Geez, how we love a good street fight. Especially during the cat days of winter. Now that we can’t seem to find our mobile mural, we need something else to suck up the diesel fumes in Brunswick, and we just may have found it.
You’ve probably heard the slang word ‘demo’ used over the years, in statements like ‘we need to demo the old Times Record Building,’ where it means demolish.
In the street fight we’re here to tell you about, ‘demo’ has double meanings: demolish, and Democrat, the latter being the political party. In keeping with the internecine theme of the title, local Democrats look like they’re out to demolish each other in a personal demolition derby.
Like most of you, we no longer subscribe to, buy, or read The Ostrich, ever since they refused to run a tab for us, even though we did for their local property taxes. Occasionally, however, we do come upon a diaphanous copy at a local dentist’s office, where reading it cover to cover provides two or three minutes of distraction, like most of the typical magazines these days.
Because of our inattention to the local paragon of news media printicide, we missed the opening public throw-down in this brewing brouhaha. But we caught up fast on this furious story, and we want you to as well.
So let us introduce you to the participants:
In this corner, Senator ‘Stan the Man’ Gerzofsky, now in his 13th straight year of legislative service, if we count right. In this corner, ‘Johnny Protocols’ Richardson; now a Town Councilor, a former mentor of the Senator, one-time gubernatorial candidate, one-time Speaker of the House, one time DECD, and BFF with FLee Bailey. And in this corner, Jackie Sartoris, newly minted lawyer and former multi-term Town Councilor.
We hold her in especially high esteem because she tried very hard to make sure the rule allowing public comment at the start of Council meetings wouldn’t pass, and also publicly labeled this reporter a liar (‘a teller of fictions.’) There’s no need to mention how she once told us in an official email that ‘honesty isn’t always the best policy.’ It wouldn’t add anything to this discussion.
It almost seems, when you get the picture, that a circular firing squad could be forming. Another player or two would make the imagery more complete. Town Manager Gary Brown has shown some flashes of political pugilism from time to time; perhaps he’d like to take another corner. And it wouldn’t surprise us if before long a few masked locals can’t stand to just watch the action, climb over the ropes, and toss a few stools around to join in the rope-a-dope theater. This could easily surpass the popularity of the Kabuki Theater of years past.
So what are we talking about? The throw-down we mentioned earlier, penned by Counselor Sartoris. You can read it here:
http://www.maineenvironews.com/Home/tabid/97/mid/628/newsid628/25319/Default.aspx
If you’re not tempted to read it yet, maybe these samples will spur you on:
Stan has waged a long, quiet, successful battle for enormous control in Brunswick. Every councilor serving Brunswick from 2005 to 2006 remembers the quiet coup resulting in our town losing not just control, but the mere opportunity to participate effectively, concerning redevelopment of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.
I watched Stan play councilors off one another, making temporary alliances to gain more control. Stan is a masterful political practitioner, with his own jujitsu: the quid pro quo, the quid pro no quo, and the no quid, no quo. At every turn, the council chose not to fight Stan publicly. At every turn, it was the wrong decision.
The more we think about it, the more we can see that Steve Levesque (separated at birth from Stan?) and long time former Council Chair Joanne King might be tempted to jump into the ring as well.
Politically, it’s already widely expected that JP is planning another run at the Blaine House, if not higher; Jackie has now officially thrown her hat into the State Senate ring; and while we don’t know what Stan has planned, we’re damn sure it doesn’t include giving up life in the political spotlight.
The danger here, of course, is that this could easily escalate from internecine warfare to interporcine warfare.
While a winter skating pond in the town mall has its charms, we doubt the Public Works department would take kindly to a mud pit in the summer.
Either way, the publicity this brings to our sleepy little village of Perfect can only make sure than no single ‘actor’ gets to hog the spotlight.
Public barbeque anyone?
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