Whiners, cry me a river. These last 3 posts sum up the MM Bozo Brigade perfectly.
"As Usual" takes offense to ignorance and vitriol? Can I get me some hypocrisy please...Isn't that what this blog was created for. The clowns anonymously slander, rant and rave at anybody and everybody in Melrose...but baby Huey here gets her panties tied in a bunch by a different point of view.
"Question" ramps up the hypocrisy a notch and adds a little intellectual snobbery. I'm impressed. Go get your GED off the wall and pat yourself on the back.
But "Regrets" takes the cake. "I voted for the young multi-cultural liberal candidate but would have voted for the old white guy republican had I known Dolan was leaving." ICARUMBA. Before you wet yourself worrying about your vote try to deal with the schizophrenia first, combine some meds and vodka and sleep for a while.
What a bunch of pant loads.
Geez! You sound more like Dolan than Dolan! Hmmm.....
By paying better attention to what's going on and standing up for what's right.For Melrose.
Eat it, Clown Patrol. It isn't schitzophrenia. It is wishing for a more experienced hand at a time like this. An unqualified liberal candidate with time to learn the ropes is fine when the city isn't in upheavel. I don't see what race has to do with any of it. Maisha isn't more qualified because she is multicultural (I think she is monocultural actually) and Don Conn isn't less qualified because he is white. The city would be 10x better if Don Conn was seated right now. That's the truth.
My advice? Don't waste even one minute of your time trying to engage in any meaningful discourse with this Clown fool. He/she is obviously a charter member of Dolan's character assassination squad.
Bottom line - Dolan is gone, finally. Now maybe we can hope that Melrose will begin to dig it's way out of the pit it finds itself in. Getting rid of Dolan was always a prerequisite for that.
Clown continues to make a big deal out of Dolan's Lynnfield raise. Whoopie! It won't be us paying him. Who gives a $hit? I do, though, feel a bit sorry for Lynnfield. They have no idea what a complete jerkoff they just hired, but at least Lynnfield has a Board of Selectmen as the final authority. From here on in Dolan is just a glorified accountant. we'll see how he likes that.
This is no time for on-the- job training. There are only two possible candidates with the depth of knowledge and non-Dolan administration ties than
Connor or Medieros.
Truthsayer may get to carry the baton at the parade. Medieros? you can't be serious. Shouldn't there be a rule that says you can't live at Mommy and Daddy's house and be Mayor...and probably should have worked a real job and paid your own taxes and utility bills before being in charge of a City full of people responsible for their own? Its like getting parenting advice from a catholic priest. Not a great idea. I'm not sure who Connor is...but if you meant Conn he got drubbed out of office and isn't eligible...got barely edged out by last place finisher Medieros. The clowns really have a firm grip on the pulse of Melrose. Parade starts at 6:30 sharp this Monday night. Polish up those rubber noses and get ready for the show. Lets see which Bozo's are actually in the chamber to champion MM. The evil overlord is now gone so your "fear of retribution" card has been revoked.
Happy New Year. Here’s your tax bill.
Hmmmm...................I wonder how long Dello Russo would last if MM somehow ended up as Mayor? I'd vote for her just to witness that. See that flashing red light Patrick? That's your career dissipation alarm on code three.
Yeah, CP. Your favorite multicultural liberal candidate actually brought up the rear.
Well, we're coming down to the wire. So what's it's going to be, Doughboy? Are you going to do the right thing and resign before you get into your third year, allowing a special election, or are you going to cause as much chaos as you can by holding on past that date, thereby saddling us with one of those nimrod Aldermen? I'm betting on #2, because that's who you are.
The special election is not up to Dolan. The BOA can go right to a special election with a vote, even after electing a new president. Dolan could force it but the reality is the BOA has the power to decide. Lets see what they do.
That is NOT what the charter says. The key word is shall.
"(b) President of Aldermen To Serve As Mayor - If a vacancy in the office of mayor occurs in the third or fourth year of the term for which the mayor is elected, whether by reason of death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the president of the board of aldermen shall become the mayor. Upon the qualification of the president of the board of aldermen as the mayor, under this section, a vacancy shall exist in that seat on the board of aldermen which shall be filled in the manner provided in section 2-11. A president serving as mayor under this subsection shall not be subject to the restrictions contained in the third sentence of section 3-1(a), nor shall that person be entitled to have the words "candidate for reelection" printed against their name on the election ballot."
And, in what can only be described as supreme irony, if Zwirko or Medeiros (at large) are appointed Mayor, Don Conn is appointed as the replacement. If Tramantozzi or Infurna are appointed, since neither had an election opponent, Don Conn is also appointed. That would also mean there would need to be another election for B of A President, so Conn could wind up as B of A President again.
If Conn declines, the B of A then chooses the replacement who would serve until the next regular election.
If Zwirko or Medeiros get it, it would be Conn back on the board (if he wants it). You are wrong about what happens if John or Gail get it. If they get it, since they had no challengers, the board would hold special appointment hearings from citizens of Ward 1 or 5 depending on who gets it. It would be similar to how Jackie Lavendar Bird ended up on the board.
If either Tramontozzi or Infurna end up as Mayor, because they are ward aldermen who ran unopposed, the first choice for their replacement would then be the highest unelected candidate for at large if that candidate is a resident of the ward in question. I don't know in which Ward Conn lives, but if he lives in the same ward as Tramontozzi, for example, and Tramontozii gets it, the Conn is still the go-to person for the Ward seat in question.
Failing that, the B of A would then choose a replacement.
Good call. Conn is Ward 2 and Askenazy is Ward 3 so they wouldn't factor if either Ward Alderman was selected.
As was said by a prior poster Mr. Dolan could spare us this cluster flop by resigning on January 7th, but I wouldn't count on it.
Assuming he stays past the deadline, when exactly is the election for B of A President? I can't wait to see that! It's going to be the Aldermanic equivalent of a Godzilla movie or a Three Stooges marathon.
Since he plans on giving the State of the City speech on the 8th, sounds like he’ll still be Mayor!
Thanks. I hadn't heard that. What a skunk.
Dolan's need to control and be in charge is proven by the fact he did not resign.
Lynnfield Beware! Claims he loves Melrose but he is screwing us all.
Will John, Monica, Gail and Mike have to make their case to the other Aldermen as to why they should be Rob's replacement? How will Manisha and Kate vote ? Being "The Year of Women Politicians" and Democrats, bet they will vote for Gail.
"Being "The Year of Women Politicians" and Democrats, bet they will vote for Gail."
It's possible but that would prove their unworthiness and lack of integrity right out of the barrel (as we sadly can expect). GI would be a disastrous mayor and would lock citizens into owing nearly six-figures in pension to that worthless windbag. However, it's more likely that Rob has told them who they must vote for (MZ), which would also prove their fealty to the Fake Dem mode (Trumpian by any name). Can't expect much from this bunch of hardcore sycophants, though must still hold out hope. Sadly there really isn't a one of them that should be mayor the next two years. This really should be a matter for the citizens in a special election, but the citizens are getting what they (and sadly that includes those of us who object strenuously) deserve with a bunch of elected officials on both boards who are as useless as balls on bacon.
Sadly, this is the inevitable result when an uninformed, unengaged, lazy electorate allows a self-serving demagogue to accumulate so much power. The longer the demagogue is in control, the more painful the process of returning to a "normal" state of affairs. To use an old meme, we are "up $hit's creek without a paddle".
For years a few brave individuals have been trying without success to let the public know what an unprincipled scumbag Dolan is, and for the most part have been totally ignored, or worse, slandered and pilloried by Dolan sycophants whose only real concern was kissing Dolan's a$$ and holding onto their own little rice ball. These few brave souls are now entitled to say "We told you so.".
Melrose Weekly News reported that Dolan signed his contract on December 27th. Why then is he staying until his third term begins which will kill a Special Election? All the good he has done during his tenure as Mayor has now been tainted by his "Exit Behavior".
I hope that's a rhetorical question. He's staying because he's a power-mad slime who wants to control who his replacement is. He doesn't give a hoot about the will of the electorate. He thinks the electorate is a bunch of ignorant fools, and only he knows best. All the good things he's done? Are you kidding me? They don't even come close to balancing out all the really rotten things he's done.
Most of the people who work in city government are good and decent people, but his inner circle, like Hughes and Dello Russo, et al? I wouldn't invite them into my house without locking up the silverware.
I usually do not agree with the majority sentiment on Melrose Messages. I don't think Dolan is evil and I think he was a good and competent mayor (who lucked out a bit, too, riding the millennials desire for accessible public transit to a nice little housing boom).
That said, he is ruining his reputation by leaving the city this way. 2 years is too long of a time for an interim mayor. He knows this! This should have changed when they redid the charter last year (Thanks, Zwirko and Tramontozzi... shocker they are both up for the job of mayor). It wasn't and Dolan has the opportunity to do the right thing and step aside before his 3rd term starts and take a nice month long vacation. He refuses, and with that refusal become what everyone on this board has always thought him to be. A very sad way to end an era indeed.
My sincerest hope is that the board will vote for a special election after choosing the president. Failing that, I hope they choose a president who will become mayor and step aside after the 2 years so the scale is not unduly imbalanced for the 2019 election, leaving us saddled with Zwirko for 15 years. I am almost positive the former won't happen, and can only hope the board sees the wisdom in the latter.
It's interesting that so many people in Melrose believe they live in a great city going in the right direction and then you come to Melrose Messages and get a completely different point of view. Putting the personal opinion of individuals in Melrose government aside, by any measure Melrose is in great shape. Thriving downtown, hot real estate market, Bond rating and debt positions all top scores, workable budget numbers, major union contracts in good shape, major infrastructure improvements to streets, roads, water and sewer over the past 10 years, Real Estate taxes on the low end. Plenty to offer kids in the City. The next Mayor is walking into a great situation no matter how you look at it.
Funny! It must be that eternal Koolaid Fountain that runs from the 2nd Floor sewer pipes that is keeping these idiots happily lapping up and propagating the propaganda for this utterly corrupt administration. So because the community has an endless influx of naive young parents moving in (until the vaguely aware ones start realizing their always-"gifted" brats are producing seriously subpar educational results and quickly move to another community with actual secondary education) and buying the BS, we're all supposed to believe it too? Not so much! Keep sniffing the glue or whatever is in that Dolan elixir of which you are clearly so fond! Your spin machine will keep you supplied since there's a new bunch of idiots joining the School Committee, still chaired by Dolores Umbrage and now vice-chaired by Eddie the Felon (because they couldn't allow the "True Scientist" that role after they forced her to grovel and apologize to the entire teacher's union for her gaffe, that actually contained some truth). The chair of the failed override is one of the newly elected idiots, and she's as rabid as Dolores, so that should make for some gross drama. Meanwhile the $hit$how of a BOA will be scrapping to see who gets to be mayor. Yeah, great Report Card indeed! Wait until all the heretofore hidden scandals start surfacing (like Spencer's oil tanks illegally buried in those stolen cemetery plots....). Will be like Florida graveyards after a flood when all that stuff starts popping to the top!
The young parents are stuck with the MPS, Driscoll, Paymore Taymore and can't even vote for Mayor! Do you think they would even know the BOA members names? Yet, six BOA Votes will choose the next Mayor! If any of them had guts, they would vote to hold an election !!! So many have served for decades, do nothing and get a pension and healthcare for life costing millions of tax dollars! Good luck Lynnfield, Dolan is only for Dolan !!!
"It's interesting that so many people in Melrose believe they live in a great city going in the right direction and then you come to Melrose Messages and get a completely different point of view."
Because there are many people in Melrose who don't think the way Mayor Dolan and his minions try to paint things is accurate. Recall the vote on the override much?
Any advocate of good government would not tolerate the way this mayoral interregnum is unfolding. There should be a special election after Dolan's long tenure, not just a rugby scrum of insiders. Melrose's favorite form of corruption is cozy insiderism. Cemetery scandal (among other examples) anyone? Once the Free Press lost an editor who at least occasionally probed behind City Hall narratives, the culture of municipal government suffered accordingly for lack of accountability and transparency. I had hopes for Mike Zwirko when he initially ran, but he's turned out to be more of a phony, just younger than the other time servers on the BOA (though he admits in so many words in correspondence that the BOA is essentially toothless against a strong mayor charter).
Anyway, the current real estate bubble will burst, and Melrose is not a bust-resistant municipality, and our downward cycle has normally lasted twice as long as the upward cycle in the past 30 years.... Dolan's leaving before he has to face that again, to a higher-end community for better pay. Tells you what he thinks of prospects here, fwiw. His successor will get to face that s*it show, but the question is whether any of the likely contenders is fully aware of that and ready to deal with it with voter buy-in; if I were going to be Mayor over the next couple of years, I'd want a mandate from the real voters, not the BOA.
If all the posts on Melrose Messages were only by cranks, then there would not be such an apparently pressing need to marginalize it entirely. I used to think people here were cranks. Then I had reason to probe behind the Way We Do Things Here in Melrose City Hall and realized it wasn't entirely cranky after all, and that I've learned things here that are quite true but are at best rarely covered in the local press. When a neighbor told me back in 2010 that the a Globe reporter told her that Melrose city government was regarded by beat journalists as among the most corrupt in the north metro area, not in a venal sense but in the culture of silence/omerta sense, it began to make sense to me.
The way this mayoral change is currently unfolding is, as of this writing at least, a testimony to the sad reality that Mayor Dolan lost his good government cred a while ago. A real believer in good government would not permit it to go down this way. He would resign to make sure a special election was held. The way he's doing it *only* serves his own interests, not those of his successor (who is going to need a voter mandate whether he or she realizes now or not, and sooner rather than later) or of the voters.
The charter must be changed if Melrose citizens hope to recapture whatever is left of a democratically managed city, which it most certainly is not currently. There are no existing checks and balances now, as RD and this defective charter have effectively shut them down.
CKK wrote about what needed to happen with the charter if citizens were to get the change necessary for the patronage blockade by the Dolan/FakeDem Machine is to be taken down. She showed up to present her statement in person on-air with calm demeanor and facts well stated, just as she did for six years as an elected official. The papers have run (albeit in the back behind the sports page) long and articulate letters of support and regret for citizens' failure to stand up with Mrs. K as she fought for our community's children over the many years. Mostly though the citizens have willingly looked the other way, despite a wide base of generalized (if spineless) support (that the mayor has long resented and feared, with good reason, as they did at least stomp on his foolish override).
Gerry Mroz has done the same, repeatedly and on many highly researched and verifiable claims about a wide array of topics, throughout the city, most notably education and the water & sewer debacle, but also about what needed to happen re the rigged city charter. All he's gotten from the public is further denigration and even threats of arrest from the despicable Driscoll (who continues on a chair of the SC despite costing the citizens probably hundreds of thousands in litigation due to her own wrongful and contemptuous actions) and Thorp, who was granted a prominent role as the "education specialist" on the fake charter review process of late (despite being a repeat offender of the laws and regulations while serving as chair of the SC and costing the citizens dearly in dollar and reputation). Instead of throwing the bums who hurt our city out of office, they have been rewarded with renewed positions of power and prestige while the champions of the greater good for our city--with Mr. M at the head of the table--are shunned and threatened at worst or ignored at best.
Phil Taymore has come before the BOA and Water/Sewer committee to state the facts, repeatedly in public and in print. He is a citizen who has worked very hard for righting a very wrong and indeed corrupt situation, whereby the politicians have used taxpayer dollars to pay incompetent consultants to prop up completely wrong-headed and deeply harmful policies, along with misuse of Enterprise funds that might even be criminal. Instead of listening to and taking heed of this hard-working and intelligent citizen advocating for all of us, the BOA and city officials have marginalized and shunned him personally and gone about with their foolish policies and crooked rate-setting.
Bob Snow has laid it out over and over again for many years, albeit sometimes laden with bitterness that can tend to diminish his overall arguments, but mostly he is on-point and has sounded alarms that continue to go unheeded.
Mostly this city (town actually) has behaved shamefully, over and over again.
With every opportunity to redeem itself, it chooses instead to proceed with the status quo and even furthers the malevolent and self-serving forces by putting forward candidates who mostly will only keep the shameful patronage machine steaming along with continued backing of the Chamber and all the ancillary social pillars of patronage.
It does not have to be this way. It is actually a simple proposition that requires merely that citizens care enough to step forward when it counts. They don't even have to have the courage to do it alone the way Mr. M or Mrs. K or Mr. T have done. They can easily band together and present their case. Those in power are cowards across the board. If they felt a community wave, as it were, of political pressure, they would most certainly cave. There is much that can and should be done, but it requires caring enough.
Short of that simple ingredient, none of the political machinations will ever even connect with most of the citizens here, who seem to be mostly asleep at the wheel. The bogus override attempt got their attention because the lies were so obvious and the potential to affect every homeowner directly was clear. But the attention span is unnaturally short in Melrose, where other communities would have surely risen up against the corruption long since. Just the cemetery scandal alone should have had citizens en masse at City Hall demanding answers. Didn't happen. Who were the co-conspirators (the prosecutors knew there were several)? What other tentacles of the scandal were investigated (Retirement Board, etc.)? Answer: probably none because the powers that be made sure of that. Community outrage? Nada.
Until Melrose residents decide that they've had enough and want to clean out their own very filthy swamp, nothing of substance will change. Some of the names/faces of those managing the filthy business might alter, but mostly it's for an even worse outcome (like JMcA getting the most votes for SC after being the proponent of rabid and provable lies as chair of the failed override). Melrose citizens are getting what they deserve for shameful abdication of the steering wheel.
That just about says it all.
The Dolan ship of state, now rudderless, is now also vulnerable. As a prior poster said, it does sort of remind one of a Godzilla movie, with all the Dolanites running willy nilly in all directions intent only on saving their own skins. Since the Fearless Leader abandoned ship and shuffled off to Buffalo, or Lynnfield as it were, chaos rules. This is the perfect opportunity to step up and take back our city.
Am I confident that will happen? Given the performance of the electorate in the last fifteen years, I'm not going to hold my breath, but it would be a real shame to let this opportunity go to waste.
The "Charter Review" was led by "Mayor Zwirko"......,..,...
"A decadent elite licenses degraded behavior, and a debased public chooses its worst leaders. Then our Nero panders to our worst attributes — and we reward him for doing so."
Melrose has become a microcosm of all the worst in national politics. The comparisons of the current heads of state, local and national, are valid, though of course Melrose is just a tiny blip in the big picture. What is remarkable is that the sickness of Melrose culture has developed over 15 years and is mostly about the supposedly Dem party, not the Repugs, and the population that has allowed such cynicism and selfishness to rule basically unchecked for such an extensive period of time.
The church-going. Victorian Fair-loving folk of Melrose were perfectly prepared to allow flagrant racism even after the US Office of Civil Rights condemned the entire school administration/school committee/mayor. The grossly hypocritical Melrose Democratic Party has never once protested or raised even a hint of upset at the many examples of hideous conduct displayed by local so-called leaders of the community; the corollary is it has never once offered a hint of support to the noble citizens who've stood up for actual democratic values in protesting the egregious conduct of this administration, whether it's the repeated violations of federal civil rights laws, the state public records and open meeting laws, or employment regulations. These hypocritical political operatives have in fact condoned institutionalized bullying across the board, while at the same time carrying the banners at their precious October Walk or patting themselves on the back at their "international" dinners while cracking obscene jokes about the organizers and their culture. Overt racism, misogyny, and hatred/dehumanizing of anything Other has become embedded in the Melrose culture progressively over the course of this 15-year reign, leaving a legacy that will take a very long time to turn around, if there is even enough social awareness, humility, honesty or collective will to do so. One need only recall Patrick Della R's hateful attack on Monica during a BOA meeting this past year, or any of Rob's many smears of "haters" or disgusting remarks about any number of people (and his documented juvenile rants), or Peter's habitual (if almost comical) despicable treatment (when he's holding a gavel and feels powerful) of those he views as trouble, or Margaret's endless examples of crazed conduct, and on and on. A democratic society becomes decadent when its politics become morally and intellectually corrupt. Our privileged sick little burb has become so.
The leader of the pack has functioned as the impudent id of this culture of contempt, being hailed still as someone who has been a "great mayor," despite conduct that would have been condemned and had direct electoral consequences long since in a community that had better values.
The opposition party has nothing of which to feel proud either, when it comes to the culture that has festered, though there are generally many within the Repug bunch who are actually thoughtful, caring individuals who do actually oppose bad behavior (except when it's one of them doing it or when it comes to carrying the water for a debauched national party).
The willful blindness of the citizens and that fact that there has been no effective stigma attached to illegal and unethical, and of course toxic conduct has contributed to the overall degradation of democratic values and the nearly complete absence of actual public discourse (substituting the giant Rubber Stamp for everything).
The reduction of all disagreeable facts and narratives to Melrose's own version of “fake news” will stand as one of Dolan’s most lasting contributions to Melrose culture, far outliving his own tenure. Maybe in the smoking entrails of this toxic stew something redemptive will surface (must hope, after all!). Melrose political elite will continue to gratify its worst impulses so long as we continue to be governed by them. The only way back is to reclaim the common ground — political, moral — is for citizens to decide they care, not only for themselves, but for the children, and for everyone they have allowed cynically to be discarded and/or victimized as Other.
Fun all starts tonight. Zwirko will have a nomination and a second. One Alderman will most likely not get a second. A 3rd Alderman will get a second. A 4th will also get a second. On the first ballot Zwirko will get 4 plus his own, for 5. Alderman 3 will get their own plus 1. Alderman 4 may or may not get a vote, but if this person gets one it will only be one plus their own. In the second ballot either one or both of the other Alderman will swing their votes to Zwirko. No need to name names. Guess all you want...I have never had a conversation with Zwirko other than when he knocked on my door during campaign. Logic dictates the way this will go. Leading vote getter in at large election, plus voted in straw ballot and a willingness to leave his job and serve 2 years as Mayor puts him in a much stronger position than the other 3. MM has no chance as the only Republican and her political philosophy differs from everyone else on the board. The other two for different reasons are not viable to the rest of the board. Its only a prediction but I'll take the odds that Zwirko will serve out Dolan's term. You need 8 for a special election so if Zwirko gets the nod tonight and his supporters hold their ground it rules out a special election down the road. Logic is a hard thing to find on this board so if it travels over your head don't feel bad.
SO your first ballot is 5-2-1 with 3 abstaining? That doesn't make any sense really.
Also, you are wrong about aldermen needing seconds to run for president. All 4 will be on the first ballot. First ballot will almost definitely be 5-4-1-1, with an remote chance of 6-3-1-1 and it finishing first ballot, I just have a different aldermen getting the 5 or 6.
Should be real fun. Lets see. I'd be surprised to see 6 Alderman vote to give GI a $90,000 per year pension for the rest of her life because she finished 2 years of Dolan's term. It's fiscally irresponsible..but who knows what lurks in the minds of the Alderman.
A member in that group (I think it's Group 1) is eligible to retire either with 20 or more years of service at any age, or at age 55 with 10 years of service. Both of those percentage calculators yield miniscule pensions, for example: 10/55 yields 15%. In order to get the maximum pension percentage, 80%, you must have a combination of qualifiers ranging from 65 years old with 31 years of service, through 56 years old with 36 years of service. Once that is established, your pension is based on your last three (usually the highest three) year's earnings.
I have no idea how old she is or how many years service she has, but as an example, let's say she is 58 years old and has 19 years of service to the city. Her percentage would be 34.2%. Then calculate two years as Mayor at $125,000 plus one year as alderman - say $255,000 total, divided by three, or $85,000, times 34.2%. Her pension would then be $29,070 a year.
Dolan may also be eligible for a pension if his total time is 20 years. I don't know how old he is but if he is 20/42 (guesstimate) he would get 12% or around $16000. That's not going to happen. He'll move his retirement account into the Lynnfield system and let it continue to accrue, and he'll want it to be calculated based on his Lynnfield salary. Once you're that invested in the system, you're sort of trapped in it. Unless you want to really screw yourself, you can't move to the private sector without taking a huge hit pension wise.
Also remember that it's not the same chart as public safety personnel. They are Group 4, where maximum pensions begin at age 55 with 32 years. These charts are viewable on the City website.
In any case, Infurna will get nowhere near $90,000 if she's appointed, which I doubt she will be anyway.
Good luck to Lynnfield. Mayor Dolan is all yours now. He's your headache, your heartache, your problem, your mistake. Goodbye, So Long, Farewell. :helicopter:
It looks like the Mayor's boy, Zwirko is out and Gail Infurna is in. Looks like things didn't quite go the Mayor's way. Zwirko looking a little foolish. He seems a little ****** off. Mortimer meanwhile doing calisthenics in the Alderman's chamber during vote taking....whaaaa?
Gail Infurna was just voted in 😳
John has always been a Repug
Well, another ugly spectacle and two years of gross stupidity at the helm. Maybe she can play taps for the city, which will continue down the tubes. This woman simply gushes about Taymore, who hung the moon as far as she's concerned. Cyndy was worried about this vote and showed up to watch. Grover and a bunch of the worst Dolanites were there waiting with baited breath. Let the games begin anew. Dolan should feel relieved that whatever is buried in the cemetery "timeshare" program will likely stay that way for now, though Spencer's oil tanks might just float up in the next big rainstorm.... Prepare for lots more expensive litigation because this woman is as ignorant of the law as she is an arrogant and flagrant violator. She'll probably keep Vanny safely in his role, blithering nonsensical and wrong interpretations, which will jack up the legal costs on all counts. She has utter contempt for anyone not "on the team," as she (or Rob) defines it, so labor relations will be really fun to watch come apart at the seams even more than they did under Melrose's own Small Button. Just so gross.