Team of Doctors Summoned To Manchester To Treat Mass Schizophrenia

Team of Doctors Summoned To Manchester To Treat Mass Schizophrenia

               No, that’s not a headline seen anywhere in the main stream media today, but well it could be.

               Manchester voters, in overwhelmingly voting for the spending cap yesterday and even more overwhelmingly voting for Mayor-Elect Ted Gatsas who is committed to making the spending cap work, appeared stricken with a severe case of mass schizophrenia in electing almost all School Board and Aldermanic candidates opposed to the spending cap and committed to ever increasing big government spending.

               When Frank Guinta was elected two years ago, he had only two of 14 Republican Aldermen (Gatsas and Garrity), but he had independent Real Pinard and two Democrats who showed some willingness to restrain spending, Ed Osborne and Peter Sullivan.  Throw in Bill Shea, and Guinta had six possible allies.

               Mayor-Elect Gatsas has one Republican ally, Phil Greazzo who stunned me (if nobody else) by beating that Ward 10 institution George Smith (902-778, 53.7%).   This is after all the same Phil Greazzo who in an eight-member State Rep district (Wards 10, 11, 12) finished 15th last year, great proof that city and state elections are different worlds completely in Manchester.  Bill Shea and Ed Osborne are back, but that’s it.  Gatsas has only three of 14 Aldermen who could be considered allies. 

               Conservative Republican Mike Garrity (identical twin brother of socialist State Rep Pat Garrity from Ward 7) lost in a shocker in Ward 9 (839-725, 53.6%), and he lost to big spending Dem State Rep Barbara Shaw whose laziness in dealing with issues is palpable.  In what could be an irony which comes back to nip Dems in the derrier, the defeat could free Garrity up to run for State Senate against Betsi DeVries next year in what could be a very good Republican year.(Thje fact that two out of three indepedents voted Republican in both Virginia and New Jersey must have Dems scared!)  Remember, Garrity ran for the District 18 senate seat and lost in the GOP primary to Andre Martel in 2002; he would be a great candidate, yesterday notwithstanding.

               In close races all, Will Infantine lost in Ward 6 (44 voters, 51.2%), Leo Pepino in Ward 4 (64 votes, 53.5%), Joe Levasseur in Ward 3 (64 votes, 53.5%), Christine Pariseau Telge in Ward 8 (48 votes, 51.2%), Bob O’Sullivan in Ward 2 (58 votes, 51.5%), and in not so close a race, Keith Hiscmnann in Ward 12 (195 vores, 57.3%).

               They all favored the spending cap which passed by a 55-45 margin.

               Turnout was obviously the key.  Rather than being an expected 2000 votes more than the 20,000 level of 2007 and 2005, it was in fact 1000 votes less (18,803 people cast votes for mayor, so turnout might have been in the 18,900 range–a few people actually leave top of the ticket blank!).  That extra 3000 votes undoubtedly would have pushed Gatsas above 60 percent (he came in at 56.7 percent), but far more significantly, it would have meant the difference in Aldermanic and School Committee races.

In a low turnout election, all kinds of mischief is possible, and the Buckley-Sullivan cabal are experts in mischief making.  Unfortunately, we all suffer in the cesspool they create.

             It’s fair to say that government enablers and union hacks, despite the Gatsas and spending cap victories, carried the day by depressing turnout to where the big spending voters were maximized.

               I hate to call voters stupid.  After all, despite defeating me in a race for school board in Ward 8 yesterday, they have elected me seven times in a row for State Rep.

               But voters weren’t exactly astute yesterday.  Either you want a spending cap or you don’t, and you can’t have it when you elect people dedicated to ignoring it.  When two-thirds of the Aldermanic Board can override a spending cap, it is obviously only as good as the people you elect to enforce it.

               Therein lies the schizophrenia.

               Did some evil scientist sneak in and replace the chlorine in the Manchester water supply with a schizophrenic-inducting drug, I ask with tongue planted in cheek.

               Take my ward for example. Gatsas won 1253-812, 60.7 percent.  The spending cap won 1132-799, 58.6 percent.   However, Alderman Betsi DeVries who didn’t even want people to have the right to vote for the spending cap prevailed 1042-994 against a bright and talented newcomer Christine Pariseau Telge who, mark my words, will be heard from in the future.   And I lost 1031-923 to No Show Tom Katsiantonis who opposed the spending cap because, when he bothered to say anything at all, he said that we need to spend more.

               Lest that sound like sour grapes, I heartily concur with my friend, former Demcorat State Rep and Senator Bill McCarthy who called to congratulate me on not having to endure sitting through two years on a board with a bunch of people that really have no business being in government.

               I had promised Ted Gatsas I would run not because I wanted to do this—I prefer being at home reading history and other great books; in other words, I’m one School Board candidate who believes in education.  But I feared that Mayor Gatsas would be surrounded by incompetents, and especially at the school board level, it has come to pass.

               That board is so laden with inexperience and labor hacks that Gatsas will have to display the skills of a Houdini to govern the city.  Gone are voices of sanity Doug Kruse (moved to Florida) and Kathy Labanaris (did not run again).   Arthur Beaudry, who survived against former teacher and labor hack Joan Sullivan Flurey in Ward 9, and John Avard in Ward 10 will be lone voices of sanity on the board.  Although a Republican, Joe Briggs in Ward 2 appears dedicated to more spending, and his wife is a friend of super big spender Kathy Staub who, thank the almighty for small favors, lost for school board at large.  Even liberal Democrat Donna Soucy, who is left, may be out of step with the lunatic fringe which got elected.  After all, Soucy failed to received the teachers’ union endorsement because she had the nerve to back labor and vote to RIF (reduction in force) teachers last year.

               One can hardly wait to see what this Board will do when Gatas insists that they cannot spend more.

               Typical of yesterday’s election was the victory of the consummate film flam artist Alderman At Large Dan O’Neil who once again succeeded in convincing the public that we can have more spending on police, fire, and schools but lower  property taxes at the same time.  I know it sounds beyond belief that any politician saying such a thing could be believed but O’Neil, this poster child of deceit, actually said precisely that in a mailer which hit homes Saturday.

               Only the most jaded cynic would suggest that voters deserve what they voted in, a totally clueless group that considers public service some type of ego gratifying lark or payback to big spending union special interests.

               It’s people like O’Neil who make us jaded enough to say voters deserve the incompetents they select…the only problem of course is that the rest of us suffer alone with the dimwits who vote for the O’Neils and Katsiantonises of the world.

               Oh doctor, doctor, could you round up a hundred or so of your colleagues qualified to treat schizophrenia and ship them forthwith to Manchester.

               Voters are on the cusp of a total breakdown, and Dr. Gatsas needs help desperately.