The series of hearings held by the mayor in order to oust the city’s Chief Financial Officer Richard Fortucci were not just time consuming but ridiculous.
They were a humiliation and an embarrassment for this city which came to expect so much more from its mayors in years past.
The city council’s unanimous vote last week to keep Fortucci where he is indicates just how little the council respects the mayor, who, like other mayors, would like to have removed Fortucci so she could appoint her own CFO.
But there is a way to do this and the mayor does not know the way.
Her actions proved that.
The councilors have known about the mayor’s inability to communicate with them or with department heads or with just about anyone who has responsibility working for the city.
She is simply missing in action much of the time.
This has been going on since the mayor took office.
The council would do well to call a series of hearings in order to ask the mayor what exactly she does everyday?
What time does she get in?
What time does she leave?
How many calls a day does she accept and how many does she make?
Does she communicate by e-mail, and if so, how many e-mails daily and to whom about what?
Last week, there was a meeting of more than a dozen mayors in Kim Driscoll’s office at Salem City Hall discussing issues of importance.
Our mayor was a no show – as usual.
Where was she, someone should ask?
What is the mayor working on right now for this city?
What are her plans about cutting health insurance premium costs for city employees?
What about the city’s unfunded pension requirements?
What about development projects she’s working on – are there any? Is there even one?
If anyone should be facing the council about not doing their job, it is the mayor – not the CFO or the councillors.
The witch hunt she led against Fortucci shows how ill-advised the mayor is.
Launching an attack such as she did without having 6 votes of the city council makes no political sense.
The mayor did a big thing beating Chip Clancy.
It does not appear she is able, willing or even interested in doing anything else.