Everything Old Is "New" Again

That could be the theme song of the "new" Hanlon administration. Or how about "out with the old, in with the older"?

Last week, the axe fell in a big way, with the majority of department heads moving into the new year unemployed. The warm hearted notice, which arrived on December 28, indicated that the last day of employment would be January 3. Six days notice. So much for a "kinder, more compassionate" administration, as the Independent tried to portray it a couple of weeks ago.

Now don't get us wrong; we're not naive. We understand the game and how it's played. Of course Hanlon is going to want "his own people" in key spots. So . . . we have Domenic D'Angelo returning as City Treasurer. This actually isn't a bad choice, all things considered. Other key spots are not yet filled, but there is one that should raise a red flag -- that is the return of Don Andrew as the City Auditor. This is the same Don Andrew who has been an "advisor" on the Hanlon transition team, the same Don Andrew who has been "consulting" for the last few years for the School Department -- the same Don Andrew who hid the overspending of the School Department by applying it to the tax levy, and the same Don Andrew who put together a bogus Medicaid revolving fund to try to cover additional overspending by the School Department, ignoring Department of Revenue advisories that such a fund was illegal.

Only time will tell how many more "political paybacks" Hanlon needs to fulfill, but here's the issue -- the Hanlon administration was supposed to be "the start of something better." And yet, it seems to be the start of "the same old thing" -- political patronage and cronyism. The Hanlon campaign had claimed that this administration would be different . . . and yet, so far it seems that the few jobs Hanlon has filled have all been "rewards" to his political supporters. So much for different.

At the end of the day, we want Hanlon to do well. The health of our city depends on it. However, it's been a slow and disappointing start. So far, Hanlon has pressured his friends on the Board of Aldermen to put off a vote on the Police Chief, even though members of the Board stood and said they believed Mazzie to be the right choice; he's convinced members of the Board that the $2 million that could have been applied to reduce the impact of the recent real estate tax bills should be split between "free cash" and the stabilization fund "in case we need it" -- yet he provided no financial plan to the Finance Committee that would indicate what those needs might be. In spite of having spent six years campaigning to be the Mayor of this City, he seems to have no clue as to what the real needs of the city are.

We hope we're wrong. We hope that there's some grand plan that has yet to be revealed. Hopefully, at least part of that plan will be revealed in tomorrow night's inaugural address.