Always a Few “Whining Winners”

......To Sour The Thrill of Victory...

I would like to take this opportunity to send a big congratulations out to Mayor-elect Pat Rockinberg as well as David Blais and Scott Strong for winning the two Town Council seats on May 3.

The Mayoral race was very close. With that, I hope Mayor-elect Rockinberg will recognize he does not have a mandate. He must embrace all the voters, including the 47% who voted for Wendi Peters. I know these three men will work diligently along with fellow council members Peter Helt, Dave Pyatt and Wendi Peters to bring back the stability and continuity that's been missing over the past several years.

With every new administration comes the promise of a clean start. Similar to all the "hope" and "change" rhetoric, most people just want to be part of something meaningful. Unfortunately, no matter if it's a presidential election, or just small town politics, there's always a few “whining winners” to sour the thrill of victory. Only a few days after the election, my friend, TJ Grogg of The Grogg Report shared a link on her facebook page to this Blog.

“Heads up all FB pals........This is a great local blog for Mt Airy, Maryland created by Donnamarie Needle in order for all sides of any issue regarding town politics, and decisions to be heard. And in order to have the truth published by We the people of Mt Airy. Thank you Donna!This has been a long time coming ,but so very needed and welcomed."

While I am truly appreciative of Tina posting The Mount Airy Blog through facebook, clearly one of her friends didn't share her sentiments. Rockinberg supporter and Planning Commission Member, Mr. Falletta commented;

“Sorry Tina, I don't see a lot of truths printed on donnas blog. All I see Really a lot of half truths. Mr. Medve is the LAST person robe critical of anyone. I remember him ( along with Wendi and Chris decolli ) pushing zeltman with no regard to the citizenry. Pat has repeatedly stated his position on the 600 acres. It disturbs me that lying liberals like Mr. Medve try to get away with this kind of rhetoric. I am also surprised that someone like yourself sells Donna's blog as a bridge of true communications for the town. Thank God the people of our town see through this deception. Have a blessed day. Tony”

Seems Mr. Falletta couldn’t handle the feedback or the questions I posted. As a Planning Commission member, and someone who represents our Town and our residents, Mr. Falletta decided to delete his original comments instead of engaging in meaningful dialogue. Should we expect the people who represent the Town and the residents to be held to a higher level of professionalism and ethics? Yes, our Town representatives are a reflection of we the people.

Mr. Falletta accused the Mount Airy Bloggers of lying without providing any proof or documentation to back up his allegations. Accusing bloggers of sharing erroneous content, attacking their character and then walking away with his tail between his legs speaks directly to Mr. Falletta's credibility. So what do we want and expect of our Town officials?

This seems to be a pattern in Mount Airy; many elected or appointed officials have outwardly chastised those with differing opinions. For example, during my advocacy of the Rigler Annexation in October of 2009, I received a scathing email with the Mayor and all Town Council members copied;

"I realize that you feel passionately, but it seems to me you tend to feel passionately about almost anything that you can get your hands on. You seem to feed on a fight. Even a bio you wrote about yourself online says you enjoy the "sport of politics" and made a joke about your boxing gloves coming in handy."

The author of the email, Diane Gleason, another Planning Commission member, got one thing right; I am passionate about many things. If something doesn't seem right I get involved. My mother, may she rest in peace, taught me about honesty, integrity and to stand up for what I believe.

Instead of having an open an honest dialogue about our differences of opinion, Ms. Gleason went directly to character assassination.

Nasty emails and weak accusations on facebook will not scare the Mount Airy Blog into hiding. I will continue to defend my Town, this blog and my friends when confronted with outrageous allegations and so my suggestion to those who want to wander down the weakest path of intimidation and bullying would be to think twice; in a small town, the printed word is just as loud as your actions.

We will continue to provide the facts and an honest message to the residents in Mount Airy. If anyone wants to question what is written, we welcome an open and honest dialogue. We will be happy to engage in a productive, valid and meaningful discussion. Please feel free to submit your comments to any blog post you deem inaccurate. The only thing we ask of you is that you do so in a respectful manner and that you use your real name. We will not publish comments such as “anonymous,” “mtairycitizen” or Ilovemountairymd."

Those who contribute to the Mount Airy Blog want our Town to work for us and with us in moving forward to get Mount Airy Back on the track of stability and continuity. Back on track to a close knit community where we listen to what others have to say and although we may not always agree, we look for common ground to find the best possible outcome for the people.

The Mount Airy Blog Team