15 March 2005
Spectator
Irony in the Titanic that is Erie County
Irony #1 - Joel Giambra became the poster child for the "new" concept of government consolidation when he chose to reinvent himself as a Republican. With Bruce Almighty Fisher dutifully tugging on the strings and moving Giambra's mouth, Joel went around the county trumpeting the need for consolidation (read "dissolve the city"). It didn't matter how he said it or the details about how to do it. Now, he has emerged as the emperor without clothes. He has been forced to retreat from a promise to help out the cities and other local governments. The legislature is backing off the single successful consolidation: the takeover of city parks. And the County Executive now wants to stop subsidizing a regional asset in the NFTA. The long-standing myth of efficiency that has cloaked county government for decades has been blown away. Can anyone now with a straight face that we should entrust the region's future to a county government so utterly inept that it can't even quantify its ineptitude?
Irony #2 - We all bought into the notion that Nancy Naples and her "private sector experience" were just what the doctor ordered to watchdog county finances. Let's see a show of hands of all those who still feel that way. Hmmm ... not many hands. Let's see the hands of those who are relieved that we didn't send her to Congress?
Irony #3 - Does anyone else feel like the Buffalo News is doing an imitation of Fonzy trying to say the word "w-r-o-n-g"? You remember when Fonzy's mouth would make the shape of "wrong" but the sound just wouldn't emit. No matter what is uncovered on its news pages, the News editorials keep conjuring up the image of Medicaid as the boogieman that forced the poor county executive into such a difficult situation. Once again we see the "blame the victim" mentality rearing its ugly head. It's the fault of the poor that Erie County can't get it right.
Irony #4 - Many years ago, there was a comedian named Professor Irwin Corey who described himself as "the world's foremost authority." Donn Esmonde has now replaced him in that role. He is the area's foremost authority on just about everything. Take the county's meltdown for instance. Esmonde says it's a "tax revolt." Actually, the meltdown occurred because of tax cuts. Giambra spent the county's rainy day fund, so assiduously built up by Dennis Gorski, to pay for politically expedient but practically stupid tax cuts. Instead of being a manager and a leader who would be able to balance service levels with revenues, Giambra did his drunken sailor imitation: spending everything in sight to be able to maintain services and cut taxes. Now, the piper has to be paid and there is no money. That situation didn't occur because we are taxed too much. It occurred because we weren't taxed enough to pay for the level of service we expected. Giambra is the prime example of all that is wrong with politics and politicians in Western New York. He is more concerned about the next election than the next generation. The real irony is that he screwed up both.
Irony #5 - Some people (read "The Buffalo News" and its aristocratic friends) are still insisting that "consolidation" is the way to go in the future of local government. Actually the opposite is true. Government needs to devolve from the massive county structure that has been a patronage employment agency. We should dissolve county government that is largely a pass-through agency for federal and state funds. Certainly, there is no need for city representatives on the legislative body. The devolution could start there: eliminate all those legislative jobs. The county doesn't spend money in the city so why do we need representation? For many years, the Republicans have insisted on printing tax bills that show how much of the county tax levy is spent on welfare and Medicaid (remember - it's the fault of the poor we are in this mess). So why not just give the state and federal poverty funds to the city and be done with it? Let the City spend the money on its residents. Without the County sucking in hundreds of millions of sales tax dollars every year, there would be more money for towns to maintain parks within there borders, to plow highways, to do road repair. Right now, the County is spending a big bunch of money to supply jobs to the politically favored and pay 20% over retail for purchases from the same politically favored who don't need actual jobs.
Irony #6 - Esmonde tells us the people are mad and aren't going to take this ineptitude any more. Physician, heal thyself! The scoundrels get elected. They don't just assume power. The electorate that votes because "poor Giambra is a cancer survivor" or "I don't like Gorski's looks," get what they elect. Look around the political landscape in Buffalo and Erie County. See any new faces? Or is it just the same people in different jobs? If the name Andy Sedita (the current parks commissioner) sounds familiar it's because he's the same Andy Sedita who brought down the city as part of the Jimmy Griffin cabal. Sedita's experience for his government work? He owned a bar. All over the city and county administrations are patronage appointments who have been in their jobs 20 years and more! Why do we expect a different result from the same cast of ne'er-do-wells? The lineup of elected officials is no better. Councilmen become assemblymen who become congressmen. Legislators become assemblymen. This political musical chairs game is not conducive to creative and innovative government. State Senator Byron Brown is a great case in point - a political appointee-turned city councilman-turned state senator-wanting to be Mayor. That is the identical route take to the Mayor's Office by his predecessor, Tony Masiello. When Brown announced his candidacy, you could have closed your eyes and thought you were hearing Masiello's announcement speech from 13 years ago. Brown said he would bring the "best and brightest" into city government. Masiello said exactly the same thing with the same words 13 years ago. Consider this morsel as well - Sen. Brown showed up at the First Ward St. Patrick's Day Parade over the weekend, shepherded by the city labor union members. So what's in the offing for Buffalo with "Mayor Brown?" The best mayor union money can buy?
The more things "change" around here, the more they stay the same.
Copyright 2004 by Buffalo Report, Inc.