Message deserves to be ignored

What’s the best advice when you run into a bully?
Ignore him and go about your business.
That’s what generations of kids have been told.
And that’s exactly what the Dunkirk City Council should do.
Having been resoundingly rejected in this month’s Democratic primary, Mayor Ron Hunt hasn’t gotten the message.
Though he received only 60 votes, Mayor Hunt has behaved as if he’d received a mandate for re-election.
When the council gathered for its first post-election meeting, the mayor startled those present by announcing that despite a long-standing Dunkirk tradition that individual council members would have special oversight responsibilities for departments of city government, he was going to be handling everything from now on.
The council departmental system developed because the mayor’s position in Dunkirk has always been part-time.
That continues to be the case today.
Hunt has a full-time job and is often unavailable when needed for city business.
Rather than welcome the assistance of the council, he has, in a fit of pique rejected it.
So if you’re on the council, what do you do? Our advice: Ignore him.
Though the departmental liaison responsibilities may no longer be official, there’s absolutely no reason they can’t continue on an informal basis. In fact, it would be a shame if they didn’t continue.
Dunkirk’s in a critical phase of an upgrade of its water treatment plant, for example. The involvement and expertise of council member Judy Garr have never been as important as they are today.
And without the involvement of councilman Tom Johnson, there are questions about whether the city’s swimming pool will open on time.
There will be official limits on what council members can and cannot do when it comes to things like signing documents.
But Mayor Hunt’s latest move  deserves to be ignored. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]