Can You Promote Cooperation While Insulting Fellow Trustees?
Last night, at the Back To Democracy forum hosting the three candidates for the Trumansburg Village Board of Trustees, candidate Rordan Hart said that he would, if elected, work to ensure that the members of the Village Board of Trustees work together in an attitude of cooperation and mutual respect.
Then, just minutes later, Rordan Hart insulted one of the current members of the Board of Trustees, David Filiberto, to his face. He called Filiberto “asinine”.
Here’s what the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Dictionary says about what the word “asinine” means:
Definition 1: Utterly stupid or silly
Definition 2: Of, relating to, or resembling an ass
Last night, Rordan Hart, in front of a large audience of Trumansburg residents in the Fire Hall called David Filiberto silly.
Rordan Hart called David Filiberto stupid.
Rordan Hart suggested that David Filiberto is or is like an ass.
Is that the kind of attitude you want to see on the Trumansburg Village Board of Trustees? David Filiberto has never insulted anyone from his position as a Village Trustee. Rordan Hart has started hurling rude insults at Village Trustees before even being elected himself.
How can Rordan Hart expect us to believe that he will be able to work well with Trumansburg residents and other members of the Board of Trustees, when he cannot even keep his temper, and restrain from insulting people at a meeting of Back to Democracy?
Rordan Hart lost his credibility on this issue last night. He can talk all he wants to about civility and respect, and an attitude of service, but when he calls other people stupid asses in public, we have no reason to believe him.
Ok, but how about the issues? What did the candidates say about what they planned to do if elected?
A lot more to come on that. But, to tell the truth, Rordan Hart didn’t have very much to say about the issues. Hart actually admitted that he doesn’t have a vision for Trumansburg.
Mostly, Hart made vague promises about being open and willing to listen, and working to have good relationships with people…
… and then he called David Filiberto a stupid ass.
By his own measure, Rordan Hart fails the test of suitability for office.
It should be noted, for the record, that David, Chris and I were perfectly cordial to each other all night long.
My use of the word “asinine” was neither a suddenly hurled insult, nor the result of a loss of temper.
It was a calmly, cooly, and carefully chosen word which I used in response to David’s accusation that I am being “nativist” in my assertion that being a long-time member of the community is an asset that I possess. David attempted to suggest that I was not only guilty of nativism, but that I am also anti-newcomer and anti-immigrant.
I responded by pointing out the simple fact that I am a first-generation american. My parents, who were sitting in the audience, are immigrants, one from Taiwan, one from South Africa. They were accepted into this community some thirty years ago and I am, literally and figuratively, the product of that acceptance. To imply that I am anti-newcomer or anti-immigrant, in a clear attempt to impugn my character, when I am, perhaps, UNIQUELY capable of speaking on behalf of BOTH newcomer AND long-time resident IS asinine – i.e. “utterly stupid or silly”.
Following my response, David apologized for his accusation. I consider the issue resolved.
A digital recording of the meeting is available if anyone would like to verify the truth about what actually took place. Mr. Cook, for his own reasons, has chosen to leave this key piece of information out of his version of last night’s events. It is up to the reader to decide what this says about his credibility. My credibility, however, remains unimpeachable.
Really, Mr. Hart? You just called David Filiberto asinine, stupid and silly again.
You just can’t seem to stop yourself from hurling these insults around, can you?
Your credibility is called into question when you say that you’ll work together well with others on the Village Board of Trustees, and then you go tell one of the sitting members of the Village Board of Trustees to his face that he is asinine – a stupid ass.
You can say that your character is unimpeachable, Mr. Hart, but your own actions last night speak for themselves.
You used the insult, Mr. Hart, and I also have a digital recording to prove it.
Do you stand by the insult you have repeated here, that David Filiberto is asinine, or do you wish to retract that insult and apologize for it?
As a long-time resident, I can tell you that I find that the use of this kind of language by Mr. Hart to be shocking.
We ought to show more respect to each other than this.
I want to know whether Rordan Hart intends to insult Trumansburg residents like myself when we disagree with him at Village Board meetings. Will Rordan Hart call us asinine?
I think that this kind of abusive language calls for a retraction and an apology.
Seems to me that the very fact that Mr. Hart tossed out an insult like this is proof enough that he lost his temper. Calm people don’t say things like that in civilized gatherings.
It’s clear that the comment is being called asinine and not Filiberto.
After reading several letters in the free press in support of Rordan Hart, many of them tout his qualifications as “being a life long resident”. Hmmm where does that leave the almost lifelong residents? The 10 year residents? Heavens forbid the people that just moved in? Do they have a lesser status than the so called exalted lifelong resident? I cannot believe Trumansburg business owners would put their names on such a letter either…way to go rordan- alienating a large segment of the population is a surefire way to have a contentious and short lived political career.
To say that David Filiberto has never insulted anyone in his position as a member of the Village Board of Trustees is just a blatant, bold-faced lie. I’ve witnessed Mr. Filiberto hurl much more derogatory comments than “asinine” towards people. Heck, I’ve been on the receiving end of one or two of them.
Mr. Cook, I must say that I find your argument here about Mr. Hart’s abilities to perform the job of Trustee (or lack thereof) to be rather lacking. Mr. Hart took the time to give a rather eloquent reply to your reactionary post and you respond with the equivalent of “You’re wrong, I’m right, neener, neener, neener!”
I’m not saying that it’s okay for any elected official to come out and be insulting whenever they feel like it, but speaking one’s mind certainly doesn’t seem like a reason to not vote for someone. After all, Mr. Filiberto has been doing it for a couple years now.
This type of unneeded mudslinging is the reason more people don’t get involved in politics today. Let’s simply keep things focused on the issues. If you feel Mr. Hart doesn’t have an opinion on the issues, and that’s your reasoning for not voting for him, that’s good enough for me. Attacking the man for speaking his mind, however, is a bit hypocritical, considering what you’re doing here.
Mr. Ferrari,
Are you really trying to take the high road with a phrase like, “You’re wrong, I’m right, neener, neener, neener”?
For the record, I have never, ever, used the word “neener” in an argument here at Finding Ulysses.
Is it your practice as editor of the Trumansburg Free Press to use the word “neener” to belittle people, or do you have a policy against that sort of thing?
To get serious for a moment, please try to understand that I’m not attacking Rordan Hart for speaking his mind. I’m criticizing his decision to insult a member of the Village Board of Trustees, and discussing that in comparison to Mr. Hart’s promise, just a few minutes earlier, to do his best to work well with others.
I don’t think it is unneeded mudslinging for me to point out that Rordan Hart called David Filiberto, in effect, a stupid ass at a public meeting. I think it is mudslinging for Rordan Hart to hurl an insult at a member of the Village Board of Trustees at a meeting that’s open to the public.
Of course, Mr. Ferrari, if you want to descend into schoolyard taunts like “Neener, neener,” that’s your choice, and I welcome you to keep at it. I won’t censor your comments here.
Mr. Ferari’s biased comments here are just one more reason that when I get a free copy of the free press, I toss it in the recycling along with the offer of a subscription. There are clearly better ways of finding out what is going on around Trumansburg than a paper with questionable editorial standards.
Mr. Cook,
From the discussion here, it seems pretty clear that Mr. Hart was calling Mr. Filiberto’s comment asinine and not Mr. Filiberto himself. Again, I fully admit to basing this on what I’ve read here and I would be interested in hearing an unedited tape of the event to be able to see (or hear) for myself.
What I see as mudslinging is your deliberate twisting of what people (including what I) have to say to fit your own agenda. Of course, I would not be surprised to see you twist around what I say in this post as well, since you did it in such a knee-jerk manner to my first response.
And I appreciate your offer of allowing me to continue posting here uncensored. I hope you’ll forgive me if I don’t take you up on it too often. I’m afraid that the venom spewed here on a regular basis may be a bit too deadly. I do, however, welcome you to do the same in my venue if you ever feel up to it with a guest opinion. We’re always looking for opposing views that we can print.
I will, however, offer to make a deal with you: I’ll refrain from using terms like “neener, neener” (which I used to express my opinion of your attitude, not meant to belittle you) if you can find the fortitude to not twist around what those that oppose your views have to say, in your Rove-like manner. I’m also willing to bet I’ll have the easier time holding up my end of the bargain.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
In regards to the post above, could someone please post a list of the “trumansburg business owners” that support Hart? This would be a useful list to have when making decisions on which establishments to frequent.
Mr. Ferrari,
Given the kind of material published in the Trumansburg Free Press, I find it very amusing that you can talk about my twisting around what people say and being venomous.
Thank you for not focusing on real issues in our community.
And yes, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Gosh. If you would like to bring up some “real” issues in the community, why don’t you let us know what they are, and then we all can focus on them?
Mr. Cook,
In regards to the above opinions about the “questionable editorial standards” of the Trumansburg Free Press, I think it may be in the best interests of everyone involved to sit down and discuss where you feel the newspaper has gone askew. I’d be willing to sit down with you (and whomever else) and look at examples of where you feel we’ve reported in a biased manner. We could do it at the office or, if you feel a more neutral site is in order, we could meet at Gimme!
And again, the offer of submitting a guest opinion or participating in a point-counterpoint is always open to you (and anyone else posting here).
The phone number to the office is 387-3181. Give me a call on Monday and we can set something up, or you can feel free to just stop by.
Well, from my vantage point, I can tell you what is not a “real” issue and this my friend is not an issue. But I do give you full credit for trying to make it an issue. Now about real issues in the…hold on my 6 year old is crying because his sister just called him silly.
Illegal Alien, I’ve got a 6 year old boy myself, but his sister is too young to call him silly. She does give a fuss though.
When you’ve got the time, I’d really love to hear what you think the relevant issues are.
If you really want to discuss some “real” issues involving Ulysses, maybe you and I can discuss giving you access to write articles about them on your own here.
Multiple voices are welcome. I know that I express my opinions strongly, but I don’t mind giving space for others to talk about their opinions – even when I disagree with them some time (as Allen and Krys would be happy to attest that I do).
Above all else, let’s keep people talking.
That goes for you too, Mr. Ferrari. Finding Ulysses is not journalism, and doesn’t intend to be. If you’d like a place here to write according to your vision, even to say that I’m full of it, or write a column specifically about the neeners of Trumansburg, you’re welcome.
I have no idea who “X” is, so I can’t bring that person into a Gimme Coffee summit.
JC, Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on it in the near future.
As for you Mr. SF you too have a great sense of humor. keep up the good work at the Free Press.
I trust we all agree “asinine†is a good word, but it doesn’t hold a candle to calling someone silly or better yet silly goose.
SF – ok, I’ll bite: let’s start here, why don’t you tell us all what your political affiliation is, who you voted for in the last presidential and congressional elections, are you one of the measly 28% who still supports president bush? Do you believe in women’s right to abortion? Do you believe in the seperation of church and state?
Since you are the editor, the gatekeeper of the news, and since it’s pretty clear from your paper that you have a political bias, why not just be honest and open about it.
you report, we decide
Youse guys is small-time, just look at the nasty things that our “three men in a room” are calling each other in Albany!
Seriously, though– I went to the meeting, as a 30-year Town of Ulysses resident who is deeply interested in what the future of T-burg may turn out to be…. ‘cuz I think the future of Ulysses is joined at the hip to that. I thought that Rordan sounded young and naive, with no experience to offer other than having lived here, while Chris and David were more mature, and had clearly paid their dues and learned their lessons through long, hard public service. I enjoyed hearing about the visions that the candidates who had visions for the future of T-burg had, and welcomed the news that the comp plan and zoning update would be coming soon. And, I got a big kick out of contemplating what the difference was between a “lifelong resident” who was very young (Rordan), and a 3-decade resident who was from somewhere else originally (me) was (clue: I think it has to do with graduating from T-burg Schools). Nonetheless, I understand Rordan’s discomfort about confronting his “lifelong resident” campaign rhetoric as “nativist” was, when he is a first-generation American (but life-long T-burger). He is a victim there of his supporters’ advice and party affiliation– the Republicans in Ulysses are the party of the many-generations-lived-here gang– and welcoming to newcomers (even the 3-decade-lived-here variety) they are not (not sure why Rordan’s parents are considered ok– maybe it is the stock market investment thing, or maybe they play golf, or vote Republican).
Rordan’s critique of imperial and you-can’t-have-that-info government spoke to me as a lament on the behavior of that one Republican-endorsed Town official, Doug Austic. I am hoping that, after he loses the Village Board election, Rordan will turn that good energy toward reforming Doug, and bringing openness to Town government. Heaven knows, I (and the rest of the local Democrat Committee) have failed utterly on that Sissiphean (sp?) task. And, it needs doing, ‘cuz all this discord, with its pending lawsuits and wasted engineering studies, is expensive and unproductive.
BTW– the economic development equation on the micro level for me (where might I locate an office if I go back into self-employment? Ithaca, home on DuBois Rd., T-Burg?) was not pulled toward the T-burg pole by all the various personal disses. Want to appeal to potential downtown office renters? Stop being a Tempest in a T-cup, and welcome the newcomers and the tourists, along with their cash.
First of all, I want to point out the irony in a man calling himself only “x” telling me to be “honest and open.” Do you also wear a mask and hail from parts unknown? Just curious.
Second, what you see as a “political bias” I belive to be a dislike for the inclusion of politics into local governance. My issues stem from what I believe to be a political divide among our elected officials, all of whom (with one new exception) identify themselves as Democrats. Whatever the case, I don’t see any reason why politics should enter the picture at the local level. Our representatives are not deciding on Roe. They are not ruling on gay marriage. They are trying to better the lives of those they represent. That should be the only measuring stick we use to judge whether these particular representatives should be elected (or re-elected).
Villages in NYS have the option of using the established political parties (Democrats, Republicans, et al) or using their own parties. I am an advocate of the latter, because calling yourself a Democrat or a Republican in a local race means nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Now then, X, you seem to want me to give my bio. I don’t see the relevance, but I am happy to oblige, as I agree that I should be open and honest.
Political affiliation: I am not currently registered as a member of any political party, although if pressed (and I believe I have been) I would call myself a moderate Democrat.
Voting Record: The first election I was eligible for was in 1998. I voted for Chuck Schumer. In 2000, I voted for Al Gore. In 2004, though I believed him to be an idiot, I voted for John Kerry, because, honestly, my cat would make a better president than Mr. Bush. I have voted for Barbara Lifton twice now and I voted for Mike Arcuri for Congress. I skipped over the Senatorial race, because I didn’t feel comfortable voting for Mrs. Clinton and her opponent was an idiot.
Do I support President Bush: He is our president. I cannot wait until he is no longer our president.
Abortion: My stance has always been pro-woman. A bunch of stuffy old men should in no way be deciding what a woman does with her body. Nor should I. If you are a man, x, neither should you.
Church and State: The constitution calls for a seperation of church and state. I’m all for it. I also don’t believe that the government should be in the business of marriages. It should remain a church sacrament and nothing else. By the way, in the interest of openness and honesty, I am a lifelong Catholic. I believe in God. I don’t believe in pressing my beliefs on other people. My Catholicism is mine. It works for me. I don’t expect other people to join me in prayer outside of a church.
Also, I wouldn’t mind seeing “Under God” taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance.
Any other questions? I’ll be happy to answer them.
Thanks Krys. Let’s move off of this pissing match and talk about the main issue here. Who will represent us best? At another place in this blog, I’ve asked the Village and Town representatives who aren’t up for election what they think. Who do they endorse? Who would they like to work with? Unless they’re some of the anonymous people posting here, they’ve been COMPLETELY invisible in this election. Why is that? Mr. Ferrari, why haven’t you asked them what they think? How about some reporting on this? They’re public officials, right? Mayor Levine? Supervisor Austic? Are you there? Sheriff Meskill had the guts to endorse someone, why not you? How about some input? We didn’t elect you to be silent on something as important as this. Come on. Take a stand.
SJ-
So prey tell what’s a nice Moderate democrat doing endorsing a bunch of pro-choice, bush loving, flag-waving, under god litigating republicans?
and Steven, you’re dead wrong about politics not being an issue in local politics. Politics is politics. I’m sure you’ve come to your view from a good amount of thinking and consideration, but you’ve let it take over your better judgement. I’d rather have a right wing lunatic in the white house than one literally in my back yard.
you are a public figure and have political power and therefore need to provide transparency into your thinking and beliefs. I am not, and therefore do not need to tell you who I am. There’s no hypocracy there. You’ve chosen your profession. You have a responsibility to the public by virtue of that choice. Thank you for clarifying your views in public.
Richard, you’re dead on. Bravo.
Steven, I can’t believe you took x’s bait hook line and sinker. You’ve exposed yourself as an across the board party line guy, (Schumer, Gore, Kerry, Lifton, Arcuri).
Now what did you say, oh yeah, “I am not currently registered as a member of any political party” Sure.
Go ahead and just register Democrat, you would have had a chance to choose someone other then as you called him “Idiot” Kerry.
A few points I’d like to clarify, x:
1. I never used the word hypocrisy in relation to your questions. I said “irony.” I also never asked you to reveal your identity. I’m fine with you keeping yourself secret. That’s your right.
2. Where have I endorsed anyone in these local races? I’ve stayed away completely from endorsing any of the candidates and no place in my paper has there been an endorsement from anyone on my staff. We’ve run letters to the editor in support of candidates, but those were the opinions of the letter writer, not the paper.
3. Local politics should be confined to elections. Local governance should take place year-round. The politics have, in my opinion, taken over the act of governing around here and it’s causing nothing to get done. Again, though, it’s my opinion.
Steven,
and while you’re on your kick on anyonymous poster’s “hiding behind a mask and being from parts unknown”, let’s then ignore the comments from:
Illegal o alien
richard
trumansburg voter
tburg newbie
concerned
all of whom are apparently up to nefarious no good
Steven,
howzabout you put the free press up on the web (like every other professional publication nowadays), and then we can all go back and see just who and what has been endorsed, either implicity or explicitly by your “paper”?
You’re adding words to my posts, x. I never said you were hiding. I never said you were a hypocrite. I don’t care about how you decide to post here. I was making a joke. I’ll refrain from humor in the future as it seems to be lost on you.
As for putting the paper online? Not my call. Go bug the publisher about it. He makes those decisions. And if you’re going to accuse me of endorsing anyone, tell me where I did it.
I’ve been very cordial here so far. If my jokes offended you, I apologize. But if you want to cross the barrier into rude, fine. But you’ll get no further answers from me.
My note on this discussion as it has leapt about: What I see is hard but good.
I see people finding themselves here, pushing, defending the boundaries of themselves in the community.
This is why I created Finding Ulysses. It’s not journalism. It’s not reporting. It’s finding, pushing, falling, stumbling, fighting to get to the home where we want to be. It is Ulysses.
We should, living in Ulysses, never forget Ulysses.
A thought on political parties and local elections: if those of us who havegathered the endorsements of our neighbors on petitions, and so have the responsibility for recruiting candidates, election inspectors, and poll watchers, (and helping register voters) did not do that for, say, village elections…. would there be any? Would they be fair? When you go in and pull that lever on Tuesday, remember, “this show was brought to you by the hard-working volunteers of the two-party system.” There are a lot of patriotic and community-minded people of both parties keeping the wheels turning– the elected officials are a big part, but not all.
My memory of the old Village parties was that they did not differ markedly in make-up from the Red and Blue, and the same community-serving individuals helped all 4 keep going (hence, fair elections). I, personally, agree that local issues should be the focus of debate for local candidates and their supporters. In T-burg and Ulysses, there is often too much froth about personalities and style, and not enough reasoned debate on the issues. I think that is actually connected to a tendency to be “do-it-yourselfers” in some areas that are more productively left to professionals (consultants on this level).
The water issue– which I think is the biggest issue currently facing both the village and the town– suffers from this in spades. First off, the time-consuming work involved in d-i-y makes otherwise excellent candidates say they don’t have time to serve. Then, officials’ egos come into the picture in a way that would not happen if the professional planning work was not done by elected officials themselves, but by professional planners. Pros would prepare more than one alternative at the onset (after studying situation and getting even-handed and inclusive input from residents, and drawing on what has worked elsewhere). But, ya know, I have a Cornell planning degree, so, I am inclined to have high standards there. Still, planners are trained to get a lot of community participation incorporated into the decision-making, without having things degenerate into…. you know, all that unprofessional Tempest and soap opera.
Yes the water issue has been one that has been ignored apmost entirely and never presented to the public in any cohernet and honest way. The spin put on every piece of information has been truly ridiculous and counterproductive. It has resulted in the loss af a good deal of money freely or inexpensively available to the Town of Ulysses becasue of the obstu=inance and ignorance of several board memebrs. Some of whoom do not apparently realie that water runs downhill and that the largest cost of such is transportation and energy for that transportation. These board memebrs have been incap[able of coming to any reasoned conclusions for th good of either the Village or of the Town. The Dems’ incompetence has been has been apparent here as well as in Washington. I have been a registered democrat for a while which is fairly meaningless but these candidates or officials have made me rething this registratyion thing
maybe as an independent we could get folks who could get things done. I was hoping that someday the town and or village might address the idea of a Municipal Power company as it is a very evcnomical choice available to towns and villages. I lived in Fairport Ny for a time ans was astounded one month when my electric bill arrived and it was $4.80 with electric appliances and airconditioning. Here we pay around $300 a month for a few more KWHs than I used there. Since Water cannot be deicided with any sensible approach it is doubtful that any serious consideration can be discussed regarding anything else and the village and town will be crippled into no action by its own actions of its officials. Too bad this happens but I guess it does. There are more important issues here than the blog and the personalities involved.
Can’t help but notice the plethora of anonymous contributors lately where is Phylogeny?
anyway,
so we have a village and town board whose claim to fame has been to spend money on zero accomplished. This is not Cornell you know with endowed schools and taxpayer funds while paying a very small share of taxes.
Trumansburg is the real world not a virtual one where imagined is the same as real. Here if there is no Water it will get thirsty out and expensive. Cornell is a very successful business venture with many many funding advantages. Trumnabsurg is not. Resources in Tburg are not infinite. Water was an important issue and the existing plan should have been presented to those concerned without biases so an informed choice could be made. It was structured to be an excellent step in ongoing development of Town and village resources to support life in this areas. Growth is necessary albeit controlled with out growth, death results and it will happen to a town as well as any other organism.
Water district five was a well thought out and appropriate plan for a step in the right direction. too bad ignorance and self serving have one this one. Since the public has never been asked directly if they were even interested in the project I would say this is no representation by local officials and therefore a removable offense similar to the One in the village. Impeachment seems a good choice when taxation without representation is the style of government locally.
At some point in the near future the Feds will impose a water plan and a district and there will be la=ess control than there would have bben now. Gradual development of infrastructure is what needs to happen
not all the villages upcoming water issues can be solved right now. it is a STEP. and a good one in my view. Of course I would benefit some from municipal wat but do not really need it yet. I/We would also benefit from municipal power long term but the Boards are so tied up squabbling that they cannot get anyhting done. Incompetence does seem to rule and indicates possibilities for removal of non representative government. Ask the public if they weven want municipal water … those in the proposed district. if you don’t you have not represented anyone fairly and after all that is the job.