BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY SEPT. 7, 2016) — Ah, so much happening on THE PLANET and so too few days to share — but we press on, as always, a skiff against the tides.

With respect to the controversial proposed appointment of Fred Conyers Jr. to the Pittsfield Fire Department, you can forget the “proposed.” It’s a done deal. THE PLANET, ever mindful of Strunk & White‘s injunction against double negatives, tell you the appointment cannot not happen.

Conyers (along with four other applicants for Pittsfield Fire Department posts) comes before the city council Sept. 13 for “confirmation,” but even if the council rejects the application, Mayor Linda Tyer said at a closed press conference yesterday that she would still appoint Conyers. Tyer called the council’s confirmation “a formality” and not required by law. With respect to Conyers, Tyer had just neutered the council. Politically, it was well-played. Strategically, we can’t imagine the members would be happy with their inessential status.

Reached last night, council president Peter Marchetti said, “I agree she has the right to reappoint. The charter gives council approval of certain department heads and members of multi member committees. I don’t know about the [wisdom of the] appointment and would prefer not to comment until it and all the documentation has been submitted. I believe that the process should change and if no approval is required it should not be submitted as an approval. It should be submitted as for your information [only].”

Ward 1 councilor Lisa Tully told THE PLANET, “If our vote doesn’t matter, I don’t understand why it would be on the agenda for us to vote. I respect Mayor Tyer and Chief Czewrinski and trust that they are making the correct decision. From what I read, Mr. Conyers is qualified and  passed the State and Pittsfield requirements.”

[ED. NOTE: THE PLANET contacted all 11 councilors, late last night. We include  the remarks of Ward 6 councilor John Krol and Pete White, at-large, below. They came after we posted the column.]

Conyers, acting fire chief Bob Czerwinski, the mayor, and city director of administrative services Roberta McCulloch-Dews, were present at the “closed” press availability, attended by THE PLANET, the Berkshire Eagle, Northeast Public Radio, New England Public Radio, and iBerkshires.  After her opening statement, Tyer introduced Conyers, who talked off the cuff of his experience “going down the wrong path,” his nearly four years in state prison on drug and weapon charges, and his efforts in the five years out of prison to rebuild his life: “I wanted to show people who I am” and demonstrate trustworthiness, Conyers said.  He said he wanted to get some respectable years behind him in the community before applying for the fire fighter’s position, a job he’s wanted since he was 11, when he lost three friends to a house fire on Edward Avenue in the early 1990s. His rehab stint included jobs in the private sector (Home Depot, Unistress), providing for his family, and coaching youth sports (currently, Pop Warner football).

‘Push Back’ from the Ranks

THE PLANET asked Czerwinski if the ranks will accept Conyers as a trusted member of the PFD, one of “the brothers.” The acting chief acknowledged “push back” from the men but said he “had no concern about ‘the team’” in their ultimate functioning on calls or about their ultimate trust of Conyers. “Over time, the guys will accept [Conyers],” Czerwinski said. Conyers said he understood the concerns of the members, “but I’m a little disappointed in it.”

There is “push back” indeed — lots. Tyer said she and each city councilor had only the night before (Sept. 5) received a letter from Firefighters Local 2647 president Robert Leary outlining the members’ “concerns” with hiring Conyers.

THE PLANET, on behalf of the media, asked Tyer for a copy of the letter. First, she resisted, saying we should get a copy from Leary. We responded that since she was a recipient, she now “owned” the intellectual rights to the letter and could freely release it. Tyer said she still wanted it to come from Leary. THE PLANET pressed. We asked “If Leary refuses, would you then give us a copy?” The mayor said yes. “Then why not give us the letter now?” She relented, and after the conference ended, MuCulloch-Dews handed out copies. We include this little aside to indicate, non sequitur that it may be, that nothing comes to the press in this town unless you push hay-laden barrows, pull stubborn teeth, and persist. As Ringo once crooned, “It Don’t Come Easy.”

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Leary said he “regrets that this letter has become necessary. Internal discussion of the past two months have lead [sic] the majority membership to believe this hiring puts its members and the City at risk. Although Civil Service is designed to be free from political influence, in this specific nomination … political influence has been introduced with a personal reference by Sheriff [Tom] Bowler.”

Chief Confirms Sheriff Hired His Daughter but, with Mayor, Denies ‘Quid Pro Quo‘

At the press conference, THE PLANET confirmed with Czerwinski that Bowler had hired the acting chief’s daughter in September 2014. He said that was well before Conyers’ application and the two could not therefore be connected. Of course, the obvious follow up is that the two-year passage of time would not necessarily prevent a quid pro quo between the sheriff and the acting chief, to be cashed in at a later date. Tyer denied any such arrangement, adding that she was proud to have the sheriff’s support of Conyers. Nonetheless, it remains a puzzle why Bowler, who has no professional duties with respect to the PFD, would go out of his way with this recommendation. It is also problematic that Leary, speaking for the membership, believes otherwise.

Leary said that Conyers “was bypassed for the previous two [PFD] appointments with no public outcry that we are aware of. The candidate’s past makes him ineligible for a position in the Sheriff’s Department or the Pittsfield Police Department. We believe his past is grounds for by-pass again, as past hiring practices have had candidates by-passed for much lesser histories.

Tyer said neither race nor criminal record has any bearing on civil service scores in the manner of veteran’s preference, for example. The mayor said Conyers placed at the top of the current list of eligible candidates without any extra help. She said he has passed the required psychological, medical, and physical-fitness testing. “No one was bypassed in favor of Fred Conyers,” Tyer said, with emphasis.

Mayor: Conyers ‘Has an Interesting and Compelling Life Story’

Since Tyer said she will appoint Conyers even should the council vote against, making him a certain hire. He can pop the bubbly. Czerwinski said Conyers and the four other rookies would begin training (“fire fighters’ boot camp”) on Sept. 19. Training would last five weeks. A one-year probationary period would follow.

Tyer said Conyers “has an interesting and compelling life story” and spoke of the need for “redemption” and “second chances.” So do the members of the fire fighters union, according to Leary: “We support anyone who has changed their lives for the good, but we believe this fire department is an inappropriate avenue … to promote the rehabilitation of this one candidate.”

Leary said the members feel Conyers’ “reputation and history will affect how he is perceived and how the 2647 membership is received. Our membership has concerns because we have been told by friends, family, and other public service workers that his public perspective [sic] is negatively influenced by his and his family’s history and association to [sic] drugs and violence.”

PLANET Says Roll the Dice on Conyers’ Sincerity

Fair enough, but how can someone who wants a second chance prove he is worthy of the undeniable risk without actually getting the chance? Fred Conyers Jr. has been vetted and, according to Tyer and Czerwinski, passed with ease. However, all the vetting, testing, interviews, and “looking him in the eye” prove nothing. There can be no certainly about Conyers, but the same can be said of any rookie. Most new hires work out and some do not. It’s always been and will always be the case, in the PFD, the PPD, football teams, supermarkets, offices, and every place of work that must successfully function as a unit.

A fire fighter told THE PLANET that all rookies can expect a rough ride when they first join. It’s not hazing, he said, but it’s to make sure they realize “that they’re expected to do a man’s job and not wilt” under extreme duress. In that respect, Conyers will not only have to endure what the other rookies face, but you can be sure he will face a little extra dose — all the more reason to expect him to prove his detractors wrong. If ever a person needed extra motivation, Conyers has it. At the press conference, he said he would use the initial opposition as an incentive to succeed.

One more thing. In his letter, Leary admitted that Conyers “passed his EMT class this spring” but questioned whether “he has been granted his EMT license.” Granted, having a fire fighter who is also an EMT is a bonus, but not all fire fighters are EMTs. Most are not. Moreover, being an EMT is not a job requirement. Nonetheless, Leary said the union “suggested in July,[sic] to Chief Czerwinski that the candidate should be required to have his EMT certification before he is appointed.” That is an unreasonable and discriminatory request, one that the chief is wise to ignore. Leary ignored THE PLANET‘s request for comment, sent on Aug. 6.

Both the mayor and the chief are sticking their necks out for the guy. After the press conference, THE PLANET talked one-on-one with Conyers. We looked deeply and sensed sincerity. We could be right. We could be wrong. The man might prove to be the best hire in department history. Then again, he may prove to be the greatest actor since Olivier and leave on workman’s comp after 16 months with the old “phantom back injury.” The only way to find out, and we agree with the mayor when she said it, that redemption comes not through empty words but bold gestures.

Consequently, we’ll join Tyer and Czerwinski in saying, “Give the man a chance.”

Redemption happens.

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ADDENDUM — ADDITIONAL COUNCILORS’ REMARKS

JOHN KROL, WARD 6 (unedited) —  “I support Mr. Conyers 100 percent. I will certainly be voting in favor of this appointment. As you may know, Mr. Conyers’ character today has been strengthened through adversity he faced in the past, and his ability to ultimately overcome his mistakes. Years ago, he chose the wrong path and suffered the consequences for that. However, as he articulated during the press conference, his whole world changed when his first daughter was born. Family can do that. It gave him new purpose and powerful motivation to realize a greater potential.

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“Win or lose, I’m a moonlight gambler.” — Frankie Laine, “Moonlight Gambler.”

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

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