Dello Russo Loses his Cool at Council Meeting

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Will Freddy Dello Russo Jr. dress up in drag as Anita Ward and sing "RING MY BELL" this Holiday season???

   $27,000.00 is a nice chunk of change, and a member of the city council whose father was Mayor should know better than to misbehave while a citizen is speaking at "the people's forum."  But just as there are trolls on the internet who get self-righteous and demand "banning" people just as a corrupt and quickly dissolving non-profit bullied and kept Medford residents from receiving the product that they pay for, an elected official went over to a tree and started ringing a bell during a speech.

   We only have two council meetings left in December - next Wednesday night - Dec. 11, and December 18th.  The 25th is Christmas and the first is New Years day.  So the new council is in session on January 7.

   The new Council President-elect made a point of coming over to me and shaking my hand tonight, asking me how Thanksgiving was.  I told him it was a terrific 4-day celebration, which it was.  Just a lovely time staying local but really putting the miles on the car just traveling around the area.  I asked the president-elect how his Thanksgiving was.  He replied that he ate too much. 

   All the councilors were in good spirits except for the one who misbehaved - and the council president who allowed the grade-school antics of an elected official to continue; an elected official who, clearly, spends more time staring into space than doing his job.

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   Does this mean that the new Council president (elect) is going to take his job seriously and be a president for the entire community? I certainly hope so.  That hope springs eternal.

   I thank councilors Lungo-Koehn, Penta, Marks, Caraviello and Camuso for their professionalism tonight.  And congratulate Mr & Mrs. Adam Knight on the birth of their new son.  Indeed, an extra-special Thanksgiving for the councilor-elect and the Knight family

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   The topics discussed tonight were vitally important, despite the year-winding-down very short council meeting, reflecting last week's brevity. The discussions were about the Lawrence Memorial Hospital, the tax rate and TV3 Medford's dissolution and the new entity that is supposed to emerge from the rubble.

   Dr. Storella again provided facts and figures and gave the council pause regarding the tax rate.    As a former board member of MCC was texting me (interesting that you can turn your voice phone ringer down, but the text on my phone still makes an audible sound) I left Alden Chambers to get the message.  It stated "Where's the TV3 equipment" - which I brought up during my speech, and which Councilor Penta also noted was a good, important topic.

     Where is the equipment?  Where are the financial records?  Why is a woman going from access station to access station alleging she is on a "Commission" (how I was told she phrased it) when no such commission, City Hall tells me, is yet in place?

     Transparency is what we need.  And speaking of transparency, we didn't see any of the Patch Peanut Gallery Crowd (PPGC) at the council meeting.  Did you?   So much anxiety from a dozen or so individuals commenting on Patch yet not having the decency to come up to the city council and have their voices heard.  Oh well...

     It seems like 2014 will be an intriguing year with possible improvements to our city.  It looks like the council president-elect realizes the importance of his position (and three grand extra in this economy is worth respecting!)  But for a grown man to go over to a bell and start ringing it loudly to be an annoyance, an elected official, thinking he's in tenth grade and it is time to shoot spitballs at the substitute teacher, really, it just shows the lack of respect some people have for the money the public is paying that person to do "the people's business."  He was out of order, out of line, but he wasn't able to blunt the message.

   One person at the council noted - after my speech - that there should be a five year "cooling off" period in place.  That means, individuals involved in the previous non-profit not be allowed to participate until the city can get its access act back together again.  It wasn't Mr. Penta who said that, but it was a person with considerable clout.  Says to me 2014 is going to be very interesting indeed and methinks certain oversight outside of the Medford city limits is going to make it a VERY merry Merry Christmas  for cable tv subscribers.