At last night's meeting of NorCo Council, member Jason Boulette disclosed that his wife Vanessa has taken on a new role as NorCo's Deputy Controller. A Villanova graduate (and member of the Big Easy Easton Jazz Band), she had been employed for 16 years by BNY, a financial services firm. Boulette said he'd recuse himself from all matters involving the Controller's office, which is an independent arm of county government. I appreciate his transparency and disclosure.
8 comments:
So Jason votes the guy in and his wife gets a political patronage job in that office. Nice.
They Hackerama lives! Government runs best when its run by friends of friends of friends, to the exclusion of the not connected.
Jason really is a stand-up guy. We are fortunate to have him on council.
Typical political hire. A thank you for all your hard work for the party. No surprise here. Was waiting for this to happen. They are all in bed together. Literally. 😂😂 they are all the same.
The controller office is the check and balance of county spending. I think that Jason Boulette should remove his self from the Chair of Finance. I see a conflict about you?
If it isn't a conflict, just the optic of this situation does not look good.
I'm aware of how this can be perceived, which is why as soon as the prospect of a job was raised, I went to our council solicitor to make sure I was doing everything in an ethical way, and then (per his advice) disclosed the potential conflict to the public as soon as she started her job. And as I stated, I will recuse myself from votes directly affecting her.
As President Kraft noted, I'm not the first member of Council with a family member employed by the county. But my goal has always been, and will remain, to be as transparent and ethical as possible.
To the idea that my wife is taking a plum patronage job, I'd like to state that this is very much not the case. First, I'll say as a husband that she's eminently qualified for whatever career line she pursues. She graduated summa cum laude and first in her class at Villanova and has 20 years of experience in the finance industry, having worked in relationship management, project management, and finally as a vice president of product. In the course of her career, she's worked as a liaison to internal and external auditors. Second, she took a pay cut to take her job with the county. And third, she's left a very secure job that she's had for 16 years to take a job with a 1.5 year lifespan. When that job is over, she'll need to find a new job. And as anyone who's looked at the job market lately knows, that's a pretty stressful place to be in. She took this job because after 20 years of building value for corporate shareholders, she wants to serve the public. I couldn't be prouder of her for that.
This, and the disclosure I made at Council, will be the only comments I make on this matter.
Just like 6:20 am person .Mr Boulette nominated the controller and political pay back chooses Boulette wife for deputy controller. Talk about political corruption . Explain that Mr. Boulette?
7:05, Jason already said all he needs to say. He also identified himself, and you, who talk of political corruption, did not. The Controller selected on 1/22 is Timothy Brezinski, a CPA. NorCo has never before had a CPA as its controller. This made his selection by five members of Council a no-brainer. He is eminently qualified and, though a Democrat, has never been political. I think you're reaching here. Moreover, as a matter of law, there would be very few instances in which Boulette might have a direct conflict. If his wife's salary was increased, he'd need to recuse himself.
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