Ryan
As much as it pains me to say this, I really do not care what he says anymore.
If a Mayor elected by the people sees fit to lie and mislead his constituents for
over 3 years on the single biggest change in the city in 50 years...
... he simply cannot be trusted.
When a Mayor cannot be trusted, he is useless to the community he was to lead.
So the City now should ask itself, do we build the temple the liars DEMAND for themselves?
I really hope the city thinks long and hard about their vote this fall.
Do we reward bad leadership, lying, mistrust, scheming, backroom deals with friends?
Yesterday, I had a great glass of Scotch with a longtime friend who appears on the
Build Lakewood list*, and is a key holder to the City of Lakewood. He asked if I was voting
for Mike this year. He knows Mike and I have been friends for a long time, and knows that
despite some of the talk, I still saw Mike with potential. "I said no, 6 weeks ago I decided
I could no longer support him.
While being Mayor, he not only helped but headed the plan to run Lakewood Hosptial into
the ground, though it was always in his power to stop the plan. He has lied and schemed
behind every Lakewoodites back for a Rec Center that he knows the City cannot afford or
support, but pushed on to please a few misguided friends. He has worked behind our backs
to sell off some of the most valuable property in Lakewood for a loss to the citizens, but a
big enough gain for friends to set up "a new unnamed non-profit dedicated to active
living**." He worked to run out our largest employer, that had roughly 1,000 good jobs.
He has squandered hundreds of thousands of our dollars, nearly $1 million if you count the
LHA's study on documents to back up and underline, HIS PLAN, not their findings. Then
hires "Crisis Management" to deal with us, the citizens. And this is just the tip of the
iceberg. Oh yes, more proof of the scam is coming. He has not just failed, and might
possibly be our worst mayor, he might be one of the most corrupt in thought.
I cannot figure out how anyone can support this level of dishonesty.
It is embarrassing when I'm talking to people who know the truth, and I say, "Why the blind
support?" It is easily as embarrassing as when Ed FitzGerald blew up, and the county
thanked us for dumping our trash into their backyards.
I turn to the "Build Lakewood" friend and he says, "Well Skindell seems a little
opportunistic, a career politician." Opportunistic?! The man, who has NEVER been involved
in a scandal, and has always stood for democratic values, is walking away from the last
3.5 years as the State Senator, because he was so outraged over the bullshit. He could
have easily waited and waltzed in at the next election. But no, the deal is so bad he jumped in.
Opportunistic is stepping in, running a city institution into the ground, while plotting to
get friends and others into cushy jobs handing out our money selectively to their friends.
* This person was not asked to be on list, but did not care that he was listed, and genrally
supports the idea that IF THE DEAL IS LEGIT, something needs to go there.
**At a going-away party last December, a woman said to one of her co-workers, "I am
stepping down to run a new non-profit dedicated to active living in Lakewood." I have
written that name on a double sealed registered letter to one of my lawyers, to be
opened the day after the announcement.
Lakewood, we are getting played. Wake up.
.
