End political pressure
The lead editorial in today's Buffalo News takes a very dim view of some of the latest goings-on at Buffalo City Hall.
- End political pressure
As reported in The Buffalo News Monday, several City Hall employees have received weekly e-mails from the commissioner, Tanya Perrin-Johnson [right], basically assigning them extra—unpaid—duties and hours on behalf of Brown’s reelection campaign.
... This reeks of nothing but a clear violation of both the City Charter and the city’s own Code of Ethics, both of which forbid any abuse of a city official’s position to command political activity or to extort personal favors.
News follow-ups from Tuesday and Wednesday.
Also on today's Opinion page:
- Girls should face off
Buffalo News editorial
It’s hard to imagine, in some ways, that girls’ hockey remains a backwater in this region’s high school sports programs. Whatever the reason, the problem will soon be solved if plans to create a regional girls’ varsity ice hockey league come to fruition. Prospects are encouraging.
News background.
- Medical bankruptcies must factor into debate
by Jeffrey Freedman
Today, too many Americans are just one serious illness away from bankruptcy. Most health insurance policies have loopholes, copayments and deductibles that can bankrupt a family in a short time.
Harvard, Ohio University study.
- Let’s rename Buffalo the Emerald City
by Frank J. Hotchkiss/The Apollo Alliance
Buffalo and the surrounding region have the potential to become the greenest location on the Great Lakes. The Emerald City will be the city that recognized the opportunity and seized the moment to build the yellow brick road to prosperity as the largest green manufacturing and services city in the United States.
-- George Pyle/The Buffalo News
Byron Brown for once needs to step up and take a stand on this political arm twisting and end it.
Posted by: Mark | July 10, 2009 at 02:23 PM
Excellent article Mr Freedman!!!!!! We need a public option for our health care...Most of the citizens want it and we blow way too much money on other garbage such as bank/insurance/auto bailouts and wars and tax cuts for mega rich corporations not to justify helping American citizens with sickness and disease...
Posted by: wil | July 10, 2009 at 03:50 PM
re Tanya Perrin-Johnson (Byron Brown's extortionist commissioner) - can you imagine if an Italian American was caught doing this? The feds would be all over it like flies on.....
Posted by: BROWNOUT | July 10, 2009 at 05:56 PM
Power brokers - Committee leaders = Patronage.
The pressure felt by City Hall workers is the result of their own Spoils of War style Politics.
For too many years the majority of the City Employees helped support that system. Now its biting them in the behind.
When you have so many "Pay to Play Jobs, Appointments and Promotions" then there is pressure.
Its fun to watch the Controlling Majority supporters and leaders chase themselves.
They created the game, now they cry about having to play.:)
Just this last week - a high ranking City Employee(I know) went and donated $25.00 to Mayor Browns Campaign - then the same week he gave Mr.Kearns people $250.00
Posted by: my2cents | July 11, 2009 at 01:30 PM