Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

The lack of transparency in the DeMaria administration has left many question lingering in the air. In the spirit of the old children's game "20 questions" here are 20 questions we would like to ask the Mayor and get a straight answer once and for all. A public hearing is coming up on Woodwaste on 10/29 @ 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers, so we offer some food for thought here. We invite the Mayor to post his answers here under this thread, as we are quite certain he reads this blog faithfully. So, what say you Mr. Mayah?

The questions we'd like to ask and have answered by Mayor DeMaria:

1. What really happened the led to the dismissal of Clayton Carlisle?

2. How much money and in kind donations did you receive from any persons or entities connected to William J. Thibeault, owner of Woodwaste?

3. Are you giving (or promising) city jobs to elected officials and family members in exchange for greater cooperation from our legislative bodies?

4. Would you be willing to publish the opinions of the state ethics commission regarding all your consolidation plans and hiring practices?

5. What ever happened to the Board of Fire Commissioners? Is it true that the board is part of the Firefighters grievance procedure and if so, doesn't that make the negotiated contract null and void whereas the city of Everett agreed to have the board of fire commissioners as part of the grievance process? How do the firefighters get due process if this is the case?

6. Is it true you are planning on asking for $2M to offset the property tax increase that will result, in part, from your over-inflated budget?

7. How will you justify these high salaries and other questionable expenditures to the property owners when you ask them to dig even deeper to pay for your patronage hires and Woodwaste support that in the end, will no doubt cost the taxpayer even more money in cleanup costs as Thibeault continues to violate law and after law?

8. Did Mr. Brandano refuse to put a DeMaria for Mayor sign in front of his house?

9. Was #8 (above) at all related to DCR (at your request) forcing Mr. Brandano from his voluntary upkeep of the area?

10. Now that some state funding has been cut from school programs who is going pay for the pothole repair machine you justified as a legitimate purchase using money targeted for the school children?

11. How do you look John Hanlon straight in the eye after way you have treated him and his supporters that so gracefully went to the voting booth on your behalf at John's request?

12. Why didn't you show up for any of the transition meetings that Mayor Hanlon arranged for your administration to make the transition easier?

13. What ever happened to "Gone are the days....."????

14. Do you still maintain that no grievances have been filed by either of the two police officers who were #1 and #2 on the list when you jumped them over to rehire an officer who left the job on his own volition and was reinstated against the Chief's objections?

15. If Ms. Deveney, your Chief of Staff resigns or is terminated, would you please post the position? I know many administrative assistants who would jump at the prospect of making $91,000 per year? Seriously, we know she is a lawyer, but you justified the hiring salary under the pretense she would also serve as City Solicitor? When the state knocked down that idea as a violation of state ethics, her salary never got knocked down... why???

16. You hired Jason Marcus' girlfriends son to serve as the Director of ECTV. Yet, all we see in work coming from Mr. Laidlaw has more to do with your public relations campaigns (press releases, public events) than it does with actual production work done under the PEG grant. When is Matt going to do actual ECTV work as required by the grant conditions?

17. Is it true that a suit has been filed against the planning board relative to their decision to discontinue fourth street? Wasn't Ruth granted easement for fourth street?

18. You guesstimated it would cost about $100,000 to buy Ruth's interest in the 4th Street property? Now that a suit has been filed, would you care to readjust that estimate to include the readjusted fair market value of the land and her attorney fees?

19. Why do I spend so much time watching a blank screen on ECTV or culling through any number of bounced emails that can't find their way through the city's "system" since Matt Laidlaw took over?

20. Would you be willing to swear that you, your friends and family, and/or campaign supporters will not realize any financial gain whatsoeever now or in the future should Woodwaste be allowed to develop the property on lower Broadway?

Bonus Question: Does your job as Mayor make it difficult to look in the mirror each morning?