The first significant decision by Mayor-elect Art Ward appears to have gained high marks all around.
Mayor William Stortz said Thursday there is "a lot of logic" behind Ward's decision to leave in place the current mayoral secretary, Mary Suchopar.
"Continuity is important," the mayor said.
Stortz said that it's also crucial that "a comfort factor" exists between the mayor and the office's secretary.
He said that he hopes, for the sake of the city, Ward and Suchopar, that things work out well between the pair over the course of Ward's administration.
Stortz hired Suchopar when he was elected mayor in 2005. The secretary for his predecessor, Donna Achilli, was not asked to stay on.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label Achilli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Achilli. Show all posts
November 8, 2007
Achilli praises choice of Suchopar
Got this note from Donna Achilli, former Mayor Gerard Couture's secretary, this morning:
I would like to publicly voice my support of Mayor Ward’s decision to keep Mary Suchopar as his Executive Assistant.
During the campaign I was approached by many people that had heard rumors that I would return to the Mayor’s Office upon Art’s election. Each time I was approached I made it very clear that I was not returning to City Hall and that it was never mentioned or even up for discussion.
I am very happy that Art recognizes the need for the Mayor’s Office to have consistency with regard to its support staff. Mary has proven to be an asset to the citizens of Bristol, the Mayor and the City Council and there is no reason for her to be removed from the position.
A crucial point to Mayor Ward’s plan to move Bristol forward is implementing a stronger use of technology and e-communication relations with the community. Mary has the intelligence and technical knowledge to aid in this important mission. She has proven so during her term with Mayor Stortz by implementing a citizen email notification network as well as updating the Mayor’s information on the City website. I’m confident that with encouragement from Mayor Ward, Mary will be able to continue to improve upon the use of technology in the Mayor’s Office and lead the way for other departments to also improve upon their use of technology. It may require additional software application training for some City employees, but it will only benefit their efficiency, so it should be encouraged by all of our City leaders.
I applaud Art’s decision and I’m sure that Mary will continue to serve everyone well, especially in aiding the new council members through their learning curve.
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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
I would like to publicly voice my support of Mayor Ward’s decision to keep Mary Suchopar as his Executive Assistant.
During the campaign I was approached by many people that had heard rumors that I would return to the Mayor’s Office upon Art’s election. Each time I was approached I made it very clear that I was not returning to City Hall and that it was never mentioned or even up for discussion.
I am very happy that Art recognizes the need for the Mayor’s Office to have consistency with regard to its support staff. Mary has proven to be an asset to the citizens of Bristol, the Mayor and the City Council and there is no reason for her to be removed from the position.
A crucial point to Mayor Ward’s plan to move Bristol forward is implementing a stronger use of technology and e-communication relations with the community. Mary has the intelligence and technical knowledge to aid in this important mission. She has proven so during her term with Mayor Stortz by implementing a citizen email notification network as well as updating the Mayor’s information on the City website. I’m confident that with encouragement from Mayor Ward, Mary will be able to continue to improve upon the use of technology in the Mayor’s Office and lead the way for other departments to also improve upon their use of technology. It may require additional software application training for some City employees, but it will only benefit their efficiency, so it should be encouraged by all of our City leaders.
I applaud Art’s decision and I’m sure that Mary will continue to serve everyone well, especially in aiding the new council members through their learning curve.
*******
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
September 8, 2007
Jeff Achilli: open letter to Councilor Kevin McCauley
This is in response to city Councilor Kevin McCauley's letter to the editor in today's Press:
Councilman McCauley,
First, I find it very intriguing that you have not been able to find the time to respond to or acknowledge the letter I sent to you in July with my concerns regarding Public Works, but you were quick to write a four paragraph letter to the editor in Ellen’s defense. How very loyal of you.
My July letter with regards to a Public Works project, wasn’t to Ellen Zoppo, Councilwoman, it was to Ellen Zoppo, Council Liaison to the Board of Public Works. The same letter was sent to you as an additional Council Liaison to the Board of Pubic Works and the initiator of the project. The letter was sent to every member of the board. To this date the only people who have responded were Councilman Rimcoski, Councilman Ward and Commissioner Laviero. I will not dignify Ellen’s reply as a response. It was a hand off.
The point to my letter to the editor was that I was not comfortable giving Ellen the power to give Public Works more money in their budget if she didn’t find a $54,000 mistake something that should be investigated personally.
While defending Ellen you accused me of making the issue a political one. It is a political issue, a taxpayer issue, a fiscal responsibility issue and an accountability issue. Something that you and Councilwoman Zoppo campaign yourselves as being experts at while ignoring each one of these points relevant to the project.
$54,186.40 is a lot of money wasted on a mistake that didn’t need to happen. As Council Liaisons these are questions that you and Ellen should have asked immediately:
How did the problem get that far without anyone noticing it was being done wrong?
Who is being held accountable for this mistake?
When will it be rectified?
How much will the repair cost?
What changes have been made to Public Works to ensure that this kind of expensive mistake doesn’t happen again?
Councilmen Ward and Rimcoski put together an onsite visit with Walter Veselka, Public Works Director and City Engineer Ray Rogoniski. They confirmed that the project was done without an engineering plan, and that it had taken longer to complete than expected. It was also noted that a number of mistakes were made on this project that need to be rectified before winter.
This issue of the drainage problem on this street was mentioned by you at a Public Works meeting. Yet you can’t seem to find the time to respond to my request for information regarding the cost of the project gone wrong and when this neighborhood can expect the repair construction to begin again. I am a taxpayer and a constituent, even though I do not live in your district or Councilwoman Zoppo’s district.
In closing, I am looking forward to the opportunity to compare the history and facts of this project with you and anyone else interested. You may find that discussing this project with more than just one resident of this area might be helpful.
Jeff Achilli
Achilli is a former Board of Education member. His wife, Donna Achilli, was former Mayor Gerard Couture's secretary. She also did the Ward campaign website.
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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Councilman McCauley,
First, I find it very intriguing that you have not been able to find the time to respond to or acknowledge the letter I sent to you in July with my concerns regarding Public Works, but you were quick to write a four paragraph letter to the editor in Ellen’s defense. How very loyal of you.
My July letter with regards to a Public Works project, wasn’t to Ellen Zoppo, Councilwoman, it was to Ellen Zoppo, Council Liaison to the Board of Public Works. The same letter was sent to you as an additional Council Liaison to the Board of Pubic Works and the initiator of the project. The letter was sent to every member of the board. To this date the only people who have responded were Councilman Rimcoski, Councilman Ward and Commissioner Laviero. I will not dignify Ellen’s reply as a response. It was a hand off.
The point to my letter to the editor was that I was not comfortable giving Ellen the power to give Public Works more money in their budget if she didn’t find a $54,000 mistake something that should be investigated personally.
While defending Ellen you accused me of making the issue a political one. It is a political issue, a taxpayer issue, a fiscal responsibility issue and an accountability issue. Something that you and Councilwoman Zoppo campaign yourselves as being experts at while ignoring each one of these points relevant to the project.
$54,186.40 is a lot of money wasted on a mistake that didn’t need to happen. As Council Liaisons these are questions that you and Ellen should have asked immediately:
How did the problem get that far without anyone noticing it was being done wrong?
Who is being held accountable for this mistake?
When will it be rectified?
How much will the repair cost?
What changes have been made to Public Works to ensure that this kind of expensive mistake doesn’t happen again?
Councilmen Ward and Rimcoski put together an onsite visit with Walter Veselka, Public Works Director and City Engineer Ray Rogoniski. They confirmed that the project was done without an engineering plan, and that it had taken longer to complete than expected. It was also noted that a number of mistakes were made on this project that need to be rectified before winter.
This issue of the drainage problem on this street was mentioned by you at a Public Works meeting. Yet you can’t seem to find the time to respond to my request for information regarding the cost of the project gone wrong and when this neighborhood can expect the repair construction to begin again. I am a taxpayer and a constituent, even though I do not live in your district or Councilwoman Zoppo’s district.
In closing, I am looking forward to the opportunity to compare the history and facts of this project with you and anyone else interested. You may find that discussing this project with more than just one resident of this area might be helpful.
Jeff Achilli
Achilli is a former Board of Education member. His wife, Donna Achilli, was former Mayor Gerard Couture's secretary. She also did the Ward campaign website.
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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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