My decision to run for City Council has been further vindicated by what seems to be a very large, and rather concerning, disconnect between Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti's words, and her actions, which raise a lot of questions about her real motives and her integrity to continue serving on the City Council.
First, she claimed not knowing how much the health insurance buyout she was receiving should have been, which as a council member holding the purse strings, should raise serious questions itself. But, then to go through the motions of trying to shame your fellow council members into not taking their buy-out, while continuing to take the buy-out money to repay what she owes the taxpayers, is absolute absurdity.
If she was serious, despite what Human Resources said, she would have immediately stopped receiving the money from the taxpayers, and would have written a check to the citizens of Niagara Falls for the $5,000 she owed us. She should not be able to use money that she pledged to stop taking to pay back money that was not rightfully hers in the first place.
Honestly, this is not the biggest problem facing the city right now, but it does call into question the integrity of the members of the council, and it further questions whether they are really putting their money where their mouths are. Unfortunately for the taxpayers, Councilwoman Grandinetti chose to run away from her words and her actions, and that is very disheartening.
The good thing is that there are other candidates out there for the Niagara Falls City Council this year. I plan on being a candidate for City Council in 2013, and I will be holding a free, open to the public campaign kick-off meet and greet at Lock, Stock and Barrel on the corner of 26th and Niagara on Thursday, January 31. The event will be from 6-8:30 pm. I invite everyone to join me there, and I look forward to starting the conversation about the future of the city that we all love.
Please visit me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Swartz2013 |