Carmella Mantello tells me, "I sent an e-mail to the full Council and mayor [Al Rosamilia] regarding budget issues. [Council member] Ken Zalewski replied to my e-mail ... Then Mr. Wiltshire responded with the attached degrading e-mail to all council members and the Mayor:
" 'Thank you Ken. It's hard for me to respond to her statements without getting agitated. I'm glad that you can answer her straight'."Mantello, never one to let things slide, promptly e-mailed this immediate response to the same people she had originally e-mailed:
Dear All,Several things come to mind from this exchange. One is that while Mantello rightly takes umbrage with Wiltshire's cavalier attitude toward her, accusing him of being sexist and his remark an "affront to each and every woman in our community" is a bit much. Had he used the pronoun "him" to refer to a man, I doubt it would have registered with anyone.
I am dismayed that the President of Troy City Council would refer to me as "her." This is clearly a sexist comment and is an affront to each and every woman in our community. The Council President should give an immediate apology to this sexist comment that is an insult to all the women in our community.
It is interesting that Council President Wiltshire is now interested in the problems facing city finances. This is the same Council President who missed the last 2 annual budget meetings even though Mr. Wiltshire is President of the Finance Committee.
But, to my mind the larger point, is that Wiltshire, as leader of the City Council by dint of garnering the largest number of votes last year, fell down on his duty to respond pertinently to constituents.
The Democrat may not be a fan of the Republican Mantello, who fell short in her run for a Council seat the same year he was elected, but she is a resident and taxpayer of the City of Troy. As such, she has as much right as anyone to suggest, question, cajole and opine on the budget. Fear of "getting agitated" is a weak and unstatesmanlike retort.
There is a tendency by too many local elected officials to realize they are not operating at a state or national level far removed from the people they ran for office to, at least in theory, serve. Yes, it is tough to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous political sniping or partisanship when discussing the merits and demerits of situations, but no one promised you a rose garden.
Wiltshire probably still is stinging from public criticism over missing the last two city budget votes because he preferred to be on vacation both times, so any additional comments may be an irritant. But, making a snide remark via e-mail does not substitute for intelligent response. Obviously, Wiltshire did not learn a lesson about the dangers of e-mail remarks even though he created quite a dust-up in December 2013 when he played the race card in an e-mail to several other Council members.
This is not a good record for someone who recently told a Times Union writer when asked whether he will run for mayor next year, "Right now, I'm not thinking about that. I'm certainly running again next year for some elected office."
Carmella Mantello writes (via Facebook):
ReplyDeleteThx, Bill. As mentioned, I have thick skin and grew up with 3 brothers, but I will not be degraded. And it especially is disturbing that Mr. Wiltshire sent this email in a governmental capacity. Certainly not a party affiliation, as noted, but more one of a moral, character, upbringing, and respect matter.