Well, Northampton resident Steve Susco (below) let Mayor Higgins and the City Council, as well as the public, know how he feels. He is tired of raw sewage bubbling up in his home. The story did not garner much media attention until the squeaky wheel amplified its volume. Susco unleashed a torrent of ill will towards Mayor Higgins and the Council during the last two City Council public comment periods.
While I viewed Mr. Susco's most recent public comments with surprise (I don't blame him mind you), I'm not sure why Mayor Mary Clare Higgins chose to implicate political motives as she glanced over at mayoral front runner Michael Bardsley at the conclusion of Susco's remarks. Susco has publicly thanked Bardsley and at-large City Council Candidate Jesse Adams for attempting to help him. He has derided Councilors Dostal and Carney and Higgins for apparently not doing so. He has also thanked this blogger for covering the issue.
It can be assumed from here until election day that anyone who dares cross Higgins will be suspect and accused of working at the behest of Bardsley. Dissent will be framed as a vast right wing conspiracy I imagine with Bardsley pulling the strings. Next thing you know rumors will abound that Bardsley is a conservative, a baby-killer and who knows what else. Let's be clear, Susco had four inches of raw sewage seep into his home and some of his neighbors have had similar problems. This has cost him thousands of dollars in clean up costs and lost possessions. He is fed up and is not going to take it anymore.
In a letter to the editor published in the Gazette Dan Felten implied that Bardsley stood idly by while one of his supporters acted like a mob during the Council meeting. However, Mr. Susco by himself does not constitute a mob and there was nothing Bardsley could do at that moment. I seriously doubt Bardsley or anyone else could have silenced Mr. Susco.
Moreover, the gasp eminating from Higgins' supporters regarding civility leaves me laughing out loud. I'm reminded of my failed run for city council in 2005 when I opposed David Narkewicz, a Higgins loyalist. One of his supporters or a group of supporters repeatedly vandalized my home. Repeatedly lawn signs were destroyed, with some of the stakes snapped in half. I counted about a dozen signs destroyed that season, many of them right in front of my home. Moreover, someone came onto my front porch and tipped over furniture and signs at about 2:00 a.m. one morning. I gave chase on foot but did not catch the coward(s). I called 911 and two cruisers arrived on the scene. The officers checked out the neighborhood, but found no one. Of course this was not covered by the local media, but it happened nonetheless.
Now Mr. Susco is not mincing his words and he is no coward, but he also is not threatening violence or vandalism to my knowledge. The point is that I have no physical evidence to suggest that Narkewicz had anything to do with the vandalism of my home nor have I ever made that suggestion, though some of my supporters at the time wondered aloud about it. If Mr. Felten has physical evidence linking Bardsley to the actions of Susco let him bring it forward, otherwise, he should stop trying to capitalize on someone's raw sewage problem. It appears to be a desparate political ploy in my view. Higgins has ample political capital built up around the city to defeat Bardsley in November and she need not resort to petty accusations and whisper campaigns. But this is the climate she is creating.
Moreover, a mayor should be able to withstand citizens expressing themselves when they are angry. It goes with the job and I was more surprised by her theatrical retreat from the mayor's seat than Susco's outburst. She patted Susco on the arm as she passed him by and in my opinion she lost her cool. If she can't take the heat then get out of the seat.
The fact of the matter is Higgins has created angry factions in the city. She tore down Old Main at the former Northampton State Hospital and has significantly altered its plans. She is standing idly by while the Green Street neigbhorhood is annexed by Smith College. She sold a parcel of land behind Pulaski Park for one dollar in order to construct a Hilton Garden Inn Hotel downtown. This spurred two lawsuits and cost the city at least $55 thousand in settlements. She rejected a citizens' petition regarding the Smith College Educational Use Overlay District, I believe illegally, at the advice of former City Solicitor Janet Sheppard. She is the primary force behind expanding the landfill over a fresh water aquifer spurring lawsuits that led to $1.2 million in settlements. Her deposed Solicitor Sheppard resigned under a cloud of controversy regarding shredded public records pertaining to these landfill settlements. She has shifted about $1.5 million in free cash funds into capital and equipment stabilization funds while starving the schools of needed financial resources which led to a divisive override effort. She has retroactively removed health insurance eligiblity from former city employees. She pushed a controversial panhandling ordinance proposal before withdrawing it. She endorsed a questionable Business Improvement District signature initiative also leading to a lawsuit which is pending last I knew. Her administration has fined the Northampton Nursing Home for sewage violations, and then rescinded the fines. The list could go on. The Higgins administration seems to be devolving into a state of chaos. Whose fault is that?
Quite frankly I'm surprised more people haven't showed up at City Council meetings to express their anger. Hopefully people will at least restrain themselves from throwing shoes at sitting officials.
