WOW..Where to begin?

Last night's Washington Township Reorganization meeting certainly was one for the ages:

1. Ken "2%" Short was selected for a second straight term as Mayor. An impressive feat given his last two stints as Mayor have resulted in tax increases when combined, come close to 15%. If this Democrat had raised taxes by this amount we would have a public lynching. But what else can you expect from Washington Township's voters who would vote for a ham sandwich if it ran as a Republican? Short gave the traditional mayoral 'state of the township' where he continued the trend of doom and gloom reporting on township finances. Unfortunately, based on his record, you can't trust a word Short says. Things are probably much worse than he is letting on.

2. Howard "LOWER TAXES NOW!!!" Popper was selected as Vice Mayor. Lord help us. Is there a dumber man on the planet? A move many suspect was needed to bolster his chances for reelection in the fall. I wouldn't count on it as being too effective. Howard should plan on voters being constantly reminded of his total failure to deliver on his "LOWER TAXES NOW!!!" pledge along with his politically inspired call for the creation of a local ethics board. Again, something that hasn't happened.

3. The joke of the night came during committee assignments when rookie Committeeman Bill Roehrich was assigned the newly created position of "voucher signer". A required leftover task from the Finance Liaison position, which was done away last year with in order to avoid a direct comparison to the declining tax increases that occured when I enthusiastically took on the role for three consecutive years. The chart on the right tells you why no Republican wants to be compared to my record. In a bit of irony, this is the same Finance Liaison position Ken Short attempted to emphasize in his infamous last minute 2009 campaign mailer he managed to screw up.

4. In a total surprise, Committeeman Kevin Walsh resigned his seat at the conclusion of the meeting. Word is he informed Short of his intention to resign. Short tried to get Walsh to hold off and resign during a regular meeting; but Kevin basically took a "Homie don't play dat" attitude and dropped his bomb anyway. Good for him! While I am sure he sees his overall service to the township as an honor, as I did with respect to my own tenure, I don't think Walsh will miss the current crop of fiscally incompetent ideologues he would have had to work with.

5. Note that I have said nothing of Committeeman James Harmon, because in a continuation of his service on the WTBOE, he hasn't contributed anything worthy of mention.