I was away on vacation and not available to respond to the Mayor’s comments following his impromptu press conference (see video) after last week’s court appearance.
Although some may say, it’s been a week, let’s put this behind us, I cannot let my name be misrepresented.
Let’s look at the facts.
- The Mayor caused his own problems. Except for voting whether or not to settle, neither me or the other aldermen that the Mayor called out publicly had anything to do with the Domurad situation.
- The Mayor states that people said he forged documents, and in his next breath seeks an apology from Mr. Sill, Mr. Gerckens, and Mr. DiCenso. The insinuation is quite clear that he means the people he named were his accusers. People in the community and perhaps people in social media may have said those things, but the fact is that none of the aldermen made those types of statements. Nobody even came close to making those sorts of remarks. From the beginning, the aldermen in two separate votes sought answers to questions that did not make sense. It is strange that it took a court of law to compel the Mayor to give the answers he did.
* The Mayor states party politics were played. Really? There were two votes (8 – 1 and 6 – 3 with a mix of both Republicans, Democrats, and Unaffiliated representatives). Despite spending a great deal of time during one memorable BOA meeting discussing my independence from any political party (the Town Clerk, Registrar of Voters, and even the Mayor all agreed that I don’t belong to a political party), the Mayor felt compelled to lump me in with the Democrats and demand an apology. It is interesting to note that the Mayor does not seek an apology or even mention the three Republicans who also voted in the same manner as myself, Mr. Sill, and Mr. DiCenso.
Finally, Mr. Mayor, you stated that you didn’t want a settlement. You said that you wanted the opportunity to clear your name. I think instead of demanding an apology, you should be thanking us for giving you that opportunity.
The writer represents the Second Ward on the Derby Board of Aldermen.
