There is an old saying that Leaders lead and others make excuses and place blame. Last week’s Mayoral forum was a perfect example of that. Instead of expounding on her record and vision of the future, the mayor spent most of her time blaming the city council for her failures.
Her lack of a vision for the future is only surpassed by her distorted view of the past. Look at her statement about the Inflow and Infiltration Citizen Committee that the Counsel appointed. She claimed that it was made up of developers with the results costing the taxpayer’s money. Look at the facts neither claim is factual. Leaders lead and others make excuses and place blame.
A few weeks ago in a letter to the editor that would make any card holding member of the Tea Party proud, one of the mayor’s supporters called the city council crooks and obstructionists. The night of the forum, the mayor’s campaign manager walked by me while I was talking to someone after the debate and made derogatory comment directed at me. I would think that a mayor who was proud of their record would not have to run this type of smear campaign.
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Twelve years ago when the mayor was first elected, maybe, she had a council that was less than friendly to her. The faces on the council have changed but her story hasn’t. More than a decade later maybe it is time to look in a mirror and accept some of the blame. As I said leaders lead and others make excuses and place blame.
Teamwork and communication are necessary for a good city to be great. If the mayor has a plan for our city’s future she has kept it to herself. Many times the council finds out about things after they happen. I get more information about what the administration is doing on Twitter than from her or her staff.
Leadership is bringing people together to achieve a common goal. It is not about making excuses and placing blame. Our public employees should not have to negotiate clean, safe working conditions. If Michael J Fox had come to Waltham 2015 in the movie Back to the Future and looked at our auditing practices, he would have thought the world had not changed.
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I like most people in the city voted for Mayor McCarthy three times. Times have changed but the mayor hasn’t. Waltham is in desperate need of leadership who will listen and work with others to take us into the twenty first century. We cannot afford 4 more years of a 1960’s government. We need a mayor who is willing to listen and lead and not just make excuses and place blame.
