Dilemma is defined as a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives. Recent developments in the City of Woodway find Councilman Dr. Paul Scibielski facing a dilemma. The developments:
First, during recent budget meetings the council recognized a shortfall in city revenue resulting in a deficit of over $290,000 when compared to the budget. Secondly, at the last open meeting, the Woodway City Council issued the following public statement--
"The multitude of various allegations raised against the City Manager/Police Chief led to an internal City review which found no basis for any of the matters as alleged." This was a response to Mike O'Bric's letters of lies and slander.
I have inserted (above) the Campaign Flyer for Dr Paul, stating his promises and beliefs for/about the City of Woodway. Please click on the picture to enlarge it. In case the quality of the picture makes it hard to read, here are the major items:
"A Dedicated Advocate for Our Citizens"
" I am running on behalf of the citizens of Woodway to bring leadership and integrity to our city government...to make Woodway as great and effective as it should be.I am running to demand financial responsibility from our City Council...I will not be a "rubber stamp".
"No more wasting our tax dollars on:
a $2 million second city hall; $100,000's every year to operate 2 city halls;
$500,000 every year for extra city management;
$250,000 every year to replace city & police vehicles; just to name a few."
"No more increasing the taxes we pay every year....25% OVER 10 YEARS:
while the streets continue to deteriorate; the little work done is of poor quality; water and sewer lines aren't replaced; sewer rates are raised; and our water bills are going up".
"Dr. Paul Scibielski...a much needed advocate on our City Council"
Dr Paul's dilemma is simply this - stay with the lies, and with the way things are going, be labeled untruthful and risk his community reputation long term. Or come out now with the truth, confirm the previous lies, the involvement with Mike O'Bric, and face criticism now. Remember part of the definition of a dilemma is that neither choice is desirable. Because of that, Dr. Paul has been trying a third strategy --avoiding the public. He is hoping everyone will forget his campaign and association with MOB. He has evaded responsibility for his words, happy to take a leadership role without accepting accountability for his promises.
At the second council meeting I asked all the new members a series of questions, asking them to acknowledge by raising their hands. I asked if any had toured our city facilities (buildings, pumping stations, property, etc) pre-election. None acknowledged yes. I asked if they had visited with city staff to get their opinion about the state of city affairs. None had. I asked how many had reviewed the city budget or financial statement with the city controller. None had. I asked how many had help in their campaigns from MOB - again no one acknowledged yes. I have to confess before asking the new council members, I had posed these same questions (minus the last one) to city staff in different departments and knew what the truth was.
MOB has stated in the newspaper he donated to Dr Paul's campaign financially. He also helped with signs and even helped recruit Dr. Paul to run. So ask yourself, how would Dr. Paul know if there are (2) city halls (as in duplicates) if he never toured the facilities? How could he know that the "duplicate city halls" waste $100,000's in operation costs if he never looked at a financial statement, much less a utility bill? The truth is HE NEVER INVESTIGATED ANY OF THESE THINGS. I believe Dr Paul didn't even have enough knowledge to write the lies in his campaign flyer. Sadly, if you compare his flyer to previous MOB letters, the evidence shows he allowed MOB to write it. MOB's words that were accepted by Dr Paul as his own. The grand irony in this is Dr. Paul, with his fiery rhetoric promising he will not be a "rubber stamp", became just that -- he became MOB's rubber stamp.
Back to the dilemma- the truth is coming out. The previous council members understand MOB fabricated all the lies about our city facilities. The independent accounting firm that annually reviewed city statements found no irregularities. The new council's own internal review didn't find any truth to the allegations. And now the city is WASTING taxpayer money to confirm what has already been confirmed. (Remember Paul's promise to STOP wasting taxpayer money).
If Dr. Paul is ready to redeem himself with the public, he needs to come clean now. Not later, but now - before it's too late. He must admit the truth. He must fully expose his relationship with MOB. Lastly, he needs to apologize. Not with a bunch of qualifications or conditional statements, but a meaningful, sincere apology.
Or don't. Don't and wait for the independent audit to come out. Wait for a third confirmation that MOB lied to everyone. Wait for final confirmation that his campaign statements about the city are lies. Then see how understanding people are with his ethics.
To be fair to Dr Paul, there is one last option if he does hold real proof of a duplicate city hall, $100,000s in wasted operation costs, and wasted money on "silly" things like replacing police vehicles. He must immediately force the shut down of the duplicate city hall, stop the associated wasteful operational costs, and get rid of all "extra city management". He must stop replacement of aging police vehicles. Remember the budget deficit, currently at a negative $290,000? Take all that "wasteful money" and bring our city budget back positive. Dr. Paul, here's the opportunity to follow through on your promises and be the"dedicated advocate for our citizens".
Just don't forget --- the truth is coming, with or without you.
