Sunday, October 16, 2011Palm Beach Post
Personal issues have no place In Lake Worth mayoral race
Regarding the article "Lake Worth mayor to pass on candidate forums due to 'vicious, personal attacks,'" following a recent political debate Mayor Rachel Waterman was subjected to a taste of the embarrassment commonly known as "Lake Worth politics." Mayor Waterman generally does not avoid tough questions, but in the environment at the Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association forum, issues could not be productively debated.
At any political forum, societal issues at hand should be the subject of debate. If the nation focused on personal issues, we may have been denied what proved to be some very worthy leaders. Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Harry S. Truman each filed personal bankruptcy. Personal attacks are a waste of time, and in Lake Worth we have wasted too much time and money on politics.
Mayor Waterman's withdrawal from participating in dirty politics was a valiant attempt toward the betterment of Lake Worth. Mayor Waterman has met with and will continue to meet with residents on the street, in their homes or in city hall. With our first trilingual mayor, we have an opportunity to progress in a unified and dignified manner in the practice of true democracy. A select few in our city are only interested in maintaining the status quo, one which led us to near-bankruptcy.
In Lake Worth, we have a budget team, city manager and city commission, all overseeing our expenditures. It seems that the heads of the neighborhood associations and volunteers need to regain control of their venues before they attempt to discredit our mayor.
DINA CLINGMAN-BELL
CHRIS BELL
Lake Worth
12 comments:
What a crock. Blaming the neighborhood associations for the anger of the citizens of this city is crazy. Waterman voted to raise everyone's taxes and has treated the citizens of our city with no respect. She has allowed the City Manager to screw us with every assessment that she could think of. Folks are dam mad about what's happened under her watch. They expected her to stand up for all of us. Instead, Waterman has acted like an ass and her refusal to come to other meetings proves to me that she has no business being mayor. Thank God the neighborhood association allowed folks to express their true feelings about her royal asshole.
In this particular case, I side with the writer of the Letter to the Editor. Whether or not Waterman's excuse will be "bought" by the voters is another thing. Most of the voters were not at TRNA to observe the out of control and unmonitored personal attacks by Zacks.
It's called civility.
Ryan Anderson under the guise of free speech allowed this travesty. Waterman will either survive it or she won't. Time will tell in just a few weeks.
I still say she should have handled her fears differently.
Look at the attacks Varela and Scott Maxwell had to deal with.
Bringing to light her financial issues is certainly relevant to the issue of overseeing the city's budget.
And I believe the important issue is not necessarily that she found herself in trouble. It is how she dealt and is dealing with her financial troubles.
She is trying to get a raise in her salary as mayor, and I have to ask, was being the mayor the right thing to do for her family's fiscal well being? She is the sole breadwinner, and as we know, has a lot of personal debt.
Was this the smart move for her?
Perhaps. No one on that side of politics ever came out against any candidate because of his/her finances until this past election. It was always something that politicians steered from. Now, anything goes.
Clemens, Varela and Mulvehill have had mortgage problems. This was never held against them or even discussed. Other candidates had other personal situations that never were revealed by their opponents.
So, perhaps civility is dead. As far as Waterman doing the right thing by running, only she knows the answer to that one.
I do not want Waterman as Mayor because she does what the city manager Stanton tells her to do. Not what is best for the citizens of Lake Worth.She has shown herself to be arrogant in the extreme. Lynn,you told her yourself to circulate among the audience before Commission meetings,smiling,saying hi,etc. She ignored you cold!Arrogance never has a place in city hall.I want a mayor that listens to the citizens of lake Worth,not the employees of Lake Worth!
Waterman is not an example of civility, just ask the people ejected fromt he Commission chamber, the ones she has threatened with removal from the room, or perhaps the people at the City's cashier window when she appeared there and started yelling. To compare her to the founding fathers is an insult to those great men.
In this economic environment, anyone can have financial difficulties and a foreclosure, but Waterman has left a trail of financial disasters in her wake. Two foreclosures in Palm Beach County and one in Brevard County on a $350,000+ home. Excuses of lost jobs only go so far.
And she has touted her family on many occasions to the public. But court records seems to tell a different story which speaks to her integrity. Court-ordered child support in the amount of $372 per month starting April 1, 2011 and back child support from 7/1/09 to 3/31/11 totaling $7,312 do not support the family picture painted by her campaign. The PBC case number is 10-14569 FC and is public record.
To the anonymous coward who attacked Ryan. All I have to say is I would like to see you do what Ryan does for our City without any interest of compensation or praise. I hope he runs for elected office in our City. He'd have my vote!
Mark A. Parrilla
Mark, maybe you should encourage Ryan to run for mayor then if he is such a true leader for the neighborhood and city, maybe he can step up to the plate or even you!
I remember one of the local bloggers happily proclaiming Clemens house was in foreclosure and for sale. I don't remember which blogger.
Any ideas?
If you are referring to me, and I believe that you are, please cite the blog. I have certainly mentioned it since he has been elected because a lot of his friends are holding a foreclosure issuet against Waterman.
Happily ever after.
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