Bill Call wrote:Mr. Essi deserves a Pulitzer Prize for his research and reporting. If members of the local media were half as ambitious and dogged the whole corrupt deal would have collapsed by now.
It's clear that the Mayor lied to Council, lied to the people and lied to the Court. We deserve better.
I have friends who are friends of the Mayor. When another layer of lies is revealed they first deny it, then get angry and then make excuses. No matter what the lie is they excuse it. I guess I could understand it if the City was getting a spectacular new development but we are getting nothing but a second rate medical office building and a health care desert.
They have been planning the destruction of the Hospital for at least 5 years and they still have no idea what will take its place.
Bill
You have hit on some amazing occurrences in Lakewood, a city that prided itself in openness just 5 short years ago.
When I announced the Hospital Closing, many mutual friends of the mayor's mine and yours called, wrote, tracked me down, begging me to take down the lie. That the mayor had assured them the hospital is not closing. To this day none have asked the mayor why he lied. Instead they say, "Oh he had too..."
You and I have watched an amazing transformation among people we used to look up to, that have either shown themselves to be blissfully ignorant, or part of the problem.
"The Essi problem" quote from a member of council two weeks ago. "We know he is not lying, but the way he says it." Anyway they can explain it away, they desperately try.
This city gave birth to a mayor that stole tires and earth movers from the city. Mayors that hired friends for no reasons, Mayors that sold out who chunks of the city, Mayors that had no background checks and later embarrassed us, that appointed the current regime. Which means the same lack of attention to detail, that was one of City Hall's biggest issues.
"No, he is great at business." Well I hate to drag this stuff in, but he ran the family business and sold it off for a good dollar. It was my understanding that the next generation was n't interested in running it, common issue in family businesses, not matter it was sold for a damn good price. But how do we know it was a "great deal."
Which brings me to this comment
Bill, Council President Mary Louise Madigan, and City Council-At-Large Tom Bullock were part of the dealings. Council wasn't lied too, they were co-conspirators. Lakewood City Council should be more worried about cleaning up their reputation and part of the scheme, instead of doubling down on a terrible deal.Bill Call wrote:It's clear that the Mayor lied to Council, lied to the people and lied to the Court. We deserve better.
I have said from day one, the problem is not losing the hospital, that is merely the surface "rash" on a much deeper more systemic issue at City Hall, and in the City of Lakewood. The Safety Director/Mayor has made some very, veery bad moves for personal reasons. At every inch, he has been shown proof of other offers, where more money could be had for the city, that how the lease actually rads, and what was meant at the time, but he always comes back to, "no money for new non-profit, and rec center."
We are about to have to pay an additional $250 dollars a year for trash collection, because of this yet unnamed non-profit, that already cost us our largest employer and over $150 million in assets. I'm sure his friends will tell us, he had to, its a secret.
I think it is pretty easy to explain, "We have been played,"
