Mayor should reflect on budget debacle

‘And so this is Christmas and what have you done? Another year over and a new one just begun.”

So goes a quote from a John Lennon song. Seems like Edison Mayor Jun Choi and his all-Democratic council should be asking themselves that question right about now.

Here we are at the dawn of a new year and we still don’t have a fiscal-year budget. Funny, we didn’t even have an election this year. And thanks to Councilman Tomaro, we all now know how that works. But hey, if we wait any longer, we won’t need a budget — we’ll have the actual results.

So, while Choi, the “Anti-truth” Mayor does battle over his $109.6 million budget with the “Checks and balances — Not” Edison Council, recognize that the real battle going on here is not about what’s best for us. It’s about control of the local Democratic Party and the budget is just the chosen venue for this internal power struggle. And as usual, the residents are secondary - we’re just here to pick up the post-Christmas bills.

But as we await the outcome of this cat and mouse game between Choi and his consultants and the council over this ridiculous budget - if you get the feeling that our Christmas Stockings may be a tad bit emptier this year, you wouldn’t be wrong. It’s now local government gone totally amuck and since we’re waiting anyway, we should use the time and appropriately rename the entire process for what it has become — “Extreme Budgeting.”

To summarize the important numbers then, Choi wants a 13.5-cent per $100 assessed value tax increase and the council wants an 8-cent per $100 assessed value tax increase. Summing up their reasoning next — Blah! Blah! Blah! Point being, you shouldn’t buy into the political banter and drivel coming from either side. A mockery of Edison is all they’re succeeding in raising with this internal feuding over the budget.

The simple truth of the matter is: anything above a 5-cent increase in this budget is not for the benefit of the residents but for the perpetuation of the stranglehold the local Democratic Party has on this town. Do you think it’s really important who wins this self-serving Democratic Party feud? If so, then think again.

Here’s a thought for Choi and his all-Democratic council. If politics is about winning and the old adage is true, that it’s better to win ugly than to lose pretty — then no matter the outcome of this power struggle, at least we’re comforted in the knowledge that Edison is represented by such a sorry bunch of ugly people.

Ralph Bucci

Edison