You have to be tough to be a public official

May 09, 2008 10:01 pm

— It can't be an easy job to be a public official.
You get yelled at, belittled, treated almost as rudely as if you were the daily newspaper.
And that's only the type of abuse coming from other public officials.
Take Douglas Lewis, the embattled, outgoing Conneaut city manager.
I understand his people skills weren't always the best and that is an important part of being a public administrator.
I can remember when Bob Herron became the first city manager. He attended virtually every meeting of every club and organization.
Anybody who was anybody wanted the newspaper to come out and get a photo of its members with Herron signing proclamations or reading to the kiddies or buying the first ticket to a club activity.
Part of the change with Lewis is by the time he was appointment, being city manager was old hat. Nobody asked him to proclaim anything.
Lewis’ final City Council session last week included criticism from Ward 1 Councilman Dave Campbell over the postponement of Love's Travel Center's construction of a new store off I-90 in Conneaut.
Despite possible shortcomings, I know he also worked long hours, often into the evening, on city projects.
Getting new developments in Conneaut seems to take five times the effort as it would elsewhere. Some Lewis proponents say his efforts will bring results at some point.
Given that, it’s sad that his final meeting met with criticism and Councilman-at-Large Jacob Chicatelli was the only person to wish him well and thank him for his efforts.
Ashtabula City Solicitor Michael Franklin can probably relate to Lewis. He gets a constant barrage of criticism, too.
But it's not because of his temper. It's not because of his people skills.
It appears to be because he beat Tom Simon to be elected solicitor.
At one point council wasn't going to allow him to have an assistant as punishment for his sins.
The latest controversy centers on the fact Franklin is still on the school board. That means he is holding two elected positions.
I agree it doesn't look right. If I were him and with all of the criticism, I would probably resign from the school board.
But let's be fair. Franklin announced when he was running for solicitor that he would not resign from the school board. He was perfectly honest.
And guess what? The people elected him anyway. They knew he was going to keep both positions and voters picked him over Simon anyway.
Now there is a Web site, www.ashtabulatruth.com, which has been highly critical of Simon. I’m not going to comment on the content. You can check it out yourself.
Some council members are so upset over the site, they want an investigation. That’s because somebody has gotten the idea it was started by Franklin. Franklin denies any involvement. Councilman James Trisket says if fellow council members are so interested, they should hire a computer forensic engineer to trace who put the site together.
Does the city have enough money it can hire a computer specialist to do this work because somebody said something unflattering about Simon, who is no longer a public official?
First of all, if city is so interested, I suggest council reads up on the Internet and Internet Protocol addresses and try to find the information on its own, rather than waste taxpayer dollars. My quick check reveals the Web site is managed by NTT America Inc., Centennial, Colo. So there, I’ve even given you a start.
Back before November’s election, there was another Web site. It was vicious in its criticism of City Manager Anthony Cantagallo and Franklin while deifying Simon. Nobody seemed to mind and Cantagallo at the time was a public official, unlike Simon today.
And isn't it a bit chilling to have a governmental body investigating somebody or some people for their criticisms? Will people in Ashtabula need to watch what they say for fear of getting a knock on the door from Big Brother?
It must be wonderful to live in places like Conneaut and Ashtabula, where the economy is so rich and prosperous, where everyone can find well-paying jobs, that legislators can focus on the trivial.
Conneaut has the advantage. Doug Lewis is out. Hometown boy Edward Somppi will take on city manager duties temporarily and maybe put a more positive spin on things.
So maybe, just maybe, Conneaut council can attempt to create some goals and work toward achieving them.
No such luck in Ashtabula. The circus remains in town.
Lebzelter is special sections editor.

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