By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary

——– 000 ——–

LATE NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Before THE PLANET gets into our regular coverage, we present the news that Josh Cutler resigned Wednesday from the Human Rights Commission. The HRC, launched with the mayor dragged into its activation kicking and screaming, has been among the most dysfunctional of city committees. We shall have more on this later in the week.

——– 000 ——–

First of Two Parts

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, OCT. 20, 2014) —Who needs the low-life sludge of reality TV when your have live, televised broadcasts of our Right Honorable Good Friends of the city council? The Oct. 14 gathering was a classic.

Four councilors — Barry Clairmont, Jonathan Lothrop, John Kroll, and Nick Caccamo — actually pushed back at Mayor Dan Bianchi‘s arrogant and unilateral policy/procedure mix on 100gate and the health insurance switch. Their questioning was a much-needed sign that the council still has a pulse.

TES Under Questioning: Unmanned, Overmatched

The exchanges between Clairmont and the mayor on 100gate were most enlightening. Clairmont asked the necessary questions. In his response, the mayor proved undermanned and overmatched. THE PLANET urges viewing of the meeting on the PC-TV website.

Like the health insurance switch, 100gate and the manner in which it was achieved illustrate how government in Pittsfield works not for citizens and taxpayers but for The Special Interests and Suits. The umbrella concern is how the mayor now functions unilaterally in dictatorial fashion with respect to The People’s representatives. The mayor has made it clear that opposition, what we call “democracy,” shall be considered treason. No wonder why the other councilors — The Magnificent Seven (Tully, Morandi, Connell, Simonelli, Mazzeo, Amuso, Cotton) — seem to be operating more in fear rather than principle.

When it came time for Clairmont to ask his questions, here’s what happened:

* ‘Tough. I’m asking my questions anyway’ — Clairmont began by asking council president Melissa Mazzeo how the questioning was going to work. Would the mayor be making a presentation to the written answers he supplied? Was Clairmont expected to go through each answer and follow-up with questions with other councilors being afforded the chance to do the same? Were they going to take Clairmont’s questions and the mayor’s answers in order? Mazzeo replied with a red-flag answer. She warned Clairmont of the long agenda and said she hoped he wouldn’t go through each question, because there wasn’t enough time. There “isn’t enough time?” Excuse us, but the council meetings are not like football, basketball or hockey, sports governed by a clock. The gatherings are like baseball, where games go on for as long as necessary.

Clairmont responded (PARAPHRASED): “Tough spit, Madame President. I have a lot of questions, the mayor’s written responses don’t make sense, and I am going to ask my questions.” If this was a Frank Capra movie, Clairmont’s bold reply would be the cue for the public to break out in an uproarious cheer.

A related aside: On Oct. 17, the day after the council meeting, THE PLANET requested comment from Mazzeo on the health insurance switch. We asked if she was shilling for the mayor. THE PLANET also requested “a clear and definitive statement: Do you agree with the switch? Do you agree with the manner in which the switch was made?” The council president did not respond. Has the mayor given her the ultimatum? THE PLANET can’t say. We can only report that it is uncharacteristic of Mazzeo not to return requests for comment.

Mazzeo may be in a dilemma: How to distance herself from the mayor while carrying out his orders? If she has higher ambitions for the 2015 election, this conundrum may prove fatal to this once-popular vote-getter.

* ‘The One-Roof’ Excuse Shot Down — Clairmont asked the mayor if all the city inspectors with the exception of the fire department inspectors were already under one roof at 70 Allen St., city hall. This was to refute the mayor’s specious claim that the city needed a “one-roof” policy. The mayor reluctantly agreed but said the inspectors were on different floors, as if that was an insurmountable obstacle. Actually, only the health department is on a floor different than the other permitting offices.

Clairmont then asked how walking between floors at city hall was different than walking the hall at 100 North St. The mayor, caught dead in his tracks, didn’t answer. Rather, he changed the subject. He brought up the non-squitur of how 100 North St. would provide a more inviting atmosphere to permit applicants. If you turn up the volume on the tape, you can all but hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

* Process Prowress? — Clairmont asked the mayor how the permitting process would be changed by the move of offices to 100 North St. The mayor responded in puzzling fashion by mentioning the standard work hours for inspectors. The dodge didn’t work. Clairmont pounced, asking the mayor if the city could not post regular hours now, at the present location. The mayor agreed. Then how could the move, the councilor asked, “streamline the permitting process?” Once again, having no credible answer, the mayor went into default mode by bringing up the “more pleasant atmosphere” scarlet herring.

* Working Conditions — Clairmont next mentioned the working conditions in the basement at city hall, which the mayor had trotted out as an excuse for the move after the public did not buy his other “reasons.” Moldy ceiling tiles, flooded floors, wet records, leaking pipes, radon — the councilor-at-large brought out the wheel-barrow of excuses. Didn’t the city have to address these problems anyway? Silence from the mayor. As for the wet basement, Clairmont pointed out that the sump pump had been purposely unplugged. TES dismissed that as a “rumor” that Clairmont should ignore.

Clairmont asked the mayor if he had looked into hard wiring the sump pump. The mayor answered no. Clairmont asked if the basement had been tested for radon. Yes, the mayor replied. Clairmont then asked to get a copy of the test results. The mayor said he would provide them. Clairmont, not missing a beat, asked if the mayor would be charging him for the copies as he had been charged for copies of mayoral e-mails. The mayor then insulted not just Clairmont but every citizen, since Clairmont’s seat is at large. The mayor said it would depend on how much work went into it.

Unacceptable. Hhow much work goes into photocopying test results? Moreover, as a co-governor of the city, Clairmont has the right to obtain official city records at no charge.

——– 000 ——–

Tomorrow, in Part II, THE PLANET’s coverage continues. This shall include the mayor’s now infamous “movie producer” example. You won’t want to miss it, because, ladies and gentlemen, this is your government the mayor has hijacked.

—————————————————————————————-

“Oooh I need your love, babe. Guess you know it’s true. Hope you need my love, babe, just like I need you. Hold me. Love me. Hold me. Love me. Ain’t got nothing but love, babe, eight days a week.” — The Beatles, “Eight Days a Week,” (1965).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.