Thursday, April 10, 2014

House of Sartoris Ambitions Trump Brunswick West Quality of Life Concerns

Political motivations behind the scenes” that are anti-Tucker may be involved.

                               

Sitting town councilor Steve Walker, representing the House of Sartoris, wrote from a posture of high dudgeon in December of last year just before his swearing in.

He did so in what seems for all the world like a politically motivated Ostrich commentary titled “Brunswick council may have to sue itself.” 

Walker demonstrated his fitness for the Sartoris Dynasty by affirming that he wanted to “help select” his replacement on the Planning Board, thus assuring an uninterrupted line of succession, instead of the service interruptus the council had to suffer.

Clearly upset, Walker referred to the last days of a ‘contentious’ council term, and took shots at departing councilors Ben Tucker and Margo Knight.  Tucker, of course, is a scion of the House of Tucker.  Ironically enough the Patriarch of the House of Tucker, a former councilor and judge, is now competing in the Democrat primary with the Matriarch of the House of Sartoris. 

Oddly enough, they’re competing for the State House of Representatives seat now held by a termed out Priest.

Kings, Priests, Knights, and those who were Governor and would be Governor; where does it all end?  BTW, did you see that your own Senator King, Angus has announced he’ll caucus with Republicans instead of Democrats if the Senate Majority flips in November? 

Political motivations, machinations, expediency and opportunism are never gone for long from Lake Basebegone, are they?

Back to the commentary, in which Walker refers to ‘this raw exercise in political power,’ and says ‘Keeping overt politics off the board serves Brunswick best….’  He lauds the concepts of ‘an impartial hearing’ and proper process.

Considering the foregoing, we find councilor Sartoris’ Walker’s performance at Monday night’s council meeting to deal with the MLF EIS letter all the more inexplicable.  You can view his at bat below, and  you’ll note that given all the foul balls during his 6 minutes in the box, Chair Pols nearly had to signal the bull-pen to send in relief.

            

Unless you consider the possibility of political motivations behind the scenes that are anti-Tucker.  While we would never suggest such a thing, those more politically astute might note that Johnny Protocols (GoJo) is also on the council, and he is in high dudgeon himself over the actions of the Brunswick West Neighborhood Coalition and the support they’ve garnered.

                                       

Those same astute observers might even suggest that JP the first might have significant influence in helping JP the second defeat The House of Tucker in the upcoming primary, and that JP the first could use that for leverage in getting councilor Sartoris Walker to change his vote to GoJo’s side in the debate.  We’re not sure how many noms de Side we can keep track of for any one subject, but we’re looking into adding Jongali to JP’s aka list.

                 

Add the triangular Stangali, Sartoris, and JP turbulence of the last year or two, and things get all the more wondrously bizarre.  It’s almost like a “Brunswick Triangle” where strange forces can apparently make things disappear.

We’re told the two JPs were out for a bite recently; not that there’s anything wrong with that.  It’s a good thing our Senator wasn’t ‘feet wet’ in the area.

        

As for us, we’re just a country bumpkin blogster, and what struck us was that in the video above, our protagonist seemed to explain far too much and far too long, as if he was having a guilt trip, and trying to convince himself that his motivations were pure.  We think we heard him claim he reviewed the copious comments to the EA that were submitted to the FRA, but none of those responsible can recall him asking for such materials.  “Let the process play out” indeed.

Some might suggest that his lengthy discourse was prepared ahead of time, and that his use of the words “political motivations behind the scenes that are Anti-train, anti-Amtrak” are eerily reminiscent of language used by councilor Protocols in response to the public hub-bub over the BDC grant to Brunswick Taxi, owned by a member of The House of CoJo King.  Somehow, the councilor seemed oblivious to political motivations right out in view that are anti-neighborhood.

Those same some might also surmise that Walker’s mind was made up before listening to public comments pro and con, and then responding with a view informed by what transpired.  It also seemed to us that his position came as a surprise to at least a few other councilors, who had likely thought they knew where his thinking lied on the matter.  It’s as if Steve wandered from where he’d been, which he admitted.

But sometimes you’ve got to get down and dirty in complex environmental issues, and it looks like he’s learning to wallow down low with the best of them.

                              

In his defense, political leverage and advantage are terrible things to waste, just like minds.  Especially for the House of Sartoris.  The Matriarch is sure to be a humble public servant when she ascends to the Priest seat; you can see the seeds of humility and unselfish public service in this passage from her legal practice web site:

In addition to her long service as a community leader on Brunswick’s town council and numerous other Boards and Committees, Jackie’s background includes consensus-building, law crafting, and negotiation as a former senior planner for the Maine State Planning Office. She won a national award for her role in leading a Maine task force of environmental and development interests to a consensus-based, comprehensive revision of the state’s wetland laws and regulations. Her state and local laws and ordinances are still being used as national models in creatively achieving balance for often competing interests.

We suspect we’ll see a photo something like this on the day after the election, if not sooner, where the House of Sartoris and JP the first show their solidarity.

                                      

Who knows where the donkey path will take them in the future.

As for those in the Brunswick West neighborhood, at least you have the consolation that if the MLF “shed” gets built in your back yard, it will have been in the service of ‘a greater good,’ if you can call it such a thing.  Perhaps one day you’ll get a chance to kiss a ring or something.  It’s not often you get to demonstrate allegiance to royalty these days, is it?  Unless you consider Kings, now that we think of it.

                   

It’s best at the moment that you take comfort in other things that are not as common in our midst.

                   

Is it too late to make a stupid joke about a new hit CD called “Songs in the  key of lies, by Little Stevie Wander?”  Of course it’s not; we own this publication, and we can do whatever we damn well please, thank you.

We got a million of ‘em, and you know, bad jokes are a terrible thing to waste.

As life in Brunswick seems to prove on a regular basis.  Luckily, you have The Other Side to occasionally give you one you can laugh at rather than cry over.

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