!!PLANET EXCLUSIVE!! … DEPARTMENT HEAD DEFIES MAYOR, SPILLS THE BEANS REGARDING TES’ TIRADE
By DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, AUG. 7, 2014) — With our exclusive yesterday on the suspension of Pittsfield vets’ agent Rosanne Frieri, THE PLANET demonstrated how much the mayor’s gag order on managers and department heads has affected us. To spell it out, n-o-t -a- b-i-t-. Today, meanwhile, we watch with amusement as the other media outlets, forced by our investigative work to sloppy seconds, report on a story that, save for our efforts, would have remained “secret.”
After our report, THE PLANET made contact with a recalcitrant department head, a manager in one of the municipal departments. We shall refer to this person as Dixie. Dixie reported that in the wake of our story about the deposed veterans’ agent, Mayor Dan Bianchi issued another warning to department heads and managers “not to talk to the press, especially to [Dan] Valenti.”
Dixie wouldn’t say how the message was delivered, but it doesn’t appear that it was in writing.
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City Hall ‘Near the Boiling Point’
Dixie said city hall is “near the boiling point with frustration” at the mayor. THE PLANET can attest to morale being at a low at 70 Allen St.. Dixie reported the corner office is in “lock down mode,” likening it to a “bunker mentality.” This recalls Herr Schiklegruber in April 1945. Let THE PLANET add that Dixie is an honest, hard-working employee who gives six days of work for five days of pay.
Dixie mentioned how the mayor “went on” about yours truly and others, including several councilors, Mary McGinness (his former executive assistant), and Craig Gaetani (water engineer). It wasn’t clear to us where or how this took place, whether in a formal staff meeting or a more casual circumstance. THE PLANET contacted the mayor, hoping to get his reaction to the information. Bianchi might not think so, but THE PLANET remains genuinely interested in his side of the many stories that are coming across the spike these days. The mayor did not return our request for comment.
Ouch.
Speaking of which, Dixie says Gaetani visited the corner office yesterday to deliver a letter to the mayor. Our source says “chaos ensued,” with Bianchi declaring a “lockdown.” Prompted by this reference, we contacted Gaetani, who confirmed the account.
Gaetani, a co-designer along with Dr. Lawrence Wang of the Cleveland Water Plant in Hinsdale, told us he delivered “a personal letter” to mayoral secretary Susan Santolin. He said Santolin informed the mayor that he had a visitor. Gaetani says when the mayor found out it was him, the mayor yelled from the corner office, “Lockdown” — the same word Dixie used.
Gaetani says he took the letter off Santolin’s desk and went into the office of Julia Sabourin, the mayor’s director of administrative services. Gaetani says the mayor again ordered a lockdown. Despite that, Gaetani says Sabourin did not lock her door. She calmly accepted his letter, he said, after which Gaetani left the corner office.
Gaetani says the letter contained information for the mayor regarding Gaetani’s not appreciating how the mayor has refused to talk to him. Gaetani has been seeking an audience with city officials regarding proposals for the Cleveland plant and the sewage treatment plant off Holmes Road. Gaetani says that he, in partnership with Dr. Lawrence Wang, can save the city millions of dollars in implementing federally mandated upgrades at the plants, especially the sewage treatment facility. THE PLANET has contacted the mayor to request his comments on Gaetani’s claims. As of press time, the mayor had not responded.
‘Leave the Budget to Me and Sue’
Before concluding our interview, Dixie, savoring the last drop of Claudia’s Gourmet Coffee THE PLANET graciously supplied in an endless cup, said he “fears for the future of the city under Mayor Bianchi.” Dixie stated the mayor had no interest in the ideas for operational efficiencies Dixie presented to him at budget time, telling him, “Leave the budget to me and Sue.” He meant Sue Carmel, the city’s treasurer and finance director. “In other words,” Dixie said, the mayor “told me to butt out.”
Dixie said he mentioned to the mayor how citizens were “taxed out and needed relief.” To that, Dixie claims, the mayor told him that people must be willing to “make more sacrifices” for the city. At that, Dixie says, the mayor ended the meeting by turning his back and walking away — no goodbye, no cordialities. No runs, no hits, many errors, and none left.
Ladies and gentlemen, what is going on in Pittsfield?
THE PLANET has requested numerous times for the mayor to comment on these increasingly bizarre matters. We shall not stop our requests. It is up to the mayor to decide if and when to speak. It can only be in his best interest to do so.
The Council’s Big Moment: Will It Step Up to the Plate?
Suffice it to say that the actions of TES, from mid-2012 forward, have been ill-served the city of Pittsfield, its citizens, taxpayers, and anyone who might have love or loyalty to the county seat. THE PLANET would remind our Right Honorable Good Friends on the city council of this fact and also of their sworn duties as co-governors of the city. Since it seems obvious the mayor intends to continue on his destructive path, it is now up to the council to push back.
The golden opportunity will come with a petition councilor-at-large Barry Clairmont has filed requesting answers from the mayor to the many questions surrounding the mayor’s proposed deal to move 40% of city hall into new offices at 100 North St. at a cost of $126,000 for the first year. The council must support Clairmont’s request for information on an ethically suspect deal. In doing so, it will give the good people of Pittsfield a ray of “inside” hope.
Clairmont’s petition comes before the council for a vote on Tuesday, Aug. 12. As soon as Clairmont’s petition is posted on the council website, THE PLANET shall inform you of it. Be sure to tune into our coverage tomorrow. You won’t get it anywhere else.
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“One and one and one is three.” — The Beatles, “Come Together,” from the Abbey Road album, 1969.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
This mayor goes from bad to worse.
It also goes from interesting to unbelievable. My bs meter is picking up signals.
From your description of events Dan I think the mayor may be able to trace the vociferous perp department head. Will there be another suspension today?
More department heads need to back this guy/gal up and stand united. The whole city will get behind them. Enough is enough. Bianchi needs therapy.
He referred to the source drinking coffee as a “he”.
The madness of King Daniel. I was thinking therapy, too, as I read this.
Sounds like a Captain Queen missing strawberries incident to me, if your information is accurate…
it’ Queeg
Right on Dusty. They say they don’t have a union to help them get raises but they can come together as one like a union and stick together. Strength in numbers, divide and conquer my friends. TES can’t suspend and/or fire everyone.
Everyone at City Hall should take a leave of absence due to mental stress. Get this documented by a physician and have the physician right the person out for several months until the stress is lowered. It would be a shutdown of City Hall. Now that’s what I call a “lockdown”. All these people would be eligible to file Workmen’s Comp. claims because the stress was caused by the mayor. The insurance company will really look into the matter in detail because they would not want to pay outs so many claims; and don’t forget to let all the TV stations with in a 50 mile radius know what is happening ,it will surely hit the 6 o’clock and 11 o’clock news once. It’s like walking out yet getting paid. Stress caused by work is a legitimate claim for Workmen’s Comp.
“He got feet, down below his knees
Hold you in his arms yeah you can feel his disease”.
Is yelling “lockdown” a sign of mental illness?
Is lockdown the same as transparency?
Does the mayor hate both blacks and veterans?
It’s a sign of a sense of humor.
A finger wagging tirade in its advance stages leads to irrational suspensions of department heads without pay and a lockdown of city hall.
The obvious question that no one is asking is:
How is all of this affecting Mayor Dan Bianchi’s job performance at Larry Global Mondello at 100 North Street?
He shouldn’t be there working anyway so why do you care how it is affecting that position.
Some people say we don’t need Unions. Yeah right!
I can assure you that if appointed officials go against elected ones, that the elected ones will come out on top. Each and every one of the Ruberto followers owe Bianchi for their jobs. If they cannot frame convincing arguments and do what their boss requires of them, then they should be looking for a new employer. Loyalty is a characteristic that has extraordinary value in local government.
In any government.
So the two basic questions are (1) why the move? and (2) why the resistance to water efficiencies? If there is stress in the administration its because they have no satisfactory answers. If the answers were clear and convincing, they would have given them out by now, perhaps on “Empty suit” stationary. They haven’t and the mayor has created a great opportunity for the Planet to keep hammering away. Good work Dan.
I wonder if Clairmont’s petition will pass. My guess is that Cotton, Mazzeo and Connell WILL NOT….they will always support the mayor, no matter what!
Three are “iffy”….Tully, Amuso and Caccamo.
The remaining five, I believe, will support Clairmont.
It shall be interesting!
Lousy Lisa Tully, Kathy Abuso, and the Screeee Wabbit Morondi will fall right in line with Danny Do-little.
Motor Mouth Mazzeo & Tony “I lost every cent of decency I ever had” Simpleton will cloud the issue, confuse everyone with some crazy off topic subject and then have UMM PA LUM PA Lawyer DUMB-DUMB give some whack-out explanation that Perry Mason would not be able to decipher that agrees with them.
Much like they did to Bold Barry’s petition from the last meeting.
I don’t know about that because lately I seen Councilor Morandi voting the other way, perhaps he’s changing team, is it because Degnan is too busy and hasn’t been able to give Ms. Morandi rides back and forth to work?
Does a Nazis-like press policy gag order and an irrational suspension of a city head without pay and without explanation and a dictatorial spending of tax payer money on a move without council approval justify a $40,000.00 a year salary increase for a part time mayor?
Is it the citizens “civil duty” to keep paying for this rape of their money?
He seems to be hiding behind a clock of secrecy. He and Putin seem to have something in common.
That’s right TES is “PUTIN” it us all.
He is no Putin. Putin puts his finger in MENS faces and yells at MEN. Danny Boy just yells at girls.
Says a lot about Gaetani.
It is the people’s “civic responsibility” to order a psychiatric evaluation of this mayor.
His actions indicate that perhaps he is not mentally stable.
Mayor Bianchi’s former top aide joins critics of plan to move Pittsfield offices
By Jim Therrien, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Posted: 08/07/2014 07:17:48 AM| Updated: about 3 hours ago
PITTSFIELD — Mayor Daniel L. Bianchi’s former top aide is joining critics of his plan to move all inspection services into rented offices at 100 North St.
Mary McGinnis, who served for one year as director of administration until May, said in a letter to The Eagle: “Overstepping the City Council, our voice of democracy, to relocate approximately 40 percent of our City Hall offices to a rented space to the tune of $126,000 is shocking.”
Bianchi said late last month that he had funding within the existing city operating budget to go ahead with his plan to consolidate all city inspectors into a single office space. The plan, which he said does not need further approvals from the City Council, aims to streamline the process for contractors, developers and others.
Bianchi said that, after the city ran a legal ad seeking requests for proposals from downtown property owners, only Scarafoni Realty responded concerning the historic First Agricultural Bank building at Fenn and North streets, near City Hall.
While Bianchi declined to specify the rental agreement, saying negotiations were still in progress, Councilor at large Barry Clairmont said he had obtained a draft copy. The terms called for the city to pay $126,000, or $14 per square foot in the first year of a three-year agreement, he said, and $13 per square foot and $12 per square foot in the second and third years, respectively.
A total of 9,000 square feet on the second floor of the bank building would house the inspectors, who now are in separate offices primarily in the basement level of City Hall.
Clairmont said at the time he would do more research on the agreement and plan and likely would raise the issue before the council.
“I think his [Bianchi’s] priorities are way off,” McGinnis said Wednesday.
In her letter, she said important public safety and other needs are not being funded while the office relocation and other proposals are supported by the mayor.
“In an age where downsizing and online applications are the trend, I just cannot understand this reasoning,” she stated. “Increasing space at the taxpayer’s expense, when there are so many immediate safety concerns in our city, seems ludicrous.”
McGinnis was critical of funding decisions regarding the police and fire departments. “The public servants in the trenches should be respected,” she stated. “and when they ask for help to do their job efficiently, they should get it before anything else.”
Reached Wednesday, Bianchi said he remains convinced that “in the long run this will not be a costly thing.”
The new office space “is an investment, and I think it is an investment that will pay dividends.”
Creating modern, professional offices and making the process of obtaining permits more streamlined will create “a more inviting environment” for contractors, developers and others, “and will encourage them to do business with the city of Pittsfield,” Bianchi said.
While acknowledging the rental cost, he asserted that increased taxes from business activity and other revenue “could make this a money maker” over time.
Responding to the criticism from McGinnis, Bianchi said, “There are multiple priorities [in government]
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many, many priorities, and I think that [the criticism] is being very myopic about the way government works.”
He added, “The chances are we are addressing [the other priorities], and they might not be aware of it.”
Concerning the councilors who have been critical of the deal, Bianchi said he would discuss the plan with the council, but not if raising the issue “is an excuse to become political.”
“The council doesn’t have the jurisdiction over day-to-day [city operations], he said, “but we will be as responsive as we need to be.”
The mayor said planning for the offices transfer is in progress and focusing on addressing any logistical issues that might arise from some city offices being located outside City Hall.
Removing offices from the basement area of City Hall also will be a benefit for those employees, he said, as the area is damp and is more suitable for storage or similar purposes.
Clairmont said Wednesday he has a list of questions about the office plan, focusing on the lease, the posting of the legal ad and the figures the mayor used to justify the change. He also plans to ask the mayor to brief the council on Sept. 2 on the proposal and for a nonbinding vote of councilors on the change.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/ci_26290715/ex-aide-joins-critics-mayors-plan-move-pittsfield
Quote from above article:
“Bianchi said.
While acknowledging the rental cost, he asserted that increased taxes from business activity and other revenue “could make this a money maker” over time”.
Someone should tell the mayor that the purpose of local government is not to be a “money maker” but rather to provide needed services for the people it serves.
Money Maker from whom?
It is very telling on how this mayor thinks. He is obviously in it for the money. He is focused on the money. Follow the money. How much is never enough?
I, too, question what “business activity and other revenue” the mayor talking about.
I hope Barry pushes him on that at the next mtg.
I still believe the mayor will be getting “free” rent for his business. But there probably is no way to learn this.
Excellent point, “Irresistible.” About the purpose of government. The mayor has forgotten that.
“Reached Wednesday, Bianchi said he remains convinced that “in the long run this will not be a costly thing
According to Keynes, in the long run we are all dead.
KARMA !!!!!!!
Quote from the BB article:
“While acknowledging the rental cost, he asserted that increased taxes from business activity and other revenue ‘could make this a money maker’ over time.”
Typical Liberal Democrat thinking where lowering taxes isn’t ever even considered.
‘Tax-and-Spend’ Bianchi must not realize that Pittsfield is not on anybody’s short list as a business destination.
Gee, could it be because local (and state) taxes are just too damn high?
A “two-fer” from Mary McGinnis today: article & letter to the editor:
Letter: Put public safety over redecorating
Letter to the Editor
Posted: 08/07/2014 12:10:39 AM EDT
To the editor of THE EAGLE:
I cannot imagine what our mayor, Dan Bianchi, is thinking by putting redecorating before public safety. Overstepping the City Council vote, our voice of democracy, to relocate approximately 40 percent of our City Hall offices to a rented space to the tune of $126,000 per year is shocking.
In an age where downsizing and online applications are the trend, I just cannot understand this reasoning. Increasing space at the taxpayer’s expense, when there are so many immediate safety concerns in our city, seems ludicrous. When our chief of police asks for five more officers at budget time (when he really needs 20) and gets turned down, my frustration rises.
As a small-business owner who put her lifelong earnings into a store in Downtown Pittsfield only to have it broken into three times causing horror, stress and eventual closure, I know that increasing police surveillance is a no-brainer if we are to attract new investors to our area. Watching three people fall on a slippery City Hall floor that HAD to be done over, removing safe carpeting to the tune of $90,000-plus is wasteful. On the outside of the City Hall steps, I witnessed another accident due to unsafe frost heaving this past winter. Placing ice packs to people’s bleeding heads after they fall; sorry, I just don’t get it.
Lastly, when the Fire Department asks for a new fire truck, it is because it most likely needs one. The public servants in the trenches should be respected, and when they ask for help to do their job efficiently, they should get it before anything else. To be contradicted and challenged, especially our chiefs who we hold so much trust in, is unsafe and dangerous.
Let these experts do their job, Mr. Mayor, we need them every day and they come before anything else.
MARY L. MCGINNIS
Pittsfield
The writer is the city’s former director of administrative services.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/letters/ci_26290712/letter-put-public-safety-over-redecorating
All of this and PVTV tonight, butter up the popcorn!
Paul Muni, where are you!
I heard the locks to Roseanne’s office have already been changed. Why change them if she isn’t fired?
Barry
How much did that cost the taxpayers? Oh money is of no concern.
Well, the mayor cannot go screaming “LOCKDOWN” all over city hall and not lockdown some offices. Otherwise that would make him appear insane.
Besides she won’t be returning to work. The only question now is how much the out of court settlement will cost taxpayers. I’m sure he’ll pull the money out of thin air again without approval of the city council.
And….. didn’t we elect the mayor so he could lockdown city hall, turn it into a storage building and move the offices to a rented building?
I heard a rumor today that the Global Montello offices at 100 North Street are closed and Mayor Bianchi no longer has the keyes. Do you suppose he’s been fired?
Barry, you repeatedly remind me of the phrase in the movie The Godfather, ” just when I think I’m out, I’m back in’. I know you probably don ‘t want to run for Mayor, but it could be yours if you wanted it.
Nota,
Thank you for your comment. You have to remember I only kept my seat by 16 votes last time around. I doubt I could win a run for Mayor at this point.
Barry
I would bet money that if Ruberto came out retirement he would handily defeat the Mayor if he is indeed seeking reelection.
I agree. You should remember how close you came to losing last time. I am quite sure you will not be so lucky next time. As a matter of fact…do us all a favor and don’t bother running again!
Barry, you upset the AppleCart with the School Budget meeting, and yes, I know, you are for Schools, but I think common sense and rationality will win over irrational behavior and Bridge burning. Candidates for Mayor will certainly have enough ammunition during the debates, that’s for sure. The bottom line is, this Mayor hasn’t included the whole City Council of inclusion in his administration, and quite frankly he hasn’t done a whole heck of a lot!
All I can think of is the constant tweet/facebook status of Dennis MIller regarding President Obama and his gazillion tragedies this term.
“Don’t look at me, I didn’t vote for him…”
Pete Marchetti at least has his heart in the right place when it came to the community; he is clearly invested in it’s people and businesses. People may/may not have thought he was right for the job, but the city is easily losing out by going the other way. Enjoy padding King Danny boy’s pension.
Shame in your eyes, you know who you are.
Bianchi is a disaster for sure. But no way would I want Marchetti/GOB puppet running this ship either. The union vote is too huge to get an honest independent thinking candidate elected. But surely there is a non connected individual who could do a decent job. Remember, the mayoral bar in Pittsfield is set pretty low and has been for quite some time.
How about Moe . Larry , or Curly?
Either is certainly better than Bianchi
Nothing could be further from the facts Barry, voters in 2015 with what 15% voted had 4 choices with 7 candidates to choice from in the At Large field. 2013 the vote for mayor was slip roughly 50-50 % between Marchetti and the mayor with a approximately 95 votes in favor of Bianchi. The word I’ve been hearing on the street is very positive for you. I’m just telling what I’ve been hearing….
Yeah Ron, and Joe Nichols was hearing positive feedback a few elections ago too. Even if 100 people come up to you and prop you up, it takes thousands to win an election, The 100 also are seeking you out. You don’t hear from the thousands that wouldn’t vote for you. I feel Barry is in the perfect position for the citizens of Pittsfield, and as he has said he would have to take a pay cut to run for Mayor(maybe not so much when the raises go through). But hey, a little accounting on the side, a precedent has been set.
Right on Timmy B.!!
Agree Ronnie. How about debates moderated by the Generalissimo and tough questions to TES. However, he would need to disassociate his political relationship with Low.
There definitely is a perception that finance and accountants a bonus in politics. TES of course, broke that mold. on Dave’s comment on Joe Nichols, plain and simple, he should have stayed a Councilor, he contracted political Larkin iris.
I think Pittsfield can make money on all this, they just have to get the right production company to run this reality TV show and Pittsfield would become a real “money maker$$” Think of all the tourist who will want to see this first hand just to prove to themselves it wasn’t made up!!
Shirley you’ve got a great idea. Why don’t you contact the producers of all the real housewives of whatever city it is. “As Pittsfield turns”, “Another Lockdown”‘, Days of our City Hall”, “The city of Pittsfield versus TES the clown’, “Down with the town and up with the clown”, “It’s a pity, look what Tess has done to our city”, we could go on for hours with this one.
At Nutz…Yeah I’m with that surely. It’ll be called:How Not to be a Mayor!
Stephen Taglieri II I know that when I had to process VA paperwork, she was of no help. I did it myself. It has been my experience that she has a negative reputation among veterans. Posts here seem to reflect that.
about an hour ago
Maureen Lenti It’s about time she was held accountable for what she doesn’t do and gets paid for…tsk, tsk,tsk.
about an hour ago
Christopher Read She’s finally getting what she deserves. She refuses to help Veterans in need by saying they don’t qualify, but when they go to a different program and get exactly what she says they where not qualified for. Fire her out the door for the good of all veterans.
5 hours ago
Robert LaBrode Good for him she should never had the job in the first place, she wasn’t qualified for it;
Be that as it may, she was allegedly suspended for attending a veterans convention without authorization and for defying the “gag order” “media policy” by appearing on Good Morning, Pittsfield. Like her or loathe her, so far nothing has tied this to her job performance. I think the little tyrant is trying to instill fear in others by making an example of her.
DD, According to the Mayor’s office, she was suspended for not performing her responsibilities as director, ie. producing budgets, presenting budgets.
This is more information about personell matters than you’ll receive from other public employees so to me, Bianchi is looking pretty good these days.
Sure, he’s being hammered by a by a ‘racial’ dispute that suddenly gained an unlikely co-signer who is a white male. Wow, that’s credible squared.
Thanks Ed. Lot’s of smoke here to clear out.
Lox Bachs •
Thank you Mayor Bianchi. And thank God someone’s keeping an eye on this lady.
Cappyhamperino
I’d bet the mayor has good cause, that office has long been the source of numerous complaints. we can only hope this leads to her removal permanently!
Yep, and most of the complaints that I am aware of came right off this website.
Signed respectfully,
I Am Not Your Friend, Levitan. (AKA., Levitan.)
The majority of those complaints came from the Eagle’s board. Sorry to disappoint you Mr. Levitan. Some were from friends and comrades of mine who served during the Vietnam era and are not afraid to use their real names.
Actually, I was referring to the fact that Frieri’s name was mud on Planetvalenti in the not so distant past. Now the commentators here are her best friend, even in spite of a different perspective given in an iberkshire article. Sounds like her interest in equine therapy doesn’t explain her performance issues that involve pen and paper.
Again, I don’t share my name because I don’t care to. If I had a complaint about a city official, I’d lend my name to the gravitas of my complaint, not find an alternate solar system to inhabit.
Leviatan, I felt like I was in the twilight zone myself. Why does the “trifecta minority” as she was so eloquently dubbed have the support of the planet and it’s readers now?
Scott,
Planetvalenti is largely a political science experiment. A longterm study of strategy of presentation, rhetoric, and circumstance to foster persuasive arguments.
—
Lord, save me from my friends. My enemies, I can deal with myself.
Let’s reflect on Ro. A surprised she didn’t ask for the Chief Shop Steward and the Business Agent. I can remember her crying like a baby who had just lost her rattler when she was called to active duty years ago and what the effect on her photography career her active deployment had hurt her financially. She probably didn’t ‘figure on actually going to serve. back in the day, a lot of G E workers were joining for the benefits associated with training and time off from G E was welcome to most, looks like when she was given this job it was for a job and not necessarily because she was qualified.I have a former Veteran friend, Marine who had a dealing with her outdside of City Hall when she was running Representative I believe, she was with her assistant and said she was going to some meeting and didn’t have time, to say the least, he was pissed, a former Combat Vet, Distinguished and Disabled from Mortar Round Headaches who once told a Colonel during a ground fight to get the hell down with that shining helmet or else, was left in the lurch by Ro so she could go to political shindig.
Counselor Clairmont
I heard a rumor today that the Global Montello offices at 100 North Street are closed and Mayor Bianchi no longer has keys. Do you suppose he’s fired?
I can honestly say that I did not vote for Dan Bianchi… How many of you can say the same? You guys made your bed now its time to lay in it..
Dan Bianchi s only priority in being mayor was to pad his city pension.
I could have one of my kids run for mayor against bianchi and they would beat him 2-1 atleast. and they are 3 and 6.
Mazzeo knows she cant run for mayor next year because she is in Danny – Do- Nothing’s back pocket, or elsewhere.. Im trying to think of anytime she voted against anything he proposed..Wait has the mayor done anything but destroy everything in his path???
NMB,
I always stop reading after someone says, “I can honestly say.” I’m hard pressed to find an honest person these days.
“Troubling circumstances of Frieri departure”
The Berkshire Eagle, Opinion: Editorial, 08/08/2014
Pittsfield is now without a veterans’ agent following the suspension without pay of Rosanne Frieri by Mayor Daniel Bianchi. Mayor Bianchi says the suspension is “work-related” and Ms. Frieri cites disputes within City Hall that may be at the root of the issue. What is most worrisome is that Ms. Frieri didn’t make a case for herself because she was uncomfortable meeting with the mayor in his office.
Ms. Frieri told The Eagle’s Jim Therrien that on a previous occasion the mayor “started yelling and screaming at me. I said, never again without a third party.” Ms. Frieri is not the first person to claim to have experienced the mayor’s wrath in his office — most recently City Councilor Barry Clairmont said he was “dressed down” by the mayor when he was last in his office in City Hall. People will lose their tempers, but in the mayor’s case, it appears to be a pattern and a counterproductive one when it comes to governing.
The mayor told The Eagle that there are other veterans’ agents within Berkshire County to help with paperwork, but they are not as familiar with the cases as is Ms. Frieri. She is an experienced veteran regarded highly enough to serve as veterans’ agent for several other Berkshire towns as an independent contractor. Her concerns about how efficiently the office will run in her absence are likely justified.
Ms. Frieri has been the veterans’ agent for seven years, beginning during the tenure of Mayor James Ruberto, and if the two had any disputes, they didn’t emerge in public with her suspension. Ideally, Ms. Frieri will be back on the job soon, but when she is, her relationship with Mayor Bianchi is probably irreparably damaged. City government is complicated enough when running smoothly, and in Pittsfield’s City Hall, there is too much drama.