Misappropriation. That's a big word for misusing things or funds that aren't a persons. When someone is in a public office or position it's important to remember that what you have is provided by the taxpayers and you must remain above reproach. It's always good to be held accountable but often times from the inside looking further in, if you're not in the management end of things, you really don't understand the big picture.
That's the case with all the false accusations by the fake named person, Steve Stevenson who later revealed himself to be Batallion Chief Pete Donchenko. Remember what I said about being above reproach? We're gonna come back to that on Donchenko in particular. He's accused the board of selling the retiring chief, Tom Hennessy his laptop for a $1.00. That's generally to cost of a "gift" when someone gets something. It was perfectly appropriate to do so. It did not strap the district and it was suitable for a faithful servant after 29 years of service to the department as a parting gift. But Donchenko considered it worth complaining about in order to smear a good man's name, though there's nothing he can prove that the department is lacking because of this gesture.
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| Commissioner Ruben |
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| Deputy Chief Berry |
This is a fire commissioner elected by the people to protect THEIR interests and serve the firefighters best interests in the same process. It's a very fine balance but I think Commissioner Ruben went in with the "what's in for me and my buddie's" attitude. Some time ago, he had an accident in which he totaled his truck but instead of waiting for the police, he called his friend, Deputy Chief Berry to come get him and take him to the hospital before the police could arrive. Chief Hennessy heard what was going on and wondered why one of his personnel was appropriate (mis-appropriated) to chauffer a commissioner to the hospital after an accident and went to the hospital to meet him there. It was obvious alcohol was involved. But, Commissioner Ruben avoided any charges of alcohol issues by skirting the police interaction til much later in the day. The accident was reported in the paper, his truck was replaced by the insurance company, everything worked out just fine for the Commissioner because his friend, Deputy Chief Berry was willing to help him cover and get him away from the scene and to the hospital before it could all be detected.
Even at the lasst board meeting this past week, Commissioner Ruben was missing. Why? He'd had another accident en route to the meeting. Commissioner Ruben has a problem. He doesn't need to be our commissioner right now, he needs to take care of himself and his family and get help. He doesn't need to be aligned with the Union being their puppet on the board. This is a man who doesn't hesitate to bend the rules or take what he wants without thinking about the ethics and morals involved. Is this who we want managing a $12 million dollar budget for us?
Vote for Marlon "Andy" Anderson for Seat 1, Steve Solomon for Seat 3 and Brad J. Ranney for Seat 5 and preserve what we have in Southern Manatee and the integrity of a good board!
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