25 March 2005
Bruce Fisher and Spectator
"Ad hominem my ass": Bruce L. Fisher responds to Spectator/Spectator responds to Bruce L. FisherThese remarks by Deputy Erie County Executive Bruce Fisher are in response to Spectator's 22 March column in Buffalo Report, Giambra's meltdown, Naples' nosedive, Griffin's flight, Reynolds' betrayal, Bush's theft—and the Senate screws veterans (again). Whadda week!
Bruce L. Fisher wrote:
Joel Giambra advocated raising revenue to pay for local services.
Joel Giambra recently stated in public that he now believes that he should have acted unilaterally to raise the property tax, per my suggestion, in order to obtain the revenue to fund local services, rather than to have done what he did, which was to ask the Erie County Legislature to raise a sales tax. I think it's a good thing, a creditable act, not a bad thing, when an elected official rethinks his position. I owed him confidentiality, and so never revealed my disagreement with him until he did.
Joel Giambra advocates for regional government, as do many thoughtful people here, in academia, in think tanks and in other urban regions.
It is sad and a little weird for a grown-up to write that my colleague is a puppet. I have worked with Joel Giambra, and will continue to work with Joel Giambra (as do a good number of very smart, very well-educated attorneys, engineers, IT pros, physicians, financial pros and others), because I agree with these positions; because I believe that they are important and appropriate and good public policy; and because, having done national politics at the highest level, I believe that effecting policy at the local/regional level is a way to do good and meaningful work. I tend to like government more than Joel does, but that's probably because my formative experience in government was in Washington, which is the world capitol of professional public service, while his was Buffalo City Hall, which ain't.
What I do not understand about Spectator is why s/he criticizes Giambra for two policy issues — i.e., paying for government services, and regionalizing government — with which nobody in their right mind should disagree.
I can debate policy, but I just don't know how to respond to ad hominem raging.
Spectator responded:
Ad hominem My Ass!
One source of the Spectator's outrage might just be that the current county executive and his chief advisor have turned Erie County into the laughing stock of the country. Or perhaps Mr. Fisher doesn't find it at all disturbing that county employees need to wipe their asses with donated toilet paper. Some of us do, however. Some of us recall that Joel Giambra inherited a hefty budget surplus and used it to buy political favor with tax cuts. Unfortunately, the tax cuts weren't accompanied by corresponding spending cuts and now we learn that there is no toilet paper, no paving material, no sanity in county government. There is, however, room for every West Side political hack to find his way on the county payroll. How's that job for Joanne Skorka coming? Has a place been found for her yet? Perhaps she could have the office next to Andy Sedita. The sad fact about local politics is that the faces never change. The same people who ran the city into the ground with Jimmy Griffin have now helped Giambra preside over the county meltdown; predictable, but still sad.
And for the record, if the best the county executive can do is "advocate" then he has no business being called an executive. Executives lead. They accomplish. They inform and coalesce. They don't "advocate." The Spectator advocates. Giambra knew the shit was hitting the fan — without toilet paper — long before the actual crisis — or he should have. Instead of sitting down and coalescing and leading, he postured with that nonsensical "red budget." That is not leadership, Mr. Fisher. And what of the deal that was made with the mayor? The deal that said the mayor would round up five votes for the sales tax increase among Democrats and Giambra would do the same with "his party." The Democrats stepped up. Masiello stepped up. Giambra fell on his face. One reason is that Joel is his own political party. He has no allegiances. He has no allies. He postures and hopes that he can put others in situations where they have to agree with him or suffer negative consequences. So when it came time to call in a few political favors to do the right thing for the county, Giambra had no markers to call in. Republicans deserted him and the county residents now pay the price.
Mr. Fisher should read more carefully. The Spectator criticized Giambra for killing any hope of regionalization with his most recent failure. What city resident would now want his or her fate tied to the gang that can't shoot straight? The county has long been held up in the press in and in popular perception as the epitome of efficiency. Now, we see the emperor has no clothes. We are treated to the spectacle of the county executive calling on the attorney general to investigate the county comptroller; the county comptroller calling on the FBI to investigate the chairman of the county legislature; and no one paying their county taxes. So if Mr. Fisher's formative experience in world capitol of professional public service has led us to this comedically ridiculous situation, then Mr. Fisher ought to go back to that capitol. Just for clarity sake though, is that the same world capitol of professional public service that sees doctors rendering professional diagnosis from looking at a video tape? or the same capitol where Halliburton is plundering the public treasury? or the same capitol where the "leader" of the House of Representatives said he was "denied" combat service in Vietnam because the minorities took all the spots?
Ad hominem? Bruce Fisher hasn't seen ad hominen. Yet.
Copyright 2005 by Buffalo Report, Inc.