For those who saw the mailing today, here's the whole story from Feb. 24, 2005:
Deputy mayor to miss another downtown revitalization session
By STEVE COLLINS, The Bristol Press
BRISTOL -- When Deputy Mayor Art Ward announces his intention to seek a seventh term on the City Council at a fund-raiser tonight, he’ll be missing his 19th consecutive session of the city’s Project Committee that’s planning the downtown revitalization project.
"I plan on making the next one," Ward said Tuesday.
Ward said his re-election fund-raiser at Nuchies has been scheduled for three or four months, long before officials scheduled the Project Committee session for the same time.
Ward, who works as a veteran’s counselor for the state, said he couldn’t attend any of the downtown panel’s meetings last year because they were held at 9 a.m. and he couldn’t miss work for them.
This year, however, the committee is holding its monthly meetings at 6 p.m. so Ward and others can attend more easily.
But last month Ward skipped the Project Committee meeting to attend the initial session of a new Neighborhood Watch group in his district.
And this week he’s going to pass up another meeting so he can host the $50-a-person fund-raiser that kicks off his campaign.
Ward is the second councilor to indicate formally that he’s seeking re-election this year.
Councilor Al Myers, who represents the 3rd District, has already said he is running again.
But political insiders said they have little doubt that all six of the incumbent councilors are going to seek another term.
Ward is by far the most senior member of the council.
Now in his 12th year as a part-time councilor -- the deputy mayor designation is an honorary title that Mayor Gerard Couture handed out to him last year -- he’s been in office eight years longer than any other council member.
Ward’s fund-raiser is slated for 5 to 7:30 p.m.
©The Bristol Press 2005
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Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
24 comments:
Ellen's sending out negative mailers. Thought she vowed she wasn't going to do that. Have the rules changed even though her opponent has run a clean campaign?
Regardless of the "reasons" for missing the meetings, it is not acceptable to miss so many meetings.
If as a City Councilor, you can not meet the requirements of the job in terms of meetings, then it is in the best interest of the citizens of Bristol that the councilor should resign from the committee they are on and let someone who is available for the meetings be a member of the committees.
The full article states that the meetings were switched to evenings to allow for Art Ward and others to attend the meetings. How many meetings did Art miss AFTER that change to the evenings?
Steve, was this an editorial decision on your part to reprint this story, or did someone from the Ward camp ask you to reprint this story in response to the mailing?
My decision alone.
I don't think the full story is much different than the first couple of paragraphs, though.
But I know if I got a mailer with part of a story, I'd like to see the whole thing.
It's a fair shot at Ward by Zoppo's campaign, it seems to me.
Ward hasn't dealt a single negative mudslinging shot at Ellen but because someone else is seeing to it that the public get the chance to see the truth about Ellen's history with the City, she feels it is necessary to shoot back at Art.
Why doesn't she just address the situations that have come to light as a professional reasonable person instead of responding with negativity?
I don't want this chic on my bad side - it's obvious she is very one sided with everything.
I do not consider the mailer to be negative or mudslinging.
The mailer addresses Ellen's inability to debate with Art the issues that are important to the citizens of Bristol, and brings forth one of the questions.
Art Ward's actions or INACTION as the case may be... are speaking loud....
Although he was part of the decision to buy the mail property, he remains as uncommitted to getting the City out of the mess now, as he was back in 2005.
It appears to me, that Art does not consider the Downtown Development a priority, by his actions in 2005 and his statements in 2007 that the decisions to move ahead on the project, should wait yet again......
While the latter part of this response was posted under a different story, I believe that in light of a poster's challenge that Ellen "address the situations that have come to light as a professional reasonable person" it warrants being repeated here under this story.....
If Ward was a man of integrity he would have taken his DUI punishment like a man instead of try to use a loophole to escape by blaming a rookie cop who was just doing his job.
If Ward was a man of integrity he would admit he made a mistake in voting to buy the mall, and he would apologize for missing so many downtown committee meetings that they had to kick him off.
If Ward was a man of integrity he would have made these junk FOI charges against Ellen himself instead of getting his pals to do it.
If Ward was a man of integrity he would not have chickened out on debating Ellen before the primary. But its not surprising since Ward doesn't care about Democratic primary voters.
Ellen lies! She said she would not run a negative campaign and all she is doing is trying to discredit Ward with negative ads. Ellen get over yourself, stop lieing and grow up!
Does anyone care if Ward missed meetings for a flawed project that never got going?
It's understandable that Art Ward would miss all those 9a.m. meetings. It takes a while for the black coffee and aspirin to kick in after a long night out with the boys.
Sure appears Ellen is takeing lessons from Stortz on negative flyiers. Didn't work for Bev not going to work for you Zoppo.
I have some bumper stickers is anyone wants one - "ZOPPO MUST GO"
What is this, "rivisionist history"? The lovely Dems wrote the book on negative local campaigning, and Stortz was a victim of it in 2003.
Zoppo never went to any of those downtown meetings either and she was the biggest cheerleader for buying the mall. Well ain't she the kettle calling the pot black?
Why not tell the taxpayers Ellen how you messed up putting Rockwell Park on the State Bond list?
Gee, are you going to blame that on Ward,Swicklas or the Park Board?
Since you are so much into the finger pointing lets see all your great accomplishments. Don't forget the PW budget, which is in the hole. Oh and the $56,000 mistake in PW. How much is that going to cost the taxpayers?
Vote for Ellen...she wins..we have a three way race for Mayor...we get rid of both of them (Ward and Ellen) and Ken Johnson becomes Mayor!
Desparation that is all this is. When will she stop. I cannot wait for the 11th so I can vote against her. This is coming to an end Ms. Zoppo.
Steve, I know this has nothing to with this article bu in yesterday's newspaper in the voice a citizen stated that Ms. Zoppo has promised the firefighters medical for life. Now would that be why Mr. Bentivengo chose to support Ms. Zoppo when the FAB 5 letter surfaced and go against his Chief.
She will do anything to get in and as a taxpayer, I am fed up with her ideas on how this city should be run, and her affliation with the Union President. They don't go hand-in-hand.
VOTE FOR-WARD on the Sept. 11th. Lets get it right this time.
Criticizing your opponent on a public policy issue is not negative campaigning. "Negative campaigning" is using an old DUI or an elderly parent's tax delinquency. This has been a hard-hitting campaign on both sides, but it has not been negative.
Let's be real here. This has been a particularly negative campaign on both sides. As voters we should be beyond upset. Instead of debating issues and hearing plans on how to make this a better city we get to watch a "slap fight": DWI, stolden signs, she's so mean, he's so innocent, etc. Come on already discuss the issues. What are the mayoral candidates plans to get spending in check, get rid of the mail, straighten out this school issue, set priorities you know.... issues that effect us all.
STeve, can you find out of PW is overbudget as people are claiming? $300K over budget unnoticed seems a bit extreme. I'd like to know the truth preferably before I vote on Tuesday. If you can't get the info where would I get the information (the truth) from?
I'll try to find out Monday morning about the alleged public works deficit. I've let the comments about it get posted because I think there is a shortage in public works accounts for the last fiscal year, based on what I heard at City Hall Friday, but I'm not sure -- and I certainly do not know if it is $300K or some other figure.
I'll agree with Steve that it's a fair shot by Zoppo's campaign to send the flyer as they did...
It's also fair to be able to read the whole story. Why?
Because in the short term it's good politics. In the long term it's bad politics. Easiest way to turn the issue around if you or I were Art Ward:
Just read the rest of the WHOLE ARTICLE. The one ellen didn't put in her flyer to understand why. This isn't about being dead weight. It's about balancing personal and public responsibilities as a local elected official. Ellen knows it's difficult. She reminds voters how she is a full time mom and councilwomen with every chance she can. Sometimes were good at it sometimes not. Both of us.
If integrity really wasn't in this race. The DUI complaint would have been circulating around town for months.
If integrity really wasn't in this race, the city council would have discussed the FOI complaint in secret.
If integrity really wasn't in this race, we'd wouldn't be wondering whether were frustrated more with the state of our city or the people running it. The choice would be pretty clear.
This is about personalities. This is about high school drama and populartiy contests. Arguments in Bristol that'll show up at the Eastern class reunion of 1966. But hey, it's politics.
Debates are good. But sometimes even when they're is a debate the candidates don't say much (just turn on cable news these days)
The problem with the flyer goes right back to why voters don't like Ellen Zoppo.
When you have an FOI complaint against you (even if it seems like politics) take it seriously. It's one of the few ways we can make sure our government stays open.
When your disagreement with the library director comes out your offical response should be more tactful than saying the director is a poor communicator.
When you set a standard for responsive open government and someone suggests otherwise it's not always about your political opponents.
The worst people affected by this are the one's whos issues aren't spoken to.
Seniors who almost lost the social security office.
The decrepit state of social services like pubic housing and public busing.
The rising cost and declining quality of city services.
The lack of a social services office and the lack of an unemployment office.
Hell the lack of jobs!!!!
But that's okay...we'll just keep talking about Ellen and Art till november. And we'll complain about the mall and who's fighting whom for the table scraps.
As a young person in Bristol (under 30) I see a lot of old rivalrys by older generations that are as much personal as they are political. While those of us who have only lived after 1975 just sit by and watch the train wreck that is our town.
Hey Bristol...GROW UP!
The only question I have is how bad can the library be running when the coucil laison has to throw some weight around and resort to bullying the head librarian? Can the problems really be that bad, honestly? Incidently, as council laison, your only function is to report back to the mayor and council whats happening with the library. It is not to get involved with the day-to-day operations of the library. This is the department head's job to oversee this and this is where the problem lies. No one seems to know their boundaries anymore. I hope that who ever is the new mayor this time around lets the department heads actually do their jobs.
the new mayor let them do their jobs? like Micromanager Bill and Paperclip Couture did?
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