Archive for 26 January, 2008
Dan Ward Responds to News Characterization
January 26, 2008 4:07 pm
Sandra-I thoroughly object to your opinion (editorial page stuff) as to whether or not I am or have been the most “historically least polite” among the members of the ATB. I feel that was unfair, untruthful, and not accurate news reporting. I will plead guilty to being the most aggressive (and some might opine, the most passionate) of the ATB. I love my town, and unlike all the others, have roots that go back to 1824 here. When the rest have come and gone, I will still be here. And I have a definite agenda. Every TB election I have run in-4-has found me the highest vote-getter. I did not get there or stay there by being impolite. It reminds me of the Harry Truman criticism that he gave the Republicans “Hell”. I believe his response was that he told the truth and they thought it was “Hell”! Ditto.
You did not have the opportunity to view me earlier in my career but t think you would have found me just as “aggressive and passionate” when criticizing former county executive Ned Reagan, and former Town Supervisors Jack Sharpe, Tom Ahearn and Susan Grelick, among others. That is the function of the Legislative branch, in our system of checks and balances. That is how the American 2-party system operates. What you may see as impolite, I view as the plain unvarnished truth. One reporter’s bickering, is another councilman’s debate..remember the Federalist Papers and the whole concept of “robust debate” ? If I can, I will always-when necessary-attack the issue or policy.
When an Executive wraps himself in lies-like the current supervisor-it is somewhat harder to reveal the truth without it seeming like a personal attack-how else do you expose some one who just doesn’t tell the truth? I repeat my concern that the Buffalo News has a huge and improper investment in Supervisor Mohan that makes any criticism of his utter incompetence, among other things, impossible to obtain fair news coverage in your newspaper. Anyone who criticizes him is subject to discreditation and why you are willing to accept only his version of the truth is a mystery to most of my constituents.
Mr. Weinstein-who you would have as the sheriff riding into the TB to corral the rest of us-is no hero. He used to be a former member of the Amherst Democratic Committee-before he changed his stripes for political advantage. Like him, I also served in the EC Legislature and was its Majority Leader Unlike him, I also served there as its Majority Counsel and Parliamentarian, and I have a very good grasp of its Rules, the TB Rules (which I wrote in 1990) and Roberts Rules of Order. I also never changed my political stripes, despite the political adversity involved. Unlike him-and every other member of the TB-I served a full term as Town Supervisor-arguably its most impolite, but most truthful. Your article/headline implied he somehow brought law and order to a previous criminal regime. The extent of his nasty and arrogant contribution was to quickly move to change the Rules to stifle and muzzle debate between the councilmen and the citizens, and among them, and to try to hide the controversial rezoning hearings by pushing them off into the off- Monday days afternoons where the public would not attend and the CATV would not videotape-did you even read them?
What genius does it take to move to receive and file (kill) or table (kill, more politely) all the opposition resolutions, particularly mine, if you have a 4-3 majority? This is no reformer-this is a damage control artist trying to save the Republicans from the absolute embarrassment of their anti-neighborhood votes and Mohan’s incompetent leadership from CATV (another of my impolite introductions!) He knows no more, and probably less, about parliamentary procedure than I do. I will confess I know less about medicine than he does. Anyone who wants to limit public commentary and debate as he would do-belongs back in the county legislature …where they have none. To me, it sounds like he is afraid to face the public or too lazy to do the work. Do you think a councilman who abruptly stands up at 11:45 pm (early for us!) to unilaterally adjourn the meeting is there to truly do the public’s business?
You are free to continue this characterization of me and him-because I cannot stop you-but I will thoroughly object and call your inaccuracy and obvious bias at every turn as long as it takes-even from Day One. Sometimes the Truth hurts!
Respectfully-if not politely- Dan
