( - promoted by Juan Melli)
Congrats to Mayor Tim Driscoll, the voters of Bergenfield and the Real Bergen Democrats. Promoted from the diaries -- Juan Just got back from the Celebration in Bergenfield, where WWII veteran, and brand new Mayor Tim Driscoll took the reins at his very first Reorganization meeting of the Governing Body of Bergenfield for 2008. Real Bergen Democrats Barry Doll and Bruce Carlson joined him on the dias. What a beautiful sight for ethics reform in NJ. Everyone was there - by that I mean the "Merry Band of Reformers" Real Bergen Democrats, and their supporters including, Loretta Weinberg, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Gordon Johnson, Carol Skiba, Paul Eisenmann, Nick Lento as well as all the press. It was a long meeting, but the best part and most entertaining was watching Councilmen Mulligan and Lodato squirmily adjust to their new roles as the obstinate bullies who have been taken down a peg. Mulligan couldn't bring himself to vote YES to a different Borough attorney than Oury. You could see the calculations going on in that shiny head of his, as to how many DOLLARS he would lose for re-election if he voted YES to a Mayor Driscoll's choice, and you could see him calculate how many VOTES he would lose by ticking off the voters with a NO vote. So what do bullies do, when cornered? They vote to ABSTAIN. But they always give a speech while doing so. It reminded me of watching Scooby Doo as a child. I pictured him saying - "Drat! Foiled again! I would've got away with voting Dennis Oury in again, too - if it weren't for those meddling kids, I mean Real Bergen Democrats, and their ethics reform minded friends in the Assembly and Senate - Weinberg, Johnson and Huttle! " But my daydream disappeared in a poof as Mulligan waxed on about how he thinks Dennis Oury is the bestest Borough Attorney in the whole wide world. I had to resist the urge to cough disrupively into my hand and say "Liar" or break into cackles of hysterical laughter at the absurdity of the moment. Because Councilwoman Rabbit was absent (scared away perhaps) Lodato knew the writing was on the wall - he did not have enough votes to Vote NO. And with a long speech that seemd to be a public apology for his vote (kissing up to Oury) he stunned us with a YES vote. The Room erupted into thunderous and enthusiastic applause when enough yes votes were taken to send the ubiqitous Mr. Oury packing. We were cheated of the sight of Oury himself packing his briefcase and making sure the door didn't hit his backside on the way out, but we got to see Renfield, or whatever the diminutive associate's name was who was filling in for Oury, slink away to the applause of nearly everyone in the room - except Mulligan and Lodato. I smiled. It was a very good day in my hometown of Bergenfield. Mike Kelly Column on Oury losing Borough Attorney job in Bergenfield
http://www.northjersey.com/politics/Thank_you_thank_you_Bergenfield.html?c=y&page=1 Serdar Tumgoren Column on Oury losing Borough Attorney job in Paramus: http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenpolitics/Politically_connected_lawyer_is_fired_again.html?c=y&page=2
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