To the Editor,
Watching the town board meeting of Sept. 1, I really had to laugh. I don’t ordinarily watch these meetings, but something was expected to happen, so I did. The expected did not, but there was something un-expected. There was actually a lengthy discussion about bonding—the cost of it and the total being bonded in 2016. Councilman Joe Stout questioned it as he had once before. But this time, when it came time to vote, Stout voted against the
majority of the board.
Why did that make me laugh? Because this was the very first time in his eight months that Stout voted against the rest of the board. My cynical mind says this was all a reaction to Chris Rodier’s campaign to win the Democratic primary for councilman on Sept. 13. The other candidate is Joe Stout. Rodier has consistently pointed out that Stout had never voted against the Republican majority. In fact, until recently, he seldom even spoke up.
And now, just before the Democratic primary, there was lengthy discussion on bonding between Stout and Malfitano, and then, a “no” vote by Stout regarding that large bond, his first-ever “no” vote in his eight months as a councilman.
With a 4-1 vote, his “no” had no weight to it. As I said, my cynical side just had to laugh, or cry. Laughter is better. In the primary on Sept. 13, will Democrats vote for the person who 99 percent of the time votes “yes,” or for the one who will always be asking questions, and discussing the answers at board meetings?
Joan B. Walsh,
Harrison
