Food fight at Democrat Picnic (Dollar Bill, center)
“Wealth should hurt”* Greenwich Democrat Chairman Francis Fudrucker proclaimed as he announced his candidacy for the Board of Estimate and Taxation yesterday. “And while I certainly appreciate the efforts of my fellow Democrats who have served on our BET for the past three decades, it is time to thank them for their service and move on. I’ll be running with John Blankley to replace two of those dead-wood pansies, members, and we expect to win. Like me, John too has been rejected by the voters of Greenwich so we both know pain, we both know humility, but we also know that BET seats are assigned, not contested, so here’s our chance to smack you people in the face and make you pay, for past indignities and future swimming pools. In fact, I believe the appropriate expression here is nananananana.”
Fudrucker and Blankely’s palace coup left the present Democrat incumbents shaken and miffed: “We’ve tried to spend like Democrats, William Finger wailed, “we’ve tried so hard! But those Republicans wouldn’t let us! Oh what could we do, what could we do?”
As he shuffled off, defeated, Finger said there is no debate among Democrats about incurring more debt.
“Every member of the Democratic caucus is supportive and in favor of long-term bond financing,” Finger said. “We are now and have always been. For anybody to say otherwise is making an inaccurate statement.”
Too bad BET seats aren’t contested, because this would otherwise make for a fun election. As it is, there will be no chance to debate spending and how much to increase it (Republicans say, “a whole lot”, Democrats say, “a whole, whole lot, and let’s pile on debt to do it.”). But because the parties have split the job into twelve non-elective appointments, six for each side to distribute as it sees fit, there will be a certain amount of climate-threatening hot air released at the parties’s respective clam bakes but nothing of substance will be discussed, or done. Which, presumably, is how we like it here in the land of steady habits.
*Our lawyers suggest we mention that we made this quote up – Ed.
For What It's Worth 
Sorry, but it makes me glad I no longer live in Greenwich. Not that it is any better a few towns up.
The money’s running out and the scrambling is getting ugly. Everywhere.
Time to brew up tea ?
Third word a good idea ?
So, basically Farricker and Blankley (as you point out – have both been rejected by Greenwich voters) are saying the Democrats on the BET aren’t liberal enough? So they are going to use the DTC to stuff themselves into the mix instead? Great, don’t we already have Sean Goldrick on there? I feel sorry for the Republicans who are giving so much time to that Board – the meetings are about to become a clown show. Show me a single spending initiative that any of these Democrats have opposed and I’ll consider them worthy candidates. In the meantime, let’s change the town charter in favor of competitive elections – the Republicans would run away with everything.
Slightly off topic, as reported in the Greenwich Patch (no mention, however, on the Greenwich Time or Town of Greenwich sites) “Power outage causes Greenwich High School closing early today, March 19. Dismissal: 11:37 am.”
As to the Town’s infrastructure and power grid reliability:
from Patch:
Greenwich High School will be closing early today, Tuesday, March 19, due to a power outage, school district officials announced.
“We are releasing students at 11:37 a.m. and buses will be running. All after school and evening activities at the high school will be cancelled, with the exception of the Choral Dress Rehearsal, which will proceed as scheduled,” according to an announcement released by the school district administration.
According to an email from Connecticut Light & Power spokesman Mitch Gross, “The issue is an underground cable. CL&P workers are there. No estimate as to when power will be restored.” The outage was reported at 7:15 a.m.
According to the CL&P website, the high school is the only customer without service in town.
So much for underground cables being the answer to electrical unreliability
DPW salts the roads. What could go wrong?