Two people have asked me about the CrimeWatch meeting on Saturday. Specifically, each asked about, or wanted to discuss, the attendance. Very specifically, they wanted to know which Commissioners attended, and why those who didn't didn't.
I'm not what you could call unbiased about this. The featured guests were our police officers, including the Chief, and the host, so to speak, was the CrimeWatch Chairman. So to begin with, I think lots of VP residents should have attended. We all should have been interested in the topic, and we should have shown respect to Chuck Ross, Ray Atesiano, Nick Wollschlager, and Charlie Dayoub. So the 15-20 people who were there were not what the doctor ordered. Not this doctor, anyway.
As to the question and the topic at hand, two of our five Commissioners were there. They were the two who come to everything, all the time, who get their hands dirty, who participate, who work at their municipal jobs, and who care. (Did I mention my lack of neutrality? I will not, however, confess to a lack of honesty. I'm telling it like it is. If you don't like how it is, I don't like it, either.)
Ah, yes, the question of who wasn't there, and why they weren't there. Well, one Commissioner who wasn't there is never there. Bryan Cooper has been explicit in letting us know he isn't coming to Village events of any kind, and the reason is that he's punishing the Village, because a prior Commission, and an ad hoc committee, voted against the lines he wanted painted in the street. I wish I could dress this up, but I have to be as clear about it as Bryan was. There's just no good alternative way to spin it.
Barbara Watts tells us she's very busy with her day job. I don't know if that's why she wasn't there. If I recall correctly, she wasn't at the last CrimeWatch event, either. She's also announced in the past that she actually never wanted to be a Commissioner, but she couldn't find someone else to run. Why she thought she should do something she didn't want to do, and for which she is clearly unprepared, is beyond me. It's as if it's someone else who makes her decisions for her. As if someone said to her, if you don't want to run, you'll have to find someone else. If you can't find someone else, you'll have to run yourself, whether you want to or not. So maybe her heart isn't really fully in this gig. If I thought someone of her chronological maturity and successful station is life would be a bit more independent-minded, I was apparently wrong.
Noah Jacobs sometimes shows up for things, but often enough not. In the past, he's made noises suggesting it may be a matter of his religious observance, but his rare appearance at events that occur on a Friday night or a Saturday give the impression it's not necessarily that. What else would prevent the Mayor from attending Village events? Beats me.
Here's my thinking, though. Maybe some Commissioners didn't come, because the host was Chuck Ross, and they have something against him personally. Or maybe none of these three is much interested in the Village at all. Or maybe they're busy with other parts of their lives, and the Village just isn't a high priority for them.
These three people ran for office, whether they wanted the office or not. And when they won their elections, they accepted the office. They all cash the checks they receive from all of us. One of these people, the one with not a moment's relevant experience or familiarity with the Village, agreed to be Mayor. And none of them can be relied upon to attend Village events. There's something very wrong with this. If any of them had appropriate respect for the residents of the Park, they would resign. I quit holding my breath a long time ago.
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