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| November 3, 2006 Barnstable Patriot |  |
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Commissioner Doherty responds
I think I need to set the record straight.
I am driven by training and experience to
make tough decisions based on the facts at
hand when action is needed to be taken.
I can point to the times wheninthe military,
industry,family when I was faced with the re-
sponsibility to take action and I have always
responded not from fear but from a belief that
I was doing the right thing. In my service to
Barnstable County, I have and will act in the
best interests of the taxpayers.
The county has the good fortune of having
a group of intelligent, dedicated and hard-
working professionals. They bring to the job
their best efforts every day.Because I believe
this, when the forecasts of expected revenue
began to show a decline, I asked them as they
went into the budget process to develop con-
tingency plans.
This management policy of engagement is
consistent with past successful experience to
keep moving forward in good times and bad.
In aboat where someone steers while th\ecrew
rows, the oarsmen have to believe that the
helmsman is going to bring the vessel safely
to its destination.If they believe this,they will
work with alltheir strength. The captain must
have the confidence of the crew to deliver the
ship and its cargo.
The cargo inBarnstable County isthe inter-
ests of the taxpayers. I want those taxpayers
to know that it isnot just the intention of this
county commissioner but of all of the public
servants at Barnstable County to serve and
that based on training and real life experience
I have the will to act when the time comes to
require that.
It iseasytoleadwhentimesandrevenue flow
is good, and we have assembled the talent to
prepare for bad timesandfortheopportuni-
ties that come when things improve.
If I am condemned for not wanting to
make crowd-pleasing general statements,
then I accept that, because I believe that
the team that has worked for me and for
you deservesto be partofthe solution.And
they need to believe that their leader has
theconfidence expressed inprivate tothem
reflected in all his public statements.
All of us at Barnstable County have a
stake in the outcome and all of us will
make sure that we don't spend money we
don't have for thingswe don't need. But if
the price of continuingin public office is to
ignorethe beneficial input of thoserespon-
sible for getting the job done to serve the
public interest, then I am not the person
you want to lead the organization.
Finally,in all parts of life to focus on the
negative is to have that as the direction
that we travel. It isbetter in my opinion to
set our sights on how we can by working
together find opportunities to overcome
the effects of any downturn.Asthe old song
says: "We have to emphasize the positive,
eliminate the negative..."
And please know this: if I believed that
anybody that works for me now was not
pullingtheir weight they would be already
gone.
In the past I have hid to fire people. It
is never easy.It was not personal, it was busi-
ness. Being a professional is to expect profes-
sionalbehavior.I and the people of Barnstable
County have high-caliber people and they are
working to respond to our anticipated future
circumstances. I think they willfive up to that
task and when the time comes to take action
I will have the benefit of participation.
So when you vote for me know that my
concept of leadership is to use the assets and
resources wehaveto get thejob done. Someone
who cares very much about the people and
place and believes that workingtogether isthe
better course to serve all of our interests.
Bill Doherty
Harwich
Crocker answers critic
Iwould like to respond to aletter published
last week in the Patriot that concerns my
candidacy. The paramount reason why I am
running is I believe the will of the people is
being ignored by our legislature on Beacon
Hill. I do not believe that the issue of gay
marriage should be left up to either a 4-to-3
vote of the Supreme Judicial Court or a legis-
lature of 160Representatives and 40 Senators.
170,000 citizens of this Commonwealth signed
a petition to allow the people to vote on the
issue of same-sex marriage and they should
be allowed to do so.
This is just one example of the will of the
voters beingignored. The income tax rollback
vote from sixyears agoisanother example.The
people have spoken and their mandate should
be carried out. People want a permanent and
fair fixto the problem of statefunding for their
schools and that is being ignored as well. How
long are these concerns going to go unmet?
I have knocked on the doors of over six
thousand voters in the second Barnstable
District and the response I get is more than
loud and clear. The trust the voters have had
in their legislators has eroded and they feel
under represented. They want action on these
issues and they see no positive action being
taken on them.
Recently,avoter Imet atthe SouthYarmouth
Post Office asked me,point blank,if Iwould be
responsive to the wishes of the leadership or
to the people. I told him I would be the voice
of the people, because they are the ones who
elected me. I was proud to say that.
I will vote the wishes of the citizens of
Barnstable and Yarmouthand not the wishes
of the leadership if I am given the honor of
representing them. If this is the kind of repre-
sentation you want, I ask you to vote for me,
Will Crocker, on November 7th .
Will Crocker
Centerville
LeClair: I'd hire Doherty
As a County Commissioner, I am asking for
your support for Bill Doherty in his campaign
for re-election to the office of County Com-
missioner. I have worked with Bill both when
he was with the County Assembly and as a
County Commissioner.Ihave alsoworked with
his opponent and if I had the opportunity to
hire Bill or his opponent , Bill would win.
Ihavewatched Bill'sapproach ,for example,
in regional problems, Bill willstudy the issues
and then through consensus building and
teamwork, Bill will help find solutions.
Bill is definitely the only choice as he has
the qualities and experience it takes to make
hard decisions and stick to them. We have
worked together in good times and in tough
times and never once has he not been there
when needed. I could always count on him
and you can too.
He has proven his leadership abilities and I
can list some of the ways: Cape Cod transpor-
tation issues: active support for public transit.
CONTINUED ON PAGE A:8
LETTERS "** By Edwird F. MaroneyS
r IIIUM—I in i
Red's still calling
the shots
The
e-mail invitation from my
brother popped open on my
computer last week. Would I join
him and my nephew for a Celtics game
in November?
I wrote back with thanks and a re-
quest to take a pass. I told him I wasn't
ready to go to any games this season, in
which a final Green Team taboo would
be broken.
This week was to mark the debut
of the Celtics Dancers, all of whom, I
am sure, are extremely talented and
delightful souls. Somehow, though, the
team survived without cheerleaders un-
til it was the last without such a squad.
After sending my reply to my brother,
I thought , "Red Auerbach would die
before he'd sit still for that kind of
sideshow."
Well, turns out the Coach of the
Century had plans to be there this
week -wheelchair, oxygen tank and
indomitable spirit all together -but a
heart attack won a single game -not a
series, not a championship - off the old
redhead.
Red's passing made me nostalgic for
his days of glory as a coach and as the
acknowledged master of building win-
ning teams during that run and deep
into the 1980s. I recalled a time when
the Celtics court (in the hallowed Bos-
ton Garden , not the Your Name Here
Center) was the focus of attention , not
the Jumbotron screen showing people
waving to themselves.
I recalled hearing the squeak of
sneakers as Larry Bird turned on a
dime to loft an impossible jump shot
from deep in the corner, and the thun-
der of speeding feet executing a five-
man, five-pass fast break.
And I recalled the sound of real
shouts and cheers, supported , not led,
by organist John Kiley. The canned
noise machinery that whips up crowds
today will never replace the inventive
fans who started their own hurrahs.
My brother and I were fortunate
enough to be at the Garden the year
Philadelphia finally had Boston on the
ropes. It was the 76ers, not the Celt-
ics, who would go on to the champion-
ship round, and somewhere in that old
barn, in the last minute of the game,
someone began to chant, "Beat L.A." It
caught on quickly, and soon the whole
place was telling the folks from Philly
what they'd accomplished and what
was expected of them. It was the great-
est moment of sportsmanship I have
ever seen.
How things have changed. Nowadays,
Celtics games begin with team intro -
ductions staged like arena rock shows,
at similar volume. During timeouts, a
mascot and his team of leprechauns
dash around the court , bounce off
trampolines, and shoot prizes into the
stands.
I guess Red Auerbach accepted all
this as part of the price of doing busi-
ness in the modern era. For him. some-
where at the heart of all the hoopla
remained a group of men to be encour-
aged toward greatness. He never gave
up on the Celtics, and he never gave up
on hoisting that 17,h championship ban-
ner someday.
OK, Red, I won't give up on them ei-
ther. I think I'll get back to my brother
about those tickets after all.
iThoufih'ts'
at'iTwiligfitj
i By Paul Gauvin |
pgauvin@barnstablepatriot.com
Chief: Public shares blame
for crime in Hyannis
'hood - Time for a police
commission?
Resident Marie Clements stepped up
to the podium at last week's coun-
cil session and suggested in vague
terms that Town Councilor Harold Tobey
come out of retirement from his former po-
lice job and take over a $171,000 post at the
police department.
The only municipal employee plucking
that much cash out of taxpayers' pockets
is the current police chief. If Clements was
attempting subtlety, it didn't quite make it.
Her suggestion surfaced after Tobey, who
recently walked the area, had directed a
few hot words at Chief John Finnegan over
the latest wave of shootings and drug activ-
ity on Hiramar and Fresh Holes roads in
Hyannis.
The steam roiling under Tobey's collar
cooled after the chief patronizingly re-
sponded and rationalized why the PD can't
keep a permanent lid on picayune punks
and crack-heads shooting at houses.
There came traditional defenses: It's the
fault of drugs, of guns, of the law that hand-
cuffs cops. Look at our statistics, says the
chief. We are there two times a day. "You
can make statistics say what you want,"
Tobey retorts. Last, but not least, it's the
fault of the public, the "good families" too
lethargic or intimidated to drop a dime on a
drug deal outside their front door.
This elicits stories of negative police at-
titude - arrogant and condescending - that
macho persona that may intimidate on the
street but revolts the law-abiding who say
they face cop-flak when they do call. The
chief will look into that complaint. All calls
are recorded , he says. This is deja vu to the
folks on Sea Street, says Councilor Greg
Milne. They made the same complaints
years ago, yet little changed.
A cause without a spokesman is like a
shell without a canon. The town needs a
civilian police commission to guide spend-
ing, monitor effectiveness, investigate
complaints and be the intermediary be-
tween the aloof uniformed hierarchy and
the public.
The chief insists police are always down
there in the 'hood but hampered by the
rules of law from a clean sweep. Councilor
Rick Barry, a lawyer, backs that defense.
This sort of criminal stuff is everywhere,
they say, not just this neighborhood. Crime
is rampant.
A determined Mary Ann Barboza ap-
proaches the podium with fire in her eyes
and street smarts in her three-minute
monolog: She doesn't bite. The police, she
says, cleaned up downtown Main Street
easily enough, got rid of the'teenagers and
street fair interfering with trade, so busi-
nessmen said, but they can't get rid of a few
troublemakers in the 'hood? Phooey! There
are stories about cops telling residents it's
their fault for buying a house there. It's
Brockton by the Sea again, derogatory cop
slang for Hyannis.
The chief says "we" put up no trespass-
ing signs, then later unwittingly mentions it
was the neighborhood association's initia-
tive. Signs? Druggies obey signs? Signs
are like street lights. As Tobey says, "They
shoot 'em out as soon as you put 'em up."
Part I crimes rose 6 percent in Barnstable
from 2004 to 2005. Homicide was up 100 per-
cent (2 to 4), rape up 20 percent , robbery
up 33 percent and so on.
In contrast, 6-foot 6-inch Lowell Police
Superintendent Edward Davis, Boston's
pending new police commissioner, was the
architect of a 50 percent drop in his city's
crime rate over a few years - so crime isn't
on the rise everywhere. Good police leader-
ship and practices can lower it. Davis did it
with walking beats and community policing
for real. It is said he's from the new school
of top cops who believe preventing crime is
preferable to reacting to it.
Similar ideas are broached at the coun-
cil meeting. There's talk of walking beats
in the neighborhood , or constant cruisers,
or maybe a police sub-station there, and
working with other town agencies at "pre-
venting" crime.
"Forgive me for being upset," says Barbo-
za. "There's money for bike paths, naming
ships and other pathways," indicating a
perception of misguided police and munici-
pal spending priorities.
As these ideas fill the council chamber
with the aura of possibility, the $171,000
chief warms to some of the proposals. Yes,
perhaps this could be done or conceivably
that could be accomplished and maybe
there's a possibility that this might work.
All of which begs the question: Then why
wasn't it all done before?
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