Link to article by Kristi Cattafi:
It’s my opinion that nobody should be sitting on a
governing body if that governing body employs any of
their immediate relatives. Conflicted members cannot be fair and objective. There will always be the appearance that they are using their seats to benefit themselves and their family members.
From the article:
On
Thursday, Calandriello said it is his right to abstain on raises he disagrees
with. He argued they were not part of the contract negotiated by the employees'
union, the United Public Service Employee Union.
The
Delaneys' action, he said, borders on an ethics violation.
“I
think it’s shameful they pulled support of other employees because a
family member didn’t have enough support to get a raise,” Calandriello said.
Councilman Calandriello has the right to abstain. He is also right to say that the Delaneys’ action
“borders on an ethics violation”.
Erin Delaney could have voted “No” and stated that she
is opposed to all the raises. However,
her statement expresses that she voted “No” because her mother’s raise wasn’t included. Her action appears to be an ethics violation in that she is seeking a pay raise for her mother.
The title of the article is “Family affair in Garfield complicates city employee raises”.
If anyone wants to see a real family
affair and its complications, come to the Lodi BOE reorganization meeting in
January.
