Patrick Wadden wrote:Come on, Bridget Condent, Brian Easi, what's the answer? Bottem line. Skindell's campaign was absolutely horrible. Nate Kelley and Summers offered Skindell and Markling the one thing that they needed to win the election and Skindell and Markling turned it down. A debate about ALL things about Lakewood was turned down. Do you think that anybody in Lakewood that wanted to "save lakewood hospital" voted for Summers? Do you think that anybody that wanted to "Build Lakewod" voted for Skindell?
Patrick,
You seem angry about the hospital closing and now want to change the subject backward to the election and the false narrative that the hospital could not be saved.
The facts are that the hospital was well positioned, well funded and profitable prior to Summers' press conference on January 15, 2015. Over $85M in liquid assets to support it and about $8M in profits for 2013-2104.
Implied in your questions are that Summers did all he could to save it. The opposite is true even Summers has now admitted that in 2011 he alone determined (before Subsidium was hired) that the hospital was "unsustainable".
So he and others proceeded to tank it. Even CCF insiders agree on this.
So if even an intelligent insider like you can be lied to and fooled as to Summers being somehow a champion of the hospital, what does that say about the average Joe on the street believing Summers wanted to save the hospital? After the election SLH followers increased and many newbies were surprised to learn that Summers wanted to close the hospital.
I want to build Lakewood and I voted for Skindell and I consider myself a conservative--for transparent, responsible and accountable government--no tax increases---that would have happened if Skindell won.
As I understand it, Skindell asked Summers for a debate about the hospital and Summers cowered from it because he is a coward--from the time he got the Triad push poll results in August (paid for by LHA/CCF) he never spoke a word about the hospital because he knew it was poison.
Did the people need a debate about trash collection when the incumbent mayor, Madigan, Butler and Bullock were proactively destroying the city's largest employer that accounted for 14% of city payroll taxes in 2014 and millions in economic impact to businesses?
He lied to and misled you and the general public to get elected--that's what true politicians do---not local heroes.
You can say whatever you want about Skindell, but he never lied and he ran a squeaky clean campaign against a very popular incumbent.
Skindell is a Lakewood hero and history will prove him completely right. He stood up against corruption and huge corporate interests when nobody else in politics did.
Here it comes...your anger reveals that you realize there will be culpability for "death and debility" that Terry Kilroy M.D. and the UC San Fran study predicted was inevitable.
That fact remains that it was all avoidable and Summers was the single most important bad actor that made it happen. When he goes down, Bullock, Butler and others will follow or "sing" to escape the consequences of their actions.
Patrick, its time to move forward together as a community and have members accept the consequences of respective roles, decisions and actions---looking backward at the November election will not insulate Summers and his cohorts from their bad acts--the law and/or the highest authority will do that.
But thousands of members of the community have spoken more recently than, and they say they want an up or down vote on this important issue.
Do you think they have that right?
Do you think that Council should delay that right?
Can we move forward as a community together?
