From Miro Weinberger today, there was good news — and some not-so-good news.
At a City Hall press conference Thursday afternoon, the Burlington mayor announced that his fledgling administration managed to plug the city’s gaping budget hole without raising property taxes. It was a big victory for a mayor who campaigned on the promise of holding the line on taxes without cutting public safety.
Then, after a moment’s pause, he dropped this bombshell:
“The next piece of news I have is more difficult to share,” he began.
Just two and a half weeks after putting forward close friend and political adviser Ian Carleton for the job of city attorney, Weinberger said his nominee had withdrawn his name from consideration.
“I’ve accepted that because I made a mistake here,” the crestfallen mayor said. “I did not give enough thought to the council’s reaction to an individual who was a close friend of mine and who has served as the party chair of one of our major parties. I did not fully understand the degree to which this position, the city attorney’s position, is a position that has a special relationship with the council.”
This article appears in May 2-8, 2012.
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“I do not want to suggest that we have solved with this all of Burlington’s financial issues,” Weinberger said.
That’s good, because most of it you had nothing to do with.
What’s great is that Miro actually apologized for his mistake. This is something Bob did not once in his 6 years in office. A fresh start indeed!
It’s a shame for politicians of all stripes that one gaffe can sink your entire career.
That’s an inaccurate statement.