To the editor:

To those of us who have to work hard every day to scratch out a basic living for our families, the use of our money to pay political hacks of both political parties in useless jobs is a painful and insulting waste of our resources, and a frustrating reminder that many elected officials play us for fools every day.

Crony Payoffs To Wolfe, Amato, Fiure & Lacey

The recent crony payoffs to Assemblyman David Wolfe, Central Regional School Board President Carmen Amato, Dover Councilman Michael Fiure and Freeholder James Lacey are more reminders that these folks give lip service to their constituents, but they really only care about themselves, their own greed, and the political bosses they obediently accommodate to get their useless jobs.

Fancy Title: Government Affairs And External Affairs Liaison

The county college can survive without a $140,000 “Governmental Affairs and External Affairs Liaison;” the county government can get along nicely without an $85,000 “Director” of Printing and Graphics, the county parks department certainly doesn’t need a $90,000 underemployed lawyer to be the “confidential assistant” to the county parks director; and the borough of Beachwood has subsisted for a long time without a $105,000 administrator. Beachwood doesn’t need Lacey just because Lacey wants the job.

Wolfe Now Costs Taxpayers Over $200,000

Assemblyman Wolfe, with his various payments from the public treasury, now costs the taxpayers over $200,000 a year from the public pad, including the county college and the legislature.

All four of these officials have made things a lot worse for the taxpayers they were elected to serve.

They are simply not worth the trouble or the money.

The system stinks.

Thomas Cotello – Dover Township

This article prepared for publication March 1, 2005.