Posts Tagged ‘mayor wong’

How big is this story?

Posted: December 22, 2009 by datechguy in local stuff, opinion/news
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I don’t know but I have a sneaking suspicion that what is not said in this story is even more significant than what is:

Mayor Lisa Wong directed the city solicitor to hire a consultant to investigate a wide-ranging array of issues inside the police department, according to a letter dated Sept. 14, 2009.

what kind of issues?

Included in the list is “the use or misuse of internal disciplinary personnel files,” as well as the “thoroughness and effectiveness of, internal affairs investigations of the conduct of police officers.”

She also said the investigation should focus on “to what extent officers, especially higher ranking officers, have by action or inaction interfered with or otherwise impeded the effective management and administration of the department by the Chief of Police,” and “whether the conduct of any officer violated the Police Department Rules and Regulations, the Police Manual, and/or the General Orders of Policies and Procedures of the Fitchburg Police Department.”

I’ve talked about the problems our city has with gangs and drugs. Is there more than meets the eye? We will find out.

Bah Humbug! No Christmas Lights for Fitchburg

Posted: December 11, 2009 by datechguy in elections, local stuff
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The mayoral election is over and Mayor Wong won by 30+ points, that is a mandate and a half. Her first decision since the election. No Christmas decorations for Fitchburg! Even the Sentinel & Enterprise is not on board with this one:

Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong — who earlier this year decided to save money by turning off more than 60 percent of the city’s streetlights — announced last week that the city would not put up Christmas lights or other holiday decorations, and instead encouraged residents to donate money to the Fitchburg Senior Center.

“We’re going to focus more on getting people out to the downtown, and getting people to donate, and less on the holiday display,” said Wong, following a Wednesday press conference.

Her announcement likely stunned and angered many residents and business owners, as it did us, even as it comes in the wake of many puzzling decisions made by the mayor during her first term.

Even worse our hated rival next door Leominister is doing even better.

The timing of the announcement must have been particularly infuriating for Fitchburg residents because it came at the same time Leominster officials announced they were spending $20,439 to install their Christmas decorations, including new energy-efficient LED light strands.

That’s gotta leave a mark! The comments have been, shall we say, lively?

My take, if the city has decorations in storage that are not lights there are no reason why they can’t at least go on the common, but I can see see her point, if we can’t afford street lights which are a matter of safety, I really couldn’t justify the Christmas lights which is a matter or morale. (and mayor they are Christmas lights, not holiday lights.)

Two really sad things about this. If we didn’t have to have the city counsel primary to get one guy eliminated that would have saved more than enough to put up the lights and have cash left over.

In addition thanks to Ted Kennedy refusal to resign and a State Legislature desperate to give Harry Reid one more vote for obamacare we are paying for two extra elections, this weeks primary (can someone explain to me why that couldn’t have taken place in November on election day?)and Next months election to replace him. The cost of either one would have paid for the Christmas lights.

Ironic, The Champion of the little guy Ted Kennedy’s final legacy for those little guys who voted for him year after year is to help keep Christmas dark. Fitting isn’t it?

Oh if you are interested in what Happened here in Fitchburg…

Posted: November 4, 2009 by datechguy in local stuff
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I must say I feel a bit like Pauline Kiel because the only person I knew who was proudly in favor of Mayor Wong was my wife.

Wong won with 60% of the vote. The write in candidate Donnley got 25% which to my mind really reflects poorly on the electorate, how 25% could support him is totally beyond me.

The city is in rough shape but the people must be confident in the folks currently running it, not only did every incumbent win but a former city counselor Rosemary Reynolds won the empty slot. It’s interesting to see that no incumbent counselor took less than 3000 votes. Here are some numbers:

DiNatale finished first with 3,412 votes, Hay finished second with 3,214, Conry finished third with 3,132 votes, Tran finished fourth with 3,035 votes, and Reynolds finished fifth with 1,704 votes.

Michael DiPietro came in sixth with 1,633 votes.

This tells me that despite the city’s problems people think it is on the right track. If Anne DiMartino had not left the counsel she would have taken that last spot from Rosemary. What symbolizes it the most? Halloween!

An afternoon session of downtown trick-or-treating was an overwhelming success, according to organizers, children and their parents.

“This is the best thing in Fitchburg. It’s beautiful,” said Maria Padilla-Oquendo, as she strolled down Main Street Saturday afternoon. “It’s amazing. I never thought it was going to be like this.”

Padilla-Oquendo, 44, was referring to the first Trick-or-Treat on Main Street event, coordinated by the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center, and Twin Cities Community Development Corp.

Marc Dohan, executive director of Twin Cities CDC, estimated about 1,000 trick-or-treaters made their way to the 45 participating businesses to collect candy on Saturday.

This is was a good idea particularly with so many street lights off, but more importantly it was a creative way to highlight Main Street business. There have been a lot of little innovations like that and frankly she hasn’t been afraid to take a shot.

It means that the Mayor will have a chance to complete the deal, will she be able to? I don’t know but we will find out.

The Lesson of the night? Listen to the wife.

Election Day: Go Vote

Posted: November 3, 2009 by datechguy in elections, local stuff
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I’ve been all NY-23 all the time here over the last two weeks or so, (Vote Hoffman!) but there is an election in my city too today.

Here in Fitchburg we have a mayor’s election and between Lisa Wong, nice lady, smart lady but friend of Patrick and shared a stage with Obama and Michael “Fuzzy” Voisine who is known for Pizza and sub in town for over 20 years.

At the last minute Tom Donnley has jumped into the race as a write in, the Unicow who I rarely agree with is right about this:

Just how stupid does Donnelly think the people of Fitchburg are, anyway? Judging from the comments on Sentinel articles, most people who aren’t rabid anti-Wong loonies have in no way forgotten what the guy’s all about, or that he helped create the problems Wong has been trying to fix for the last two years. They also see through the whole “I’ll swoop in late and avoid any actual campaigning” gambit.

To know Tom Donnley is to not vote for Tom Donnley, my mother won’t go near him because of issues with taxes and I’m certainly not going to write him in.

There is a lot of opposition to Mayor Wong. She is a competent person who is very smart and means very well. There is no chance she would solve Fitchburg’s problems in one term and the Ice Storm certainly didn’t help. I think she is being groomed for larger things in the Democratic party (she gets an AWFUL lot of state press, we never did before) but I think she would be better on a local level.

When I heard about Donnley I laughed at this apparent ego trip…

…until I went to the K of C meeting last night. It was Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy, everyone was for Fuzzy, I was shocked. These are all working class guys and not a one of them was against Fuzzy and not a one of them was for Mayor Wong. I haven’t made a final decision but I was likely the most pro-wong person there.

If you told me yesterday that Donnley was there to take votes against Fuzzy I would have laughed at you. Today I don’t know, and frankly I haven’t made up my mind yet.

Unless the fact that this City is a drug Hub and that the Gangs have been allowed to establish themselves is addressed all the other stuff isn’t going to make a damn bit of difference.

In the end we get the government we deserve, no matter who wins, no matter where you are, it’s up to you, go vote!

If you don’t then I’d better not hear you whining.

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