County Republicans Screw County Taxpayers, Again
Former County Executive Jack Doyle was a criminal mastermind. As such, he should be considered a hero to any aspiring Republican politician. While he was in office bankrupting the county by refusing to raise the property tax levy, which was highly popular with suburban voters who couldn't see beyond their own selfish interests, he was forcing poorly thought out zoo expansion plans down irate citizens' throats, constantly inciting battles with the Democrat-led City government, and also helping give handsome kickbacks to his buddies. I'm sure by now you've read about the State Comptroller's audit of the Monroe County Water Authority. You've seen the audacious benefits given to John Stanwix, Peter Formicola, and other County Republicans, errr I mean Water Authority members and staff. Funny thing is, it may all have been legal since the Authority had no oversight and their Board was nothing more than a rubber stamp.Now I know that there has been no link to Doyle cited in the media, but let's be realistic. Stanwix, the former Director of the Water Authority and the main culprit in this financial rape, is a former Republican County legislator and former head of the County GOP. Jack Doyle installed Stanwix as Director at the Authority during his reign on the county throne. They both shared intimate late-night encounters with State GOP Chairman (and local heartthrob) Steve Minarik that can only be described as "steamy". Okay, maybe that last one was untrue. Or was it? Regardless, this is another example of right-wing corruption that has taken place across the political spectrum of America. Sure, you could say that Mayor Johnson screwed the taxpayers through the ferry debacle, but at least Johnson was trying to help the city and regional economy through his dealings. What were Doyle, Minarik, and Stanwix doing other than fattening their own pockets by screwing you and me out of our hard-earned money?
Things have changed at the County level since then. While I disagree with many of current County Executive Maggie Brooks' policies, I have to admit that she has done a pretty darn good job healing wounds in this county. But she's still a Republican, and her response to this damning audit (note: when the ferry audit was issued, the headline said it was 'damning', when this was issued, no damnation was proclaimed -- liberal media my ass) is lax at best. As the Democrat & Chronicle reports, "Brooks said she will let the water authority determine whether to pursue legal action. "We're going to see if there is any criminal activity involved or criminal indication and we'll make our decision from there," she said, adding, "nobody likes to see something that seems to be a violation of ethics."" Seems to be a violation of ethics? Shouldn't she be pissed off about yet another mess that the illustrious former County Executive left her to deal with? It's more than likely that some of this dirty money founds its way into her election campaign so it's probably a good idea for her to keep her trap shut. Lucky for us, Democrat Mike Green is our District Attorney, and I have faith that he'll make damn sure that if there is even an inkling of illegal activity, a few rich, fat Republicans will be in handcuffs, if not in jail.
By the way, if you'd like to contact Mr. Stanwix, he now resides in beautiful sprawling hurricane-prone Port Charlotte, FL. He is currently employed as a realtor, probably encouraging local residents to move out of our area and take some taxpayer money with them. Some leaders we have in those Republicans, huh?
posted by Man About Town @ 9:38 AM
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