‘I’m not alone because the TV;s on
I’m not crazy because I take the right pills
Everyday”
-
“Bleed American”, Jimmy Eat World
First off, I owe many of you an explanation.
In April, I was diagnosed with two detached Retinas. Yeah, I
know what you’re thinking: he couldn’t just have one detached Retina he had to
screw up both of them.
Hey, it’s not all my fault. Blame the Diabetes for some of
it.
Due to scar tissue caued by Diabetes, the procedure to
repair my retinas consisted of my Doctor inserting a silicon oil in my eyes for
3-4 months. I had the oil removed from my left eye a few weeks back and my
vision is improving. There were some complications with my right eye and I will
have the oil removed from it tomorrow (9/15).
Removing the oil leaves an air bubble in your eye which is
replaced in a week or two by the body’s natural fluids. It takes a few weeks
for the air bubble to recede,
In addition, I have cataracts in both eyes, however the
process for their removal is much simpler and quicker than than the Retina
surgeries that I have had. Or, at least, I am hopeful that they will be
quicker.
At the moment, I can see large objects but cannot read small
type. For example, I can see a car but I can’t read a license plate. It has
been interesting being offline for the past 4 months and being unable to read a
book, visit a web site, watch a movie, drive a car, read a menu, etc. Many of
the things you (and I before my Retinas became detached) take for granted.
I can watch, really listen to television. Thus the Jimmy Eat
World reference above. Without the internet, newspapers or magazines, the radio
and the television have been my only real sources of news and information.
My Doctors remain hopeful that, when completed, my vision
will return but they don’t know to what degree yet. Time will tell.
I do appreciate those who called to check in on me even
those who sounded surprised when I answered my cell phone. Evidently, given my
lack of posts, presence at Kenner City Council meetings and other events, there
was a rumor that I had died.
Sorry Mikey, no such luck. I will die one day but,
unfortunately for some, that day is not today.
Also, thanks for the condolences on the death of my stepdad
in June. It has been difficult on my mom but I have been spending a significant
amount of time with her in Gonzales and helping her as much as possible,
despite my lack of vision.
If you emailed or texted me, sorry that I haven’t responded
but I can’t yet read.
But, enough about me. The bottom
line is that I am alive, my leg is still attached and I’m doing much better
than I deserve. I do, however, have much to say. So, through the magic of
technology (and with some human assistance) we will return to our regularly
scheduled programming. We have work to do.
====================================================================
Like the smell emanating from an outdated Kenner sewerage
treatment plant or the sludge that backs up into many Kenner homes after a hard
rain, the stench from former Mayor Mike “Don’t Call Me Kevin” Yenni’s poor
decisions and unbridled political ambition continues to permeate through Kenner
like a flatulent Phoenix that continues to rise over the abandoned corridor
that is Rivertown or the nearly abandoned Esplanade Mall.
When Yenni quit on
the people of Kenner after his reelection (and after saddling Kenner with
Millions in debt), his untimely promotion to Jefferson Parish President set off
a chain reaction that has sent Kenner City Government reeling.
The “Illegitimate, Unelected” Kenner City Council
With Yenni’s reelection, and the turnover of the City
Council to Yenni’s “Consensus Team” (put in place to rubber stamp Yenni’s 2033
Plan), resulted in an inexperienced, illegitimate and unelected City Council
that is not accountable to anyone, let alone the people of Kenner.
Yes, I said “illegitimate” in describing the City Council
because that truly is what they are.
Let’s look at the facts:
In the 2014 election,
of the 7 City Councilmen (5 District, 2 At-Large), only 2 (District 1
Councilman Gregory Carroll and District 5 Councilman Dominick Impastato) were
actually elected by a majority of the voters in their District.
The remaining Councilmen, were appointed after their runoff
opponents dropped out or they faced no opposition.
District 2 Councilman Mike Sigur and
then-Councilman-At-Large (and former Yenni City Attorney) Keith Conley had
their runoff opponents drop out, District 3 Councilman Keith Reynaud, new
District 4 Councilman Lenny Cline and the other Council-At-Large, Maria
DeFrancesch, ran unopposed.
Then, after Yenni tapped Conley for a position in JP
Government, rather than seeking someone with institutional experience and
service to the City like former Councilmen Michele Branigan, Kent Denapolis
(who dropped out of the runoff election with Conley for the At-Large position),
or Joe Stagni, the Council approved Brian Brennan.to replace Conley.
Brennan was destroyed in the 2010 election for the District
5 Council seat by Denapolis.
So, you have 3 of the 5 District Councilmen who were brand
new to government and 2 At-Large Councilmen, DeFrancesch and now Brennan, who
were never elected to citywide office. As mentioned, Brennan couldn’t win
election to a District seat in 2010 and, for her part, DeFrancesch was barely
relected in 2010 to her District 4 seat.
How can you claim to
represent the public when only 2 of 7 Councilmen were actually elected by 50% +
1 vote of those they are supposed to represent?
The answer is…you can’t.
Even worse, rather than call for an election for a new Mayor
after Yenni’s departure, the Council put it off for almost a year citing the
cost of a special election. While I am adamantly opposed to politicians office
hopping and leaving their current constituents in the lurch and believe that,
if a politician is interested in another position before his term ends that he
should have the deceny to quit his current position (since he has already quit
in his mind), I also believe that, if a special election is required to fill a
position due to a politician office hopping, that politican should be required
to personally pay the cost of the special election called to fill his seat.
in Yenni’s absence, the Council appointed the ethically
challenged Mike Sigur as “Acting Mayor”. The term was supposed to last 6 months
with Impastato moving in to the “Acting Mayor” slot for the remaining months
before the election of a new Mayor to fill the remaining term of Yenni.
Despite the City Charter calling for the Council President
and Vice President to be elected for a single 6-month term, in an unorthodox
move, the Council voted to rescind their previous deal and leave Sigur as
“Acting Mayor” and Impastato as Council President for the entire time.
It is unclear why the Council took this step or why they
appointed an inexperienced, morally chanllenged Sigur as Council President
(which elevated him to “Acting Mayor” to fill the void) to begin with.
Perhaps Impastato, like Sheldon on “The Big Bang
Theory”, had his butt firmly implanted
in the Council President’s seat and was just too comfortable to move.
For his part, aside from interrupting the public during
their whopping 3 minutes they are given to address the Council at the end of
meetings and his weak attempts at humor, Impastato has done a decent job moving
the meetings along at a near record pace.
Sigur, on the other hand, has proven to be less worthy –
adding yet another City Department, granting raises and proving to be good at three
things: spending other people’s money, lying and isolating other Councilmen
(especially those running for Mayor).
It was hysterical watching Sigur discuss how hard he worked
to secure CarMax for the City. The fact is, I had several conversations years
ago with then-District 2 Councilman Joe Stagni regarding CarMax’s interest in
Kenner and land near The Esplanade. Sigur had little, if anything, to do with
CarMax. It was just fortuitous timing on his part that CarMax was finally able
to strike a deal on the property.
The good news is that Sigur’s reign will be over soon.
The bad news is that it even occurred.
Repay Debt? Why Would We Do That?
After Yenni saddled Kenner with generations of debt for a
list of dubious projects that will only prove to benefit his political
contributors, you would think that the Council would be hamstrung and unable to
spend money.
Ahh, if only that were true.
As expected, and written about here, many of the projects
that Yenni borrowed money to fund have received Federal, State and Reguional
grants paying for all or a large portion of the projects. Instead of returning
the borrowed money that was budgeted but not needed when the grants arrived,
and repaying the bond debt early, the Council has rerouted that money to other
projects not vetted by the people of Kenner.
Three years after the debt, there have been no public
meetings, no discussion of project status or an accounting of the bond debt
that was spent to date.
In addition, also noted here, the Council received a $6.5
Million settlement with BP over the Deep Water Horizon incident.
Did the Council use that windfall to repay the debt?
Of course not.
The Council couldn’t wait to spend it on more projects
including funding the initial engineering study for a $1.5 Million “Taj Mahal of
Sheds” to house outdoor generators.
That’s right, house outdoor generators.
While I have always been against the City of Kenner owning a
Food Bank (that should be left to a non-profit or a faith-based group), the
fact that the City will send double the cost of its new Food Bank building
(with all the whistles and bells) for a shed to house outdoor generators blows
my mind.
In addition, the Council has received over $3.5 Million (and
counting) from fees for the expansion at Armstrong International Airport.
Has the Coundil put that money towards debt repayment?
Are you kidding?
Councilman TweedleDumber, aka unelected District 4
Councilman Lenny Cline, couldn’t wait to list the projects this windfall would
fund and reiterate that there would be more money and, wait for it, more
projects, to be announced soon.
$10 Million that
could have gone towards digging Kenner out of Mike Yenni’s massive debt
sinkhole spent on more projects.
Sure, Kenner has needs and I’m sure that some of these
projects are worthwhile. But, at a time when our Police and Fire Department
needs are going unmet, we are selling off assets and playgrounds, where are
this Council’s priorities?
We are holding bake sales and fundraisers to purchase
bullet-proof vests for the KPD and one of our firefighters feels compelled to
attend a Council meeting, wait of his 3 minutes at the end of the meeting, and
literally beg the Council for a working television at a fire station (Heaven
forbid that the Council actually allocated the funding so Kenner could purchase
a new fire truck or achieve the national standard of 4-men-on-a-truck), and we
can afford a $1.5 Million Shed?
If it weren’t so laughable I would say that the 6 Republicans
on the Council should be embarrassed to call themselves Republicans.
Unfortunatley, I’m certain that nothing embarrasses this
Council, just as nothing embarrassed Yenni.
As long as political contributors are being taken care of
multi-million dollar no-bid contracts, all is well if you’re an elected
official in Kenner.
Sadly, that’s how politics works – as long as the campaign
cash comes in and your reelection (and promotion) is assured, screw the folks
you were supposed to represent.
Boy, am I getting cynical in my old age…
And I haven’t even gotten to the upcoming Mayoral election
yet.
Oh well. I will write more soon, I promise. Gotta rest up
now for surgery.
