JOURNAL BLOGS
Sometimes, there ain’t enough column space...
26
Aug 2008
A warm Wayne welcome?
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 5:20 PM | Comments (3)
Steve Johnson, a candidate for Wayne County Commission, had a mixed review of the Wayne Wheelfest this past weekend.
Johnson, who is running against Kevin McNamara in the 11th district, had a booth at the festival, marched in the parade and advertised in the festival guide.
“For the most part it’s been great,” he said.
The ‘but’ was an incident that took place Thursday night between him and Pam Dobrowolski and her husband. Dobrowolski works for Wayne County. She is on the Wayne City Council. She was McNamara’s campaign manager. Her daughter works for him, too.
The words exchanged vary depending on who you talk to, but the confrontation was heated enough that the police were summoned and Johnson said his children, 10 and 7, were understandably upset that someone would come up and yell at their father. There was an attempt to have him kicked out of the festival, too.
What an embarrassment.
This was most likely a spill over from the most recent Wayne City Council meeting, when Johnson spoke during public comments to bring up some issues he wanted to address during the campaign. He admits he didn’t come off too well that night, but was still surprised at the treatment he received.
Councilman Tom Kelly, McNamara’s liaison for senior services, asked where Johnson lived.
This is a strange question to me. I’ve been at many a Wayne City Council meeting where people have spoken—take State Rep. Marc Corriveau, for instance—and they haven’t been asked that question. McNamara, by the way, is a Canton resident, too. It just speaks to the sense of entitlement some politicians have. It bothers me. This is America and people who run for office shouldn’t expect that kind of treatment from people who represent a city, no matter if they agree with them or not.
I’ll have more about this in the paper this week but, like everyone who witnessed the altercation, I’m deeply embarrassed for my town.
This is not how we treat people in Wayne. Or at least it shouldn’t be.
Comments (3)
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