| According to Pat Walsh, corruption isn't a problem if you keep it close enough to you.
That's the only conclusion I can find when I look at the Somerset Parks Commission saga. Because Pat Walsh says she agrees with Melonie Marano (and it has to be put that way because Pat Walsh finally agreed with Marano six weeks after Marano called for the dissolution of the Parks Commission) that the Parks Commission is corrupt beyond repair and should not operate as an independent layer of government hidden from the prying eyes of the interested public. Pat Walsh even said that those responsible for the corruption - like Commissioner Secretary-Director Ray Brown - should resign (instead of being fired in disgrace). So the only thing an intelligent person would take away from this mountain of evidence is that Pat Walsh believes corruption is wrong, running a patronage mill is wrong, and it should be punished by...
hiring the guilty? Jump with me people. It gets interesting. |
Past and present commission officials and the all-Republican freeholder board share ties to Somerset County GOP politics, and Doyle Hunsinger -- one of four park commissioners who resigned in July -- remains Walsh's campaign treasurer, according to campaign finance reports.
What are we supposed to think? This is the same Pat Walsh that said: "I've learned after all these years in government that when a major issue comes up, you stop, you take a deep breath and you look at the whole situation and do your research and then make your decisions," Walsh said.
So, Pat Walsh looked at the independent review, saw that the man she hired to guard her hen-house was in bed with the weasels, and decided to keep him on her payroll. This was not a knee-jerk reaction, mind you - Pat Walsh doesn't jerk her knees around for anyone - she "did her research" and "made her decision" to keep a corrupt public official on her payroll.
Walsh said she doesn't see it as problem.
And she wants taxpayers to trust her to: review of all county programs to weigh their need and cost effectiveness, and place a freeze on county hiring until that review is complete.
Look, if keeping Doyle Hunsinger on her campaign is an example of her decision-making abilities, then she's the last person to be put in charge of reviewing county programs. That would be like putting George W. Bush in charge of the School of "Public Speeching". Farmer Brown always said, "It's too late to shut the barn door once the cow's in the corn." I'd say that would apply to a county-wide hiring freeze after all the "faithful Bushies" are on the payroll. Not to beat the dead horse, but if her example of a well-thought-out action is to hire and retain a Parks Commissioner who resigned in disgrace, then I'd hate to see her jerking knees at the Freeholder Board meeting.
There can be no clearer difference than the one posed by these two candidates. Marano wants to cut hidden government patronage mills. Pat Walsh wants to hold them closer to her chest. Melonie Marano wants to change county government by, well, changing county government. Pat Walsh wants to change county government by getting a seat at the insider's table.
The funny thing is, Pat Walsh says she wants to change things. Either Pat Walsh is flat out lying, or she has multiple personality disorder. No offense to the mentally ill, but I don't want to have to guess which personality would be representing me in the government. Is it the Pat Walsh that promises to clean up county government, or the Pat Walsh that has made sure the Republican hierarchy is beholden to her?
If this sounds outrageous (but all too common) to you, I'm asking you to give $10 to Melonie Marano for Freeholder. If you use $10 bills for Kleenex, I'm asking you to send a C-note. And if your name sounds like Bon Doors-eye'n, then I'm asking you to max out. |
