INAUGURATED 01/01/2010: HOW LONG CAN HANNON LAST?

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Hannon's Rant

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives..." - John Lennon

Mayor Dennis Hannon published an opinion piece in yesterday's Press & Sun Bulletin in which he attempted to respond to the pamphlet sent to Johnson City residents several weeks ago.  Fire Starter read with great excitement and anticipation Mayor Hannon's rebuttal to the detailed and factual account provided by the State Association of Fire Fighters.  We could not wait to see all the facts and figures that prove once and for all that the pamphlet was just a "fairy tale".

Imagine our disappointment when we realized that this was yet another fact-less screed intended to distract voters and deflect justifiable criticism. 

It was a "hit piece" on Harry Lewis.  The Mayor accuses former mayor Lewis of lying to him regarding "mutual aid".  No details of what this lie was or proof that it occurred.  Only Hannon's unsubstantiated assertion.

It was another tepid defense of  Joint Fire Administrator Hrustich.  No facts.  Just an undeserved and unsubstantiated "attaboy".

It was an attack on the vote of  no confidence taken by the fire fighter's union.  The no confidence resolution details the misfeasance and malfeasance of Hrustich.  Again, no facts.  Just the assertion.

He then concludes that "the firefighter's contract was the greatest scam ever perpetrated on the people of Johnson City".  But of course, no factual back up.

Fire Starter has always endeavored to provide fact based analysis of Hannon's destructive behavior.  We have provided facts and figures regarding fire fighter salaries, the cost of the shared police chief and the Joint Fire Administrator.  We have provided figures regarding the cost of the endless litigation and the lack of economic development in the Village.   We even provided evidence to show that Hannon's incompetence started while he was Village Police Chief.  It may not have won us a Pulitizer Prize, but it has always been fact based.

As a rambling rant, we give Hannon an "A".  As anything resembling a reasoned argument or a fact based advocacy piece, he gets an "F".

Which causes Fire Starter to wonder whether Mayor Hannon is beginning to lose his grasp on reality.  Perhaps his destructive approach to Village government is beginning to catch up to him.  Perhaps he realizes that the end of his reign of pettiness is close at hand.  The fact that voters rejected Hannon's crusade to destroy the Village may be too much for him to handle.  Suddenly, he finds that he is not the Sheriff of Johnson City but an impotent little man. 

And unfortunately for Hannon, everyone else sees the same thing.

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