three extravagantly expensive tax increases that Newton’s ruling class foisted on its population recently.
I agree that there is more to life – in this little city and beyond – than local politics, newspapers, and blogs, unfortunately you need to tell that to the Newton Democratic City Committee, not me. It’s not me who seeks to be an officious busy-body and meddling in people’s affairs. Unfortunately I can’t say the same thing about the NDCC and its membership.
Last I checked, it was the NDCC’s membership that has stuck Newton residents with ~$23M/year in property tax increases over and above Prop 2.5
Last I checked, it was the NDCC’s membership that stuck Newton residents with a 1% Tax surcharge for the CPA Program
Last I checked, it was NDCC members in the state house that want to stick Newton residents with another 1% Tax surcharge for the MIIA Program
Last I checked, it was NDCC members like Ted Hess-Mahan who want to ban leaf blowers
Last I checked, it was NDCC members like Ted Hess-Mahan and Stephen Linsky who wanted to bring Abdul Aziz Naji to Newton
Last I checked, it was NDCC members like Ward 7 Democrat Boss Lisle Baker and his cronies who led the opposition against naming rights
Last I checked, it was the NDCC dominated Board of Aldermen and School Committee that rammed Newton North down the throats of Newton residents
Last I checked, it was NDCC members like RuthAnne Fuller and Alison Leary who want to sock Newton residents with PAYT
Last I checked, it was NDCC members like Cindy Creem that are pushing to expand the bottle bill and stick businesses with more unfunded mandates.
If anything, while I have no interest in politics, it appears that the membership of the Newton Democratic City Committee eats, sleeps and breathes politics and they are the ones who seek to rule and dominate Newton residents and voters.
@Josh:
Last I checked, the NDCC does not hold a gun to voters’ heads when they decide how to vote.
Also, last I checked my blood pressure was normal (a little low actually). Not so sure about you. You seem to have a lot of pent up angst. Perhaps you need to take a few days off. I think I’ve found just the place.
Maybe they even offer “group” rates!
I’m sorry to see Eddie Aucoin leaving the force. He’s a class act.
Josh- I’m not sure that my criticism or disagreements in past threads can be described as “Alinskyite ridicule” but I appreciate the colorful language.
I second Trish’s comments.
It’s hard to believe but in a town of 85,000 there are only so many big mouths like us and eventually we find each other and it’s so much more rewarding knowing who we’re wrasslin’ with!
I am surprised that the city solicitor is still working for Newton. With all that has gone on with the trial in Framingham and the jury took less than 1/2 hour to find this woman not guilty and the solicitor is the person advising the Mayor to g forward ,something is wrong. Things might have been different for the Mayor if he put his own people in these position.
Joshua – I had never heard of Alinsky so I just scrambled to Wikipedia to educate myself. The quote below struck me as uncannily reminiscent of your recent posts.
Says Alinsky – “[t]he job of the organizer is to maneuver and bait the establishment (aka “the ruling class”) so that it will publicly attack him as a ‘dangerous enemy”.
Have you been studying up on community organizing?
Joshua,
Just like it would probably not be accurate to assume that all of the people in “your group” think alike, it’s not accurate to paint all members of NDCC with one brush. For example, I suspect many disagreed with Ted Hess-Mahan’s proposal to ban leaf blowers. (If they hadn’t, it would have passed the Board of Aldermen.) And certainly there were members who were in favor of naming rights.
You are condemning all Democrats. Why don’t you just come out and say that? In fact, why don’t you acknowledge that instead of what will probably be your next move: attacking me for whatever you can find on wickedlocalnewton.com when I was editor of the TAB?
BTW, the TAB didn’t call Setti Warren a rock star mayor. I did, in an opinion column, under my own byline. I dubbed him that because of all the press and attention he got when he was elected.
Oh, I see what you did there, jumping from me to the last override to “the ruling class” to the NDCC, so you could change the topic and go on an off-topic anti-NDCC tangent. Only problem is that last I checked, I am not a member of the NDCC. Or even the Democratic Party. (And when I opposed the 2008 override, I wasn’t a member of the NRCC, or the Republican Party.)
Gail, my group isn’t the one forcing people to do things that they don’t want to do. If NDCC members wanted to pay tax surcharges for “open space” , infrastructure, garbage disposal, grocery bags, beverage bottles
The people who made up Moving Newton Forward With Fiscal Responsibility as well as those who will be compromising the new Newton Taxpayers Association have no objection to those who want to pay more taxes. Our outgoing President actually took it upon himself to show those who wanted to pay more in taxes precisely how to do so without bothering the rest of us into paying more money.
If anything, I think the MNF alumni as well as the past and present membership of the Newton Taxpayers Association is more liberal than the NDCC since we have a more live and let live attitude towards our fellow Newton residents. We just don’t take kindly to the bureaucratic socialist model of more taxes, spending, borrowing and government control nor do we take kindly to arrogant former aldermen like Brooke Lipsitt downgrading and belittling Newton residents’ knowledge of fiscal affairs.
Gail, the membership of the Newton Democratic City Committee has had an iron grip over Newton’s government affairs. They own the mess that they made.
If you hadn’t wrote “It’s time to get over Newton North”, I would have had absolutely no problem with your support of NDCC projects such as Newton North and the 2008 override. Even so, I don’t feel the need to go back and see what else you supported, unless I feel like buying a portion of Gatehouse Media’s term loan from Wells Fargo and helping to generate clicks in order for GHSE to generate advertising revenue to service the debt.
Then why do you keep bringing up the Greg Reibman’s and the TAB’s support for Newton North and the 2008 override as well? Greg didn’t write, “It’s time to get over Newton North.”
Greg, I’m a third generation Newton resident, why should I have to leave Newton?
I don’t have to have the biggest group. I’m happy with the people I currently have. You will be hearing more about us over the next few months. We’re meeting on Sunday June 30th. Besides Bill Heck and I, I recruited a few people by reaching out to them after reading their Letters to the Editor in the TAB.
I am torn between telling you who I have in order to shut you up and not blowing the element of surprise. All you need to know right now is if I decided I didn’t want to be the new President of the Newton Taxpayers Association, I could be Vice President and I have someone who would do a comparable or better job than I as President.
Tricia, I have no way to verify your supposed opposition to the 2008 override. As for Democrats opposing the 2008 override, they only opposed it because they didn’t like David Cohen and they were worried that Cohen was the NDCC’s Captain Ahab. As for the NRCC, I’m actually surprised that there were ~4,500 registered Republicans in Newton. I would have thought it would have been much lower.
Gail, my only issue with Greg supporting the 2008 override and Newton North was because as head of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce, he was instrumental in getting the Chamber of Commerce to back the 2013 override.
Also, I took issue with his lamenting where are Newton’s next generation of leaders even though you and him used the TAB to promote old guard members of the NDCC instead of reformers like Olivia Mathews and Bill Heck.
“[i]f I decided I didn’t want to be the new President of the Newton Taxpayers Association, I could be Vice President”
A local taxpayer organization where members pay no local tax? Now, there’s a movement embracing diversity
I pay plenty of local tax every month as part of my rent thank you. Plus I pay automobile excise tax and meals tax directly as well.
Why are you giving me grief for being a renter who opposed property tax increases when you didn’t give Ed Prisby grief for being a renter who supported the 2008 override?
http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/newton/2007/07/25/do-you-favor-metco-in-newton/#comment-5391
And why am I arguing with a sockpuppet named Hoss?
There is likely value in finding that answer.
Hoss – It was many years ago that we dropped the idea of land owners having more democratic rights than others.
And here we have yet another hijacked blog topic.
Unless you actually work inside the NPD, you have NO IDEA what the climate and morale is within it.
Speculation leads nowhere and only results in unfounded rumor and innuendo.
@Gail – thank you, and likewise.
Jerry Reilly – If there is a “Newton Taxpayer Association” already existing, why would for credibility reasons the title not be meaningful? I don’t for a moment believe this is a serious club.
Hoss, I think I know why I’m argue with anonymous sockpuppet trolls like yourself. Sometimes it amuses me. And sometimes its annoying. At the very least, I can reinforce my arguments by testing it out on trolls like you.
You can bet we’re a serious group, and you can bet that this will be the last override that passes in Newton. Ted Hess-Mahan’s friends made the 2002 override a referendum on Hategate, Seideman/Fahey/Norton made the 2008 override about being angry at David Cohen and made the 2013 override into a referendum on Setti. I’ll make the 2018 override about do we want to pay more taxes to underwrite more compensation or if we want to take the money spent elsewhere and use the money from elsewhere to fund infrastructure.
And you still didn’t answer why are you giving me grief for being a renter who opposed property tax increases when you didn’t give Ed Prisby grief for being a renter who supported the 2008 override?
http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/newton/2007/07/25/do-you-favor-metco-in-newton/#comment-5391
So you were testing people about being president or vice president? Why are you doing this to yourself?
“So you were testing people about being president or vice president?”
I’m not testing anyone about that (nor trying to for that matter). I can choose to be the president of the new and improved Newton Taxpayers Association or I can be the vice president. It was my idea for the Moving Newton Forward With Fiscal Responsibility membership to dissolve the ballot action committee and to continue our efforts towards grassroots fiscal reform activism as part of the Newton Taxpayers Association.
It was Greg Reibman who was trying to test me because he thought that I was the only person in my group. My former colleagues from MNF informed me about Greg during the override campaign so I’m not surprised at his nasty attitude towards me since March. I was amused at Greg and Ted Hess-Mahan making personal comments about me while lecturing me on civility.
And you still didn’t answer why are you giving me grief for being a renter who opposed property tax increases when you didn’t give Ed Prisby grief for being a renter who supported the 2008 override?
Rank and file,
First of all, I want to thank you and your brothers and sisters for doing the job you do. Second, you have to understand that whether the problems are with just 3 or 4 members of the force or not, most people (outsiders) will think it’s normal in the force. I don’t believe you can argue that behavior like that negatively impacts the force and slightly jeopardizes the safety of the citizens by taking away focus on protecting and serving. Did any repercussions happen to the officers that threw eggs?
CharleyM, I’m in this race, because I have a different view of the city that needs representation. As you will see (assuming I do commit)I have ideas that even you would be happy with:). I come with guns blazing:).
What TWT said.
The home page of the Newton Taxpayers Association website has a section for the “Latest News”. The last entry was October 2005. Guess not much has happened in the city in the last eight years.
Jane. don’t worry about that. That is but one of many items that we will be discussing at our next meeting.
Joshua, people who post under pseudonyms are neither sock puppets nor internet trolls. YOU need to learn some online manners and terminology before hurling insults at people who have been blogging in Newton for a great many years, and probably well before you even knew how to spell “local tax”. You clearly have some good contributions to make to public discourse but you completely belittle your own positions when you start name calling.
@Joshua Norman: These links should get you off to a good start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_%28Internet%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29
Lisap, I don’t engage in name calling. But Greg has, Hoss has, Tricia has, Ted Hess-Mahan has, Gail has and you just did. I’m displeased that people on Village 14 demand I engage in civility while they are hurling opprobriums at me.
The fellow doth protest too much, me thinks. Accusing others of sock puppetry and trolling is name calling. Calling you out for doing that isn’t the same thing. Such a pity you fail to appreciate the difference. As to holding you to a higher standard of civility, may I remind you that you made yourself the public face of Move Newton Forward, and I trust that you plan to continue your efforts to influence public opinion. If that is so, then how YOU behave, including how you post on the blogs, is going to effect both negatively and positively how people respond to your views. Putting oneself into the public sphere is for neither the faint of heart nor the thin skinned.
Lisap,
I’m not defending Joshua, he’s capable of doing that all by himself, but people have used pseudonyms to attack me on village14 and the Tab. It happens…not often, but it happens. And when you put yourself out there trying to make a contribution to the city and some person who is clearly wrong on the drivel they write tries to make you look bad, it feels bad and it sux.
Tom Sheff — You made accusations about the motivations of a certain pro-override committee member and a suggested deal made between Newton’s Mayor and his daughter. Seeing that, would anyone care about your sensitivities?
Lisap, you engaged in insults yourself by saying that “people who have been blogging in Newton for a great many years, and probably well before you even knew how to spell “local tax”.”
I’m actually kind of amused at how you and your crew feel you have the right to engage in dishonesty, hypocrisy and inconsistent standards. Thanks for clearing it up for me. According to Lisap, people who advocate for more taxes and spending are allowed to use any means necessary in order to justify the end-game while people who advocate for fiscal responsibility are obligated to Turn the Other Cheek.
As for being the public face of Moving Newton Forward With Fiscal Responsibility, I was the most moderate and progressive and thoughtful member of that group. If you have a problem with my ideas and observations, perhaps you’d like to chat with Bill Heck. However, you will find him to be much less patient than I. My ideas are a lot more moderate than what Dan Fahey was proposing in 2008-2009. He was calling for compensation/benefit cuts, reducing METCO etc.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/lifestyle/columnists/x426329426/Fahey-Is-a-Newton-employee-wage-freeze-enough#axzz2VUI7Hti5
I’m trying so hard not to waste my time on this discussion but I just can’t help myself with this one. I have no idea how moderate you are Joshua, but I’ll take your word for it. Progressive? We’ll put that one aside for now. But the most thoughtful member of a group that includes Bill Heck? I am not insulting you here, but I don’t see how you can say that about Bill. Please answer this without insulting me or commenting that the TAB didn’t endorse Bill (which would have nothing to do with my question). In fact, how can you call yourself more thoughtful than anyone else in your group?
Thanks in advance for your thoughtful response.
Geez Hoss, how do you like that. You know who I am, but I have no clue who you are. When I made those comments I atleast have the guts to use my own name. You now have the opportunity to use it against me, who are you?
BTW: The incident with the pseudonym that I was referring to wasn’t you.
Oh? Here’s one of your classics, a trifecta of name-calling: flip-flopping mealy mouthed old fraud
LisaP just called you a name? Is it one only you could hear, because I don’t see anything. I know I haven’t called you any names. Looking through this entire thread, I don’t see where anyone else you mentioned did either.
Hoss, I think I said it best when I said that Tom wins the Stuff That is Prematurely True Award. I’m amazed at his prescient observation about Lia Fahey’s aldermanic campaign. two months before she announced it. I’ve had conversations with both Lia and Dan and although Lia is not Dan’s biological child, she really takes after her father. She is truly daddy’s little girl and will always be so.
http://village14.com/netwon-ma/2013/05/3rd-candidate-lia-fahey-enters-newtons-ward-2-contest/#axzz2WZzYgyWW
I do not envy Setti & Tassy Warren’s choice for Ward 2 Alderman when they votes in September just like all of Ward 2’s residents.
Are they enthusiastic about Emily (Norton), who is the Ward 2 Democrat Chairperson and has positive relations with both factions of the Newton Democratic City Committee and was a well-known 2008 override opponent who supported the 2013 override?
Or does they like Lia (Fahey), who may be a Republican but whose father went from leading the 2008 anti-override to pushing the 2013 override even though the things that made him oppose the 2008 have only been exacerbated five years later?
Do they back Jack (Leader), who is another Ward 2 Democrat, who is serving on his Economic Development Commission and who supported the 2013 override?
Or is it All About Eve (Tapper), who served as his Chief Planner and is backed by old-guard Democrats like Brooke Lipsitt and Jonathan Yeo
Joshua – if that is what you consider insulting then you have either a very broad definition of what is an insult, or a very thin skin. Your sensitivities are duly noted. As for what I believe or do not believe, you would do well to avoid making collective assumptions when you know neither how I think nor how I vote. If you will recall, I offered to sit down with you and any other candidate interested in gaining some insight into special education since it is an area of law in which I have significant expertise. You may consider that offer rescinded. Best of luck.
Tricia, I wasn’t naming calling, I was speaking truth. Fahey was a flip-flopper. When I asked him about it, he was so unwilling to state facts or opinions simply and directly that it bordered on outright dishonesty.
Here’s Ted Hess-Mahan’s remarks.
http://village14.com/netwon-ma/2013/05/legislating-maintenance-of-private-property/#comment-33396
And Lisap engaged in insults by saying that “people who have been blogging in Newton for a great many years, and probably well before you even knew how to spell “local tax”.” She was disparaging my knowledge of local affairs.
Lisap, you made that offer to Tom not me. Besides, I already have two people who can provide advice and counsel to me and unlike you, I know who they are.
Oh for goodness sakes, Joshua, your lack of self-awareness is mind-boggling. You did not point out what you believed to be errors of fact or opinion, you called him a “mealy mouthed old fraud.” Whether you believe it to be true or not is irrelevant. If I were to call someone a self-aggrandizing, bombastic blow-hard, it would be name-calling even if I believed it to be true with every fiber of my being. And one post later you again go personal, referring to a 20-something women as “daddy’s little girl”?
Tricia, you engaged in disparaging comments by comparing my analytical skills to manipulating spreadsheet columns.
Greg made disparaging remarks by comparing me to Joe McCarthy and saying that I held and enforced litmus tests
http://village14.com/netwon-ma/2013/05/legislating-maintenance-of-private-property/#comment-33380
Joshua boldly stated, “. I’ve had conversations with both Lia and Dan and although Lia is not Dan’s biological child, she really takes after her father. She is truly daddy’s little girl and will always be so.
To attribute that you and I have had conversations is a huge stretch, Joshua. We spoke for two minutes at a going away party for Melanie Graham, and at your initiation emailed back and forth about my possibly becoming engaged in your city efforts, which I graciously declined to do. “My daughter thinks like me?,” she’s daddy’s little girl?” Who the hell do you think you are, Joshua? You haven’t a clue as to who either of us are!
You are an out of control individual, and a disgrace to these blogs.
Gail, I saw your post and will answer it after I answer Tricia’s
Tricia, I was under the impression that Daddy’s little girl refers to a secure, tight bond between father and daughter and a girl is close to her father and proud to be her father’s daughter and that she is who she is because of her father.
“You did not point out what you believed to be errors of fact or opinion” Actually, I just did.
Dan, I offered to reach out to you because I thought we had a good conversation at Melanie’s going away party. However, I had a few items that I needed addressing. After seeing your response and finding out additional information about from Bill, that offer is retroactively withdrawn.
As for who I think I am, I am Newton’s most consistent advocate for fiscal responsibility and stewardship. I will never oppose a tax increase proposed by an unpopular mayor only to turn around and support a tax increase proposed by a popular mayor six years later when the annual budget has increased by 25%. I will consistently advocate for operating expense growth to be constrained to a level that is less than or equal to revenue growth in order to save money for the 20 year, $1B Capital Improvement Program without resorting to big tax hikes.
Gail, Bill Heck is a very thoughtful, intelligent, all-around pillar of the community. I have much to learn from him.
At the same time, I have plenty to offer to him and the group especially on his next-generation ideas. I privately shared with him where his next-generation ideas need reinforcement and how to strategically go about pursuing them.
I’m also more patient than him. There is no way that he would put up with the abuse that I have received here but I responded in a civil manner and unlike Ted and Dan, I’m not resorting to profanity.
Dan, WRT “You haven’t a clue as to who either of us are!”
I know who I’m not. I won’t pretend to be a Republican only to support a guy who pledged to support the Obama agenda for Senate.
I won’t be a Republican activist with social media profiles that have me as a fan of numerous left-wing organizations and Democrat personalities.
I will never demand compensation cuts in one year, then support a big tax increase five years later when Newton’s annual compensation spending has increased by $40M. Nor will I then accuse the future groups that oppose the latest extravagantly expensive property tax increases of wanting to slash government services when their proposals were milder than our original proposals.
http://village14.com/netwon-ma/2013/03/newton-overrides-open-thread/#comment-21205
No, Joshua – this is what I said to you, and after this online exchange I fully stand by it:
“YOU need to learn some online manners and terminology before hurling insults at people who have been blogging in Newton for a great many years, and probably well before you even knew how to spell “local tax”.”
Again, I wish you good luck as Newton’s self-proclaimed “most consistent advocate for fiscal responsibility and stewardship.” Effective advocates do understand that advocacy involves the art of persuasion, and hostility toward others is really an ineffective form of advocacy. But, to each his own.
Oh please, what I actually said, in referring to changing the model of service delivery for Special Ed, was: “…it’s a process that involves actual students, teachers, and parents, and it cannot be reduced to manipulating columns in a spreadsheet.” It refers to the fact that we can’t simply make the changes on paper, we have to change systems involving people, and it takes time. It had nothing to do with your analytic skills. And while referring to a grown woman as “daddy’s little girl” may be sweet when done by the particular dad or woman involved, when it’s done by someone with your well-known animosity towards said dad, it’s clearly meant as an insult. Now I am also done. Overdone, actually.
Lisap, I have not been hostile towards anyone on this thread. The only hostility I’ve seen has come from you, Tricia, Hoss, Gail, Greg and Dan.
I also understand that no matter what, I’ll never persuade people who visit this blog (except for Barry Cohen, Colleen and Janet Sterman). But that’s fine as there are only 126 Facebook fans of Village 14 and 55K registered voters in Newton.
Tricia, I can’t help but roll my eyes back at your latest post. I guess when I say something that was intended to be a compliment, Dan and Tricia have decided it means just what they choose it to mean. The question is whether they can make words and even numbers mean so many different things.
I am well aware that although the SPED Review highlighted $20M worth of annual savings, that there may be a time lag for realizing them and that there may be some savings that are not realizable. However, that would not force me to table the SPED simply because I might not be 100% successful. You didn’t need to state your blinding glimpse of the obvious.
@Josh: Thanks for the plug for our Facebook page! Also, want to remind everyone that you can follow @14thVillage on Twitter!
Can we close this thread now as it clearly has gotten out of control and COMPLETELY off topic.
So how about those two officers that mysteriously left the Newton police department 😉
Jerry, I hadn’t heard about that. When was that? 😉
TWT, it wasn’t me who made this thread get out of control.
Jerry, the article says that Aucoin and Downing were part of the investigation into the former chief’s secretary Jeanne Sweeney Mooney and testified against her during her trial for larceny of over $250.
A jury acquitted Mooney last month. Mooney has filed a federal complaint against the city, contending that the mayor and several Police Department employees violated her privacy rights and illegally retaliated against her for speaking out.
I wonder if Downing and Aucoin realized Jeanne Sweeney Mooney was married to a 2nd generation Belmont Fire Department Captain when they were testifying against her. In my opinion, that is relevant because it would show the casual observer that she’s not likely to have engaged in grand larceny or destruction of property nor would she be willing to be railroaded to protect the career of Matthew Cummings.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-belmont/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-m-mooney&pid=152000779#fbLoggedOut
I’m with TWT on this. Based on the information, there’s really nothing that can be said at this point that wouldn’t be speculation or rumour.
You’re welcome Greg. I didn’t realize you had more Twitter followers than Facebook Fans.
No matter though.
Village 14 is a blog.
We use Facebook and Twitter because that is the delivery (and sharing) channel of choice for some people who follow blogs and other sites.
It would be erroneous to judge the reach of one platform based on participants on another. Additionally, what truly matters when it comes to social media is not your number of likes or followers but your influence.
I often tell candidates that Village 14 readers are not likely Newton voters, they are Newton voters.
Josh: I’d be happy to explain to you more about how social media works and how you can use it to achieve genuine social change, but you can’t afford me.
Greg, my comment on your Twitter followers versus Facebook fans was intended to be a comparison of Facebook versus Twitter. MySpace was displaced by Facebook and Twitter seems to be providing competitive headwinds to Facebook.
I’m sure I could afford to hire you however I’m not going to cash in my stocks in order to do so. Plus I would probably be taking a hard line on the fee you’d charge me anyway.
Nah. You can’t afford me.
If I feel like it, I’ll call Gatehouse Media and see how the Newton TAB performed. Depending on its performance, I’ll determine whether I want to hire you and if so what I’ll pay you.
I think that’s a great idea. Ask how the Newton TAB performed in comparison to all of GateHouse New England’s other weekly newspapers. While you’re at it, ask how Wicked Local Newton performed. And don’t forget to ask about how many hits the TAB blog got per month while Greg was publisher.
Gail, Greg said that I couldn’t afford his social media services. That reminded me of when I was working for PNC Bank’s investment administration business out in Westborough. The guy who was teaching us how to use the software applications was talking about how GNMA mortgage backed bonds had a minimum initial face value of $25,000 and he said that “none of us could possibly scrape together the money to buy one”. In an undertone, I said “speak for yourself”.
I wasn’t taking shots at his performance. I merely want to see if the advertised price is worth it.
Josh: I should have realized that you would not realize that I was pulling your leg.
Really, you’re working 24/7 carrying water for your “group” on this blog. I get it. Defending the world from people who force folks to vote to raise their taxes can be exhausting.
But, truth is, I would never work for you because of your propensity to besmirch the reputation of so many of my friends, neighbors and fellow residents.
Meanwhile, I hear Shrewsbury is lovely this time of year (and the crime rate is low). Think about it. I’m not saying you should move. But dude, you need a vacation!
I’m closing this thread.
@Doug – It was about a week ago. 😉
Jerry, should Village 14 make a new link for new issues relating to the Newton PD?
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newton/news/x393137648/Newton-PD-facing-gender-discrimination-claims-from-employees#axzz2WWQcwSaz
Joshua – Done