It should come as no surprise by now to anyone following politics in Mount Vernon that you’ve issued yet another rambling, incoherent conspiracy theory about “forces” trying to bring you down. You’ve been beating that drum for a years now. If it’s not me, it’s Comptroller Reynolds. If not her, then former Mayor Davis or Comptroller Maureen Walker. If not them, then Chase Bank. The Attorney General, the District Attorney, the courts, the “system,” – the list goes on and on. One thing is always the same in all of these tinfoil-hat theories of yours: the blame for your personal failings always falls at the feet of someone else.
I’m not going to address the fiction contained in your latest post, except to give you some free “legal” advice. These are the elements of a suit for defamation: 1) a false and defamatory statement of fact; 2) regarding an individual; 3) which is published to a third party; and 4) which results in damage to that individual. But, don’t take my word for it. That’s from the Court of Appeals, the highest court in the State of New York (or are they out to get you, too?).
The problem with surrounding yourself with criminals is that those people never put their names on things. You, on the other hand, can’t help putting your name to things. Which is why it will be your name listed as “Defendant” in the defamation lawsuit, and not the criminals around you who suggested it was a good idea to publish that last post.
You’re entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts. You should be more careful with facts. They can cost you a lot if you disregard them, like you did in your last post.
The ultimately sad part of this story you’ve crafted about hidden forces trying to bring you down is that nobody cares that much about you to bother. Nobody cares that you are a Millennial. Nobody cares that you are spiritual. Nobody cares that you think you’re a visionary leader. Nobody has time to sit around and try to figure out how to “get” you.
We all have better things to do, even if you don’t.
If it feels like the walls are closing in on you, maybe it’s because you’ve closed so many doors in this city and shut down so many bridges that there’s nowhere left to hide. If you’re feeling like you’re in this all by yourself, maybe it’s because you’ve blamed so many people for your mistakes that there’s no one left to stand with you. “One day, you’ll understand that is not the mark of a leader.”
Mount Vernon deserves better leadership. And, it will get better leadership. Leadership that acknowledges that the team is never to blame, only the leader. Leadership that recognizes that good ideas are not a monopoly and that credit is earned, not bestowed. The people of this city see through your whole charade. They know “The Emperor has no clothes on”. And, frankly, they’re just tired of the whining, the antics, the grandstanding, and the lies. You’ve had four years to make a difference in the lives of the people of this city, and you’ve failed. All you’ve done is embarrass them time and again.
You’ve been throwing people under a bus for so long, you forgot what it means to take responsibility for your own actions. Who knows? Maybe you never knew how to do it.
But, what I think doesn’t really matter. The voters will decide whether they want to endure another four years of excuse-making, corruption, and incompetence.
I’m sure you’ll find new “villains” and come up with new comic-book conspiracies to blame for your mistakes. I’m sure you’ll keep telling people how much faith you have in God while you continue to sell out your neighbors to developers and campaign cronies, crippling the City you claim to love. Those, Mayor Thomas, are the facts you’re hiding from. That’s the “real” conspiracy out to get you: yourself.
As someone who claims to be a religious man, I encourage you to pull out the Bible you carry with you to court and spend some more time with it. There’s some good wisdom in there. Start with Luke 16:10-12. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”
Respectfully,
City Council President André Wallace
