DERBY — This is my response to the comments made by Joe DiMartino on a video announcing his candidacy for mayor and comments contained in an accompanying article saying he would ”enact a forensic audit of city finances“ as one of his “top priorities.”
I call on the candidate to recant and issue a public apology to the staff of the Finance Office in the City past and present.
It was obvious to anyone watching the video that DiMartino was reading from a prepared statement and that the way he “fumbled through it” that he was unfamiliar with the content.
A forensic audit is an investigative tool that is used when criminal behavior such as fraud or embezzlement is suspected and that to promise to implement such a tool as one of his top priorities is a reckless and slanderous defamation of the character and professional reputations of everyone who works or has worked in the department.
While I found exception with the way that former Finance Director Agata Herasimowicz carried out her duties, no criminal wrongdoing was ever discovered or alleged. Additionally, I praise both former finance department employee Maria Able who processed all revenue coming into the finance office during her tenure in the finance office; Able resigned when Herasimowicz was reinstated after being put on leave, and; Deputy Finance Director Nancy Balsys who has overseen the operation of the department in Herasimowicz absence.
Maria Able processed all revenue, both cash and checks, for the many years she served over multiple administrations in the finance department. She is a highly respected lifelong resident of Derby, and mother of three whose reputation and service to the city is beyond reproach. Nancy Balsys has done an outstanding job of overseeing the department during Agata’s leave and following her resignation. She has more than 20 years of experience, without incident in municipal accounting with several municipalities. To issue a statement that in any way calls into question their reputations or professional ethics is reprehensible.
My opponent should do his homework before he blindly reads from a statement prepared by someone else and that failing to do so he is responsible for his comments and the aspersions they cast on good people and their professional reputations.
It is sad that someone who desires to serve in the highest elective office in the city begins his campaign by calling into question the professional reputation of others, without a shred of evidence or merit.
Obviously, my opponent chooses to begin his campaign where he left off and hasn’t learned his lesson from the voters’ rejection of his negative campaign tactics. I call on Mr. DiMartino to recant his comments and publicly apologize to Herasimowicz, Able and Balsys.
Rich Dziekan
Mayor of Derby
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