Will the Real Executive Please Stand Up?

Bernie O’Hare III

During his campaign for County Executive, Mr. Reibman repeatedly stated that he "was a delegator" and not a dictator. The recent public corruption indictment, however, should demonstrate what happens when too much power is delegated to an unelected public official. Mr. Reibman did not delegate, but abdicated, his role to a person who made a mockery of competitive bid and open government pledges, and recreated that government in his own image with shadow governments like the General Purpose Authority.

When these excesses were exposed by Councilman Angle and Express Reporter Michael Buffer, Mr. Reibman refused to retake the reins of county government. Instead, he continued his abdication in favor of the current de facto executive, James Hickey, while refusing for a time to take anything but written questions from the press.

Mr. Reibman now says that his administration will not answer questions about the Solomon scandal because of the ongoing investigations. But de facto executive Hickey has been serving up reporters with explanation after explanation designed to make him look innocent.

De facto executive Hickey, "innocent victim" of a fraudulent scheme, even appeared at the Solomon arraignment. It appears that Messrs. Hickey and Solomon are quite friendly, and this is not good news for the truly innocent victims of the Solomon fraud -- us. In addition to making no attempt to distance himself from the perpetrator of a fraudulent scheme, de facto executive Hickey continues to spearhead the megamillion bond proposed first by Solomon, which will be ripe with new county contracts. He even took it upon himself to threaten bond plaintiffs with litigation in a brutal attempt to force their silence. The elected county executive, Mr. Reibman, seemed genuinely shocked to hear that threat.

In the wake of a federal indictment concerning abuses that occurred concerning insurance contracts, we now hear of a new insurance contract for at least $500,000 in connection with the bond litigation. No mention is made of RFPs or any type of competitive bidding. The underwriter was not even identified until a resolution was adopted authorizing its selection. No mention is made of any need to present this new contract to any elected officials.

It should be clear to all by now that the dangers that led to the Solomon abuses still exist today. We still have an unelected county executive who makes decisions behind closed doors and who intimidates those who question his tactics. If Mr. Reibman is unwilling to assume the role of county executive, then it is up to County Council to protect us from the predatory practices of unelected public officials and to start insisting on full disclosure of an anticipated half million dollar expenditure of public money. A new Council convenes in January, and it has an opportunity to restore something this county now lacks -- integrity in government.

The views expressed herein are the writers' own and do not necessarily reflect those of billybytes.com