This is Leadership? - Part 2

On Thursday I posted about Commissioner O'Leary's surprise verbal attack on fellow Board of Education Commissioner and Democratic candidate Pat Hayes in the Wednesday Republican-American. It seems that, after reading Wednesday's paper Commissioner O'Leary realized that he made a rather large mistake, and issued an apology to Commissioner Hayes, both personally and in writing. While I admire Commissioner O'Leary's willingness to admit he made a mistake and apologize for it, unfortunately I felt his apology left a lot to be desired.

Primarily I found it rather distasteful that O'Leary felt it necessary to make his apology as public an affair as he made his excoriation of Commissioner Hayes just three days earlier. As I've mentioned before, I don't feel it is appropriate for any group, campaign, or similar organization to air all of its personal squabbles in public. Some may disagree with me, but even Commissioner Hayes was disappointed in the public nature of Wednesday's events.

From Friday's Republican-American:

"I thought this would be a personal thing, not part of the campaign," Hayes said.

The other aspect of Commissioner O'Leary's apology that I found lacking was his explanation of why he said what he said. In his apology he claims that he mis-spoke due to the "frustration" he had been enduring as a result of the "ugly campaign". I find it extremely difficult to consider a statement as blunt as "Pat Hayes? Can't stand him." something that you could mis-speak.

Furthermore, if you're frustrated at the personal bickering between Commissioners, as Commissioner O'Leary claims to be in his apology, then why not say "I can't stand those meetings," instead of singling out the Board President.

While I understand that emotions can sometimes get the best of people, it's different when you're talking specifically about an individual. I remember when I was on the Charter Revision Commission back in 2010, and one of my Thursday night posts from Twitter wound up in print the following Monday. It was embarrassing for me to see something that I wrote in frustration printed in the paper, but I also did not single any individual member of the Commission as the target of my anger.

All in all, I'm glad to see that Commissioner O'Leary apologized, but I feel that his apparent penchant for speaking without considering the consequences of his words leaves serious questions regarding his ability to lead the City of Waterbury.

O'Leary Playing Favorites?

As I mentioned yesterday, Commissioner O'Leary seems to have no problem ripping apart a member of his own ticket, sometimes even without provocation.

On the other side of the spectrum, it also appears that Commissioner O'Leary is playing favorites among the candidates on his under ticket. While I was driving around Waterbury, I noticed a sign that said "O'Leary Mayor / Harkins Board of Education" in the standard blue and white pattern of this years campaign.


However, at the same intersection I also saw a sign that was designed solely to promote Mr. Harkins's candidacy to the Board of Education.


It appears, from looking at the second sign, that Mr. Harkins has taken it on himself to establish his own campaign committee with his own treasurer (Mr. Kevin Marano), lawn signs, and website. He has even made a point of securing endorsements for his candidacy, separately from anyone else on the O'Leary ticket.

I find this behavior both unprofessional and upsetting. When I ran for Board of Aldermen in 2007 and 2009, I made every effort I could to remind people that I was part of a team of candidates that were working together for the betterment of Waterbury. At no point did I ever consider setting up my own campaign committee and running a blatant bullet campaign at the expense of my fellow Republicans.

(In fact, I cannot recall any time in the last 26 years that a member of either party's under ticket ran such an overt campaign of self-promotion. Yes, there have been slates that have devolved to bullet campaigning before, but not to this level.)

What is equally disturbing about Mr. Harkins's actions this year, is that they seem to have the implicit endorsement of Commissioner O'Leary. If you go to the bio that Mr. Harkins posted on the O'Leary for Mayor website, you can see a link to his seperate campaign page at the bottom.

I feel that Mr. Harkins's actions, as well as Commissioner O'Leary's inaction, raise serious concerns about their ability to lead the City and the School System.

If Mr. Harkins cannot work as a member of a team during the campaign, I have serious doubts that he will be able to work with his fellow Board of Education Commissioners for the benefit of Waterbury's 18,000 students.

If Commissioner O'Leary is unwilling, or unable, to ensure that his candidates can work together as a cohesive unit, how can we be sure that he will be able to bring together all of the different departments and boards that comprise the City of Waterbury, and keep them all moving in the same direction?

I realize that some may not hold the same weight to these matters as I do, but I feel they show an important aspect of the O'Leary campaign. Someone who truly wants to lead the City of Waterbury should be able to keep the 15 candidates on his slate moving as a single unit. Someone who truly wants to lead the City of Waterbury would not use the press to air out "in family" fights. These actions are not the way I believe someone who wants to lead the City of Waterbury should behave.

This is Leadership?

Over the past week I have seen quite a few disturbing signs out of the O'Leary for Mayor camp that makes me feel that Commissioner O'Leary would not make a good Mayor for the city of Waterbury.

In my opinion, the Mayor of any city, especially as one as large as Waterbury, needs to be able to work with a wide range of people to solve the myriad of problems facing it. Quite often, you are going to have to deal with people that you don't always get along with. There may be people who actively work against you, there may be people who have personality quirks that you consider annoying, and there may be people who just don't get things done in a fashion that you feel is appropriate.

A true leader knows how to handle these differences of opinion in a quiet, professional matter that doesn't wind up on the front page of the local paper. If a candidate for Mayor cannot handle these inevitable personality conflicts when they arise within a campaign slate of 16 people, how can we expect that person to deal with them among the city government?

The first example of questionable leadership arose back on the 20th when Ruben Rodriguez decided to end his campaign for Board of Aldermen. While I don't agree with Mr. Rodriguez's decision to exit the campaign so close to election, I find it very disturbing that Commissioner O'Leary's response was to openly accuse a fellow Democrat and State Legislator of organizing the departure.

From the Republican-American:

O'Leary claims state Rep. David Aldarondo engineered Ruben A. Rodriguez's defection after O'Leary refused to put Aldarondo's friends and relatives on his campaign payroll.

"I don't pay for political support," O'Leary said. "I'm really disappointed about Ruben. He's a good guy. David is taking advantage of him to get back at me."

Regardless of whatever may have happened between Mr. O'Leary, Mr. Rodriguez, and Rep Aldarando, the local section of the newspaper is not the place to air these grievances. It is my opinion that an appropriate response from Commissioner O'Leary would have been to discuss these issues privately, and provide a simple statement expressing regret over Mr. Rodriguez's decision, without involving Ms. Overton.

Another example of questionable leadership from Mr. O'Leary is the fact that just two days ago he decided to openly insult a member of his own ticket without provocation.

On Tuesday I was both shocked and appalled to see the headline "O'Leary 'can't stand' Hayes" plastered on the front page of the local section.

I'm sure there are people who would like to believe that this headline was a result of the Republican-American taking editorial liberties with a minor disagreement, however Mr. O'Leary completely dispelled that myth when he said:

"Pat Hayes? I don't like him," he said. "Can't stand him."

He went on to say: "He's no leader. We need one."

While I have not always agreed with Commissioner Hayes regarding education policy, and I do not feel he is the best leader the Board of Education has ever had, there is no reason for him to be treated in such a callous and crass manor. If anything, I believe that Commissioner Hayes showed more leadership then Commissioner O'Leary when he refused to sink to O'Leary's level.

These blatant attacks on people that most would assume are Commissioner O'Leary's allies makes me worry about how he would treat those who openly disagree with him if he happens to be elected.