Patti. Patti. Patti. You just don’t get it. Lionel. Lionel. Lionel. Are you really a train?
The mayor presented an award to a police officer at the last Council meeting for saving a woman’s life and she correctly shook his hand. However, upon completion of his loop around the Council to shake hands, the Mayor put both arms around his neck and moved her body up and against his. No wonder she is so picky about who will be the new Chief of Police.
I couldn’t help wonder what was going through that police officer’s mind. “Gee, that feels good. Does she really think I’m a roll of Charmin? Is my wife comfortable with this? Isn’t “hands-on” government great? Why is she doing this?” Who knows?
The Mayor defiantly let us know she will continue to Hug, Squeeze, Touch, and Feel with impunity. She sure showed us! Atta girl, Patti! Don’t ever allow common sense and good judgment to stand in the way of a great hug.
But, we do not need to concern ourselves with such trivia. I believe there is a lone brave wife out there somewhere that someday will, as the hugging begins, say, “Take your damn hands off my husband!” That woman will not be a good candidate to serve on a city committee to serve the mayor’s interests.
Until the emergence of an astute wife that doesn’t let another “squeeze the Charmin,” we are doomed to be held hostage and forced to witness a lot of silly hugging.
There are a lot of perks to being Mayor. The pay isn’t good, but the ego-trip is such that some would forego any salary and pay their own money to do it. There are lots of parties and social events and pictures to pose for. It’s a heady experience, and even a little power with proper news coverage is better than none. Any mayor can make new friends and enjoy a better lifestyle by appointing and collecting the wealthy, the popular, and anyone who is perceived to be somebody. This is called “reinventing oneself.”
I’ve known many elected officials who were stunned to learn the phone quit ringing the day after they left office. All coveted invitations now went to his replacement. All those “new friends” were merely temporary acquaintances. In short, they were no longer “huggable”. Politics put people together that ordinarily would not associate on a personal level.
Political animals are not bound by personal loyalties. The side they land on is determined by issues, not the individual holding the office. Any official at the helm of administrating huge budgets acquires many new bosom buddies. It is easier to say “yes” to the high-rollers than it is to say “yes” to the taxpayers. It’s also more fun to say “no” to the taxpayers. The high-rollers have better parties. People rubbing elbows with the very wealthy under the umbrella of their elected office can easily believe he or she is one of them and now part of an elite, closed society. The grim reality—-Everyone is elite if they are useful and have something others want. If you are invited to their homes to dine with their families, then you’ve become a friend. They keep their families and social friends separate from their political parties which are designed to influence zoning, landing contracts and just plain favored consideration for whatever they want.
Ego and vanity have led many elected officials into a non-existent fantasy world. Believing the fantasy produces delusions of grandeur and abuse of power.
There has been expressed growing concern that our mayor is so caught up in attempting to turn St. Charles events into “Hollywood Galas” studded with “Stars” that she is out of touch with reality.
While Patti is planning her Hollywood Gala for 850 guests (Mayor’s Ball at the new Convention Center) Rome continues to burn.
We receive phone calls between publications seeking answers to numerous questions. “Do we have a police chief yet? Why hasn’t Williams (City Administrator) produced a new police chief? Is Williams just a windbag who nailed down a huge salary and contract and duped the Council? Why doesn’t anybody pull the plug and look into the excessive and unsupervised spending of Steve Powell?”
The Taj Mahal was an intrinsic, eternal monument to a beloved wife. It appears the Mayor has adopted the Convention Center and is making it her monument to her beloved self. Whereas the Taj Mahal is priceless and a wonder, our Convention Center is just plain costly, but made a lot of money for certain people.
The taxpayers of the City of St. Charles will bear the full cost of this a few years down the road. At that time, we shall look on the bright side and applaud the Mayor’s wisdom and constraint for not putting precious jewels on the exterior. By not adorning her Taj Mahal with precious stones, we don‘t need to worry about the British showing up with chisels, digging out each one, and taking them to London.
Based on what I read in all newspapers, it appears Patti “fiddles” when she should “faddle.” The fiddling is definitely off-key and that is when PR adman, Jamberetz, enters the picture. He puts the proper spin on the fiddling and convinces you you didn’t see what you just saw, and immediately starts a recall petition against Dottie Greer.
