PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council tabled on Tuesday a mayoral appointment to the Ambulance Review Committee after heated argument over the candidate's character.
Mayor Daniel Bianchi's appointment of former city employee and recent Ward 3 candidate Jeffrey Ferrin was a relatively rare challenge during an otherwise routine series of mayoral appointment confirmations.
Council Vice President Jonathan Lothrop was first to raise an objection to Ferrin's appointment. "I normally look at my job with appointments as giving the mayor broad deference... but I do have concerns about this nomination."
Lothrop pointed specifically to Civil Service Commission findings from Ferrin's 2009 appeal of disciplinary suspensions as raising questions about Ferrin's suitability for the position on this volunteer committee.
"I do think that as an appointee to a committee, we do need to have consideration for people's overall character," said Lothrop. "I may be the discordant vote here, but I really do believe that if we're going to put somebody on a committee, they need to be able to work with people, they need to be able to work together, and they need to be able to get the job done."
Lothrop said there were too many instances of disciplary issues with Ferrin as a city employee laid out in the Civil Service document, which is a matter of public record, too support his appointment to this committee.
Jeffery Ferrin
Ward 1 Councilor Christine Yon echoed Lothrop that while she generally felt the mayor should have a right to make his own choices about appointments, "I feel our only job is, if there is a matter of character, we need to weigh that heavily. After reading all those Civil Service reports, I can't support this."
Specifically, the councilors referred to findings by the Civil Service Commission upholding two suspensions against Ferrin, one for a perceived racial epithet regarding President Obama made over the city's two-way radio system, and one for leaving a city truck running with the keys in for more than 30 minutes parked near the busy Charles Street access point to Berkshire Medical Center. In addition to the findings against Ferrin in these cases, the documents also outline 13 other instances of disciplinary actions while working for the city between 2006 and 2009.
Councilor Barry Clairmont also declined to support Ferrin's nomination, as did Ward 3 Councilor Paul Capitanio, who defeated Ferrin in last November's election.
Bianchi, along with Councilors Melissa Mazzeo and Kevin Morandi, voiced surprise and disappointment at the objections to this appointment.
"I don't think we should hold it against people whether they've run against us," said Mazzeo, "If we start talking about the issue of character on boards, we could get into a real sticky situation. If we're going to start doing that, and start judging, we're going to start being like McCarthy. I'm a little shocked by this."
Morandi said that while he had not read the aforementioned report, he agreed with Mazzeo about "passing judgement" on character in this situation. "We might want to take a look at some current people that are also on certain boards, if we're going to do that."
Ward 6 Councilor John Krol, who also said he had not read the Civil Service findings, suggested tabling the appointment until everyone on the council had a chance to review the document. "It seems like a lot of councilors feel strongly about this particular appointment, based on information not all of us have seen."
Councilors Anthony Simonelli and Christopher Connell echoed this sentiment, the latter making the motion to table.
"I think this issue has been blown way out of proportion," said Bianchi. "I think that when Mr. Ferrin ran for office, he was quite candid about the issues he had in the past."
The mayor also expressed concerns about setting a precedent in assessing appointments in this way, saying the council's reaction would make him "more careful" in bringing forward appointments and that he would need to "dig more into" the backgrounds of people already serving on such committees.
Connell, before making the motion to table, acknowledged that, "I think we're on a kind of slippery slope, but I just would like to look at it, because it was a focal point that was brought up."
The motion to table the appointment was passed by an 8-3 vote, with Melissa Mazzeo, Kevin Morandi, and Churchill Cotton voting against it.
Reached later, Ferrin was "amazed" at the controversy.
"The mayor took the time to discuss these matters with me then and even before the appointment," he said. "So if he was willing to take the time to look at these issues and found that they were not an issue I am hopeful that the councilors will as well."
The debated Civil Service Commission findings can be found here and here in PDF format.
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I found it funny that some of the councilors acted like it was the first time they heard of this.Mr.Ferrin has been upfront about everything 4years ago.I know Clairmont,Capitanio,Yon and Lothrop all gave money to Marchetti's election.It's time to grow up and work with the Mayor.Mr.Ferrin is more than qualified let him serve his city
It is no secret Mayor Ruberto and Ferrin had many different opions on things, so it is no surprise that the ones who were against this appointment are the ones who were close to Ruberto. Don't judge someone unless you know the whole story and don't talk about someone's character until you take a good look in the mirror. Do people know that DPW workers were told to leave their trucks running at all times so the GPS's would work and the bosses knew where you were at all times? Do people know that Ferrin had another employee in the city truck when the supposed comment about Obama was (wasn't) made. An African-American DPW co-worker said Ferrin said this supposed comment over the radio, so of course they went along with what he said. Do people know that Ferrin brought jobs into the city by getting Action Ambulance to come to the city? Do people know the money that is being saved by the Water Dept supervisor being gone, thanks to Ferrin? Do people know that Ferrin has over 25 years of experience as an EMT. I think the councilors who degraded Ferrin publicly, should publicy apologize to him.
The Mayor had better understand that his margin was only 106 votes and if he continues to aliegn himself with people like Mr. Ferrin he is going to have a rough two years. The majority of the Council did the right thing especially in light of what the Civil Service Commission said in their findings.
Mr. Ferrin has sent a more extensive response to Tuesday's night's council decision, which can be viewed in its entirety here:
http://pittsfield.com/park_square_soapbox
Excellent story, Joe. The Boring Broadsheet hasn't had one drop of this, because it's too "hot." You filled the breach nicely. On THE PLANET today (www.planetvalenti.com), we get underneath the Ferrin Inquisition to help explain why its matters and why it's a serious matter. Again, good job.
