To the Editor:
I’ve been reading the letters to the editor for the past several weeks and noticed that Gary La Pelusa has come under fire again for speaking his mind regarding the sale of the MOTBY to Port Authority. If certain people in this town weren’t so afraid of the repercussions, they would be singing a different tune. This is a town of fear. The people are afraid to speak out loud in case someone hears them.
La Pelusa was our city’s Third Ward Councilman from 2006 to 2010, and he was a very good one. I pay close attention to what goes on around town politically. I’ve always watched our council meetings and other meetings from the city on Channel 78. We have so many problems in town, it’s sinful. We had a councilman who spoke to the people no matter what time or day it was. La Pelusa was always returned our phone calls. My best friend has been calling City Hall to speak to her councilman for over a month. Nobody has returned her call since she started calling in July. She was advised to go to a council meeting and sign up to speak.
When La Pelusa voted as a councilman, he voted with his heart and voted for what was best for the community. This is the man we need to stand behind so we can get him back in office. We need someone who cares about this city and its residents. People, don’t be afraid!
When this council took over, the first thing they voted for was to put the public speaking part of the meetings to the end. If they cared about the residents, they would still be allowing us to be heard. We pay their salaries and all other expenses of this city through ever-rising tax bills. How dare they put us last? When those meetings are over, they don’t give a damn about us. They want to forget about everything else. They have some nerve.
Look at what the BMUA has done to us. They’re trying to make everyone believe this deal is good. They tried making everyone think this was a great deal because they are paying off so much of the city’s debt. Big deal! We’re always going to have debt. The problem the city has is that it cannot borrow money with a good interest rate anymore. We, the taxpayers, are getting screwed by this deal.
I called La Pelusa because he is on the MUA and he advised me that he’s against it. The vote for this deal happened while he was out of town because Executive Director Gallo said the meeting date could not be changed. La Pelusa would’ve voted no for this deal, while the other commissioners voted yes. Why? Because they are with the administration, which never asks questions and is afraid to say no to Steve Gallo. How could these people do this to us? They’ve been doing this for years.
ELIZABETH WEINGARD