Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Allin and Lance

Allin Frawley has hit the ground running as he did for the BOS election and from what I have seen on his short stint on the BOS his work ethic is not isolated to the campaign trail but is a continuing process to understand the operations of the town - government and otherwise.

I’m sure that same quality will translate into performance when Allin is elected to that bastard step child known as the 12th Bristol. I even argue with myself so I’m sure Allin will do things that might run contrary to my own views but I know his opinion will be derived from doing some diligent homework and not an emotional rant. Folks really appreciated access and hard work no matter what their political perspective.

I have no idea why Roger Brunelle, Jr. has entered this race? He has no political resume that I know of and my typical knee jerk reaction is some type of vendetta to draw primary votes away from Allin. The typical straw entering the race whose only goal is to target one candidate. I hope I am wrong on this but until some definitive reason surfaces for entry into the race besides union affiliation I’ll stick with my knee jerk reaction.

Buy local is something we see and hear all the time. Just look at the closed storefronts downtown. For a few extra bucks you can avoid having your money sent to some hillbilly corporate center in Arkansas. Same with local produce. A bit more but fresh and, of course, local

Carpetbaggers were those loyalist of the Union during the Civil War who were rewarded with political jobs of reconstruction of the South. Southerners’ quickly despised these outsiders not only over the political connections but simply because they were only there for a few dollars and then would move on.

I had some real issues with Lincoln Lynch who was school superintendent starting around the time of King Phillips War. Lynch was here for at least twenty years in the command chair and was local. He knew Middleboro and you did have the consistency of leadership in a key town position.

Now those three paragraphs are - to steal a literary term - setting the stage. We now have a fire chief that is apparently on the move - again. May the next chief - if this one leaves - actually have some connection to the town. Maybe it is time to buy local? I really have some “issues” with residency but just maybe that does deserve a look. Maybe a key department needs someone who is more than two or three and out.

At this juncture the whole convoluted ambulance issue is up for more serious debate. Exactly what concessions are being tossed around? This will eventually come out in the wash since the negotiations have borrowed the Cone of Silence from “Get Smart.” Spataro was right in not voting.

6 comments:

Suo Mynona said...

I am not surprised he used this as a stepping stone. That is why I urged the BoS to slow down.

bogofree said...

Good advice. If he does not "get" this job how long before he grabs another one or becomes a Deputy Chief in a larger department with the fast track to the big job.

IMO this "job hunt" was taking place while the issue was being debated. Is this transparency?

Anonymous said...

I know a lot of the firemen and they love him and swear by him. I thought he was doing a great job and was very creative in saving jobs and speeding up the retirement of a few captains. It would be a shame if he left town but what would you do if you could negotiate and extra 15k a year?

LMAO said...

In my opinion he was job hunting since he probably started the job and I have no problem with upward mobility but I do with the apparent lack of transparency that took place.

We have a FC member working on the grant with the chief who did not even have the common sense to mention. We saw the chief discussing implementation while sending out his resume. Now he claims he will stay if the measure is approved but for how long?

There is a distinct odor from this whole process and Suo is absolutely correct.

Suo Mynona said...

I do not begrudge him for going trying to get a $22,000 raise. We will not know how many other back up positions (if any0 he has applied for unless he becomes a finalist again.

There is a fine (but very distinct) line between transparency/privacy and deception. I do NOT think the chief was intentionally deceptive. Both issues most likely occurred on a parallel timeline

Bottom line, IMO, it is time to start looking for another fire chief. This chief wants more money than we can afford and/or are willing to pay.

anonymous said...

I will stay if you pass the grant. What is this? This BoS needs to send a message on that one and the message is we ain't passing that grant.