New Haven Independent

posted by: Cedarhillresident on July 1, 2010  4:34pm

I am going to have agree with Goldson on this. Unless you have been there it is really hard to express the desperation of the people. You can of course represent them but to have gone through it a certain passion a drive makes the fight more personal. And can say this is a good thing in my mind. But I am sorry she is going through it

posted by: jon on July 1, 2010  4:49pm

the fact that Pete was the marshall and that roland is city halls candidate raises some red flags to me. this is a political hit job; they should be ashamed of themselves.

posted by: Paul Martin on July 1, 2010  5:38pm

I don’t want to in any way say that this is some kind of moral failing. It’s a tough situation that should make her more sympathetic to people suffering in this economy.

But, her situation does make me wonder why she’s running for state rep right now and how she’ll have the time for the job or be able to give it the attention it deserves. This is an enormous weight - who on earth would decide that this is the perfect time to become a member of the legislature?

And the argument that is something that should *strengthen* her candidacy is hogwash. I mean, come on. Really.

posted by: concerned on July 1, 2010  5:43pm

Jon, I totally agree with you. I believe it is a personal attack on Hauser given the fact that City hall is backing Lamar and the marshall who served her is connected to City hall. I hate dirty politics!!!!!

posted by: Lemar Supporter on July 1, 2010  5:47pm

Jon,

Let’s be real: Roland went after Pete Crisculo when he and Jorge Perez reformed the marshall system. But beyond that, if this was a political hit job, the story would have been leaked either at the beginning of the campaign (to keep her out), or in the last couple of weeks before election day.

What this does tell you is that she seems more interested in self-promotion than in doing what’s right for her family. I don’t believe that this thing is settled without the bank confirming, and I doubt that they have the resources to make payments without selling the house. She should be taking this time to work this situation out and make sure her family is taken care of, instead of seeking a full-time job (when done well) that only pays 30k/year.

Lastly, the idea that this makes her a better legislator is foolish. We do have a foreclosure crisis in this country, but many of those people were duped into bad loans (ARMs) that they never should have been given in the first place. Not people who take out huge business loans that are worth the value of their homes. Call it a “life experience” if you will, but at least acknowledge that some experiences aren’t particularly helpful.

posted by: Westville Mom on July 1, 2010  5:49pm

I’m sure Ms. Hauser is a very nice lady, BUT.  If I read this correctly, a couple composed of a cardiologist and a psychologist went into foreclosure because they sunk HALF A MILLION borrowed smackeroos into a business and the business failed.  And everyone is painting a happy face on this because it represents ... EXPERIENCE, PERSPECTIVE, and SENSITIVITY?

How many of us ordinary citizens can apply for a job and cite FAILURE as a qualification?

This is just one more example of the media SPIN that has gotten us into so much trouble in the past.  I don’t have a dog in this race, being from the west side of town, but PUH-LEEZE stop the condescending drivel of painting this failure as a political asset.  When Wall St. makes bad risks, we have no such sympathy.  One person’s “not-indiscriminate spending” is another person’s “gambling.” 

Reminder: Politicians gamble with OUR money.

posted by: eastie on July 1, 2010  6:01pm

property tax is how liberal politicians will eventually take your land- to redistribute it as they see fit. ...

posted by: Funky Chicken on July 1, 2010  6:09pm

I feel for Deb and her family. I am not sure why this is news-worthy, I feel that this is a private issue that is between the Hauser’s and the bank.

Jon - what are you talking about?! Deb wasn’t a candidate time of the initial action - this was a year ago!

posted by: PamB on July 1, 2010  6:13pm

@jon:  What can Lemar possibly have to do with this?  A bank foreclosed, not the city, and it all started last year, before Staples even decided to retire and make this an open seat.  Politics has nothing to do with this at all.

posted by: Doyens on July 1, 2010  8:23pm

This is a political hit job. Sure the foreclosure happened at the end of 2009 and if she were not running for office, it would not make into the NHI or the NH Register. It’s not news. It is making headlines a few weeks before the Dem primary. If you think the timing is just a coincidence, then you probably believe DeStefano’s graduation rates and his fantasies about bare bones budgets etc.

Westville Mom - I agree with much of what you write, but in this case, I don’t. I do think adversity and working through business decisions good and bad, are the kind of life experiences that make somebody a well rounded person and empathetic to others with issues. It was a learning experience for sure and one that will inform future decisions should Hauser decide to start another company.

Lemar Supporter: If Roland wwent after Peter Criscuolo so hard, why is Peter, Peter the business eater still employed by the city? It’s kind of like going after the stealth raises, but nobody gave the money back; or finding out that none of the executive staff were contibuting to the pension fund, and not making them pay up either essentially allowing them to bilk the pension fund of their 6.5%.

As for taking care of her family - are you alleging that she’s not? Is her family on the street, living in a shelter? Are they not eating? Running around dirty and naked in the streets? The nature of politics demands self promotion but for you to say she’s not taking care of her family is patently false and is one of the reasons I think this is a hit job. In fact, it’s just a stupid and irresponsible comment altogether that is nothing but character assassination. It’s also sexist. She has a husband.

Further, it is noteworthy that neither Hauser or her husband simply folded their tent and walked away from the obligation. They started a business. It failed. That happens to 90% of small businesses in this country. Sec of State Susie B reported last year there were a record number of business failures.

For those of you who have never started a business, you should try it once. Ask New Alliance or any other bank in New Haven for a business loan for a start up. They will laugh you out the door. If you want to start a business you’ll need an angel investor or your own resources and a couple of years from now, once you have a track record of profitability, they will offer you a loan that by then, you most likely will not need.

One other note: Being a legislator is not a full time job nor should it be. The good Lord (yes Ina, Lord) knows if it was full time, they’d do more damage than they do already. Taxpayers and small businesses couldn’t afford that.

posted by: consumer advocate on July 1, 2010  8:33pm

Ms. Hauser,

If you ever had to choose between making a mortgage payment and feeding your children 3x a day, that might give you insight into this foreclosure crisis.  If you were working two jobs (rather than knocking on doors) while struggling to make your mortgage payments, you’d have some insight into this foreclosure crisis. 

If you kept paying somebody else to clean your home and yet another somebody else to keep your schedule and your kids not only ate 3 meals a day but did so while attending a fancy private school then, well, your financial problems are more like those of the hot shots at Wall Street firms and General Motors who made off with the taxpayers’ dollar while the real working class was screwed.

This isn’t a residential home mortgage foreclosure—it’s a strategic default by a wealthy couple looking to settle a debt that they couldn’t pay for less than they actually owed.  Don’t worry—New Alliance will make up for it by charging us regular folks exorbitant fees.

posted by: Paul Martin on July 1, 2010  8:48pm

@Doyens,

“This is a political hit job. Sure the foreclosure happened at the end of 2009 and if she were not running for office, it would not make into the NHI or the NH Register. It’s not news.”

How is this a political ‘hit job’ to report on the fact that a candidate for an office of public trust is in a legal battle with a bank over the foreclosure on her house?

Would you rather voters *not* know about this?

This conspiratorial talk about political hitjobs sets a pretty low bar for smears, IMHO. If you don’t want this kind of thing to become public, you could always not run for office. But if you do run for the state legislature, in what universe is a foreclosure on the candidate’s own home *not* going to be newsworthy?

I can’t imagine you would give the mayor a free pass on this. I don’t imagine that any candidate would or should get to keep this private.

posted by: Morris Cove Mom on July 1, 2010  9:26pm

This is ridiculous.  Someone lives in a home worth $631k and I should feel bad for them?  Someone wears outfits more expensive than my car and I should think of how she put her children first?  Someone chooses private schooling for her kids instead of standing behind the public schools in the area she hopes to represent and I should cry for her?

This is just another case of someone wanting to appear wealthy without having a business plan, someone risking massive amounts of money to be bigger and better, instead of living a comfortable, stable life.

She also spent tons of money in the past year donating to lots of other people’s campaigns.  Was that instead of paying her mortgage?

http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Hauser&fname=Debra

She should drop out of the race to refocus her efforts on her family and children, and stop playing the ego game in public.  Take responsibility for all your debts, and stop making more of them.  Now.

posted by: streever on July 1, 2010  10:17pm

Doyens, your hatred of the mayor really knows no bounds! What about the tons of money that Hauser has donated to the mayor’s campaign, or that she and Bruno were deposed as co-chair by Sarraco/Donahue because the perception was that Hauser/Bruno were the mayor’s people?

This isn’t a referendum on the mayor. It’s a vote for a neighborhood. You people are trying to turn it into something it isn’t, and you are ignoring history & reality to make points that are meaningless and inaccurate.

posted by: Consumer Advocate on July 1, 2010  10:54pm

http://www.uslandrecords.com/ctlr

Since she bought the house, Hauser has put 8, count ‘em: 8, mortgages on the house and only paid off 4.  Again, this isn’t some sob story—just the rich doing what the rich do.  Playing financial games for their own benefit.

posted by: Erasmus on July 2, 2010  12:25am

Some logic by Alderman Goldson that her having been foreclosed upon would make her a better rep since she’d better understand foreclosures.  By that logic, the best rep to rewrite the Criminal Code would be a career criminal.  Only in politics!

posted by: Bill on July 2, 2010  7:28am

Great, if she manage her own finances how is she going to manage the states. God help us.

posted by: Westville Mom on July 2, 2010  8:51am

Consumer Advocate, I think, sums it up well.  What is irksome about this story is the convoluted logic that allows a colossal mistake in judgement to become a campaign asset.

Ms. Hauser dug herself into a hole and is in the process of getting out of it.  That could be either character-building or it could be an indication of future such mistakes.

Bill Clinton, for instance, gave everyone the impression on 60 Minutes (prior to his election) that his marital infidelity was character-building.  We found out otherwise.  But even he didn’t claim it qualified him for public office—- i.e. that his philandering would give him more “sensitivity” toward philanderers.

Ms. Hauser is not a “victim” of foreclosure in the sense that someone who loses his or her job is.  Therefore, she can’t claim “sensitivity” due to “victimhood.”  She took what is to most of us a HUGE chunk of money and blew it on a bad investment, evidently not sufficiently taking prudence and contingencies into account.

Also, if 90% of small businesses fail, as Doyens has asserted, then maybe it’s time for banks to do a better job assessing the viability of a business’s prospects because, as “Consumer Advocate” has stated, the costs are passed on to others.  If 90% of mortgages were foreclosed on, we’d all be screaming.  If 90% of all oil wells leaked, we’d be yelling.  If 90% of hospital patients died, we’d have a fit.  If 90% of all New Haven high school students failed to meet reading standards, we’d .... oh well, unfortunate analogy.

posted by: sjbj on July 2, 2010  10:38am

You know, I am SO sick of hearing about how the Mayor is on Lemar’s side, that Hauser is the independent candidate, blah blah. When DeStefano was running for governor, I went to a fundraiser HOSTED BY HAUSER and her husband. She is a long-time fundraiser for DeStefano (among other Dem candidates). To say otherwise is just plain false.

posted by: Hmmmm. on July 2, 2010  10:48am

I must admit, I was impressed with Goldson’s ability to find anything positive to say about a smoking crater where a half million dollar investment once stood.

What surprises me is why this would have been foreclosed—the house (even in this climate) is worth a lot more than $500k, and most working cardiologists would have have no trouble making the payments on any reasonable mortgage of this size, unless the family has other substantial liabilities that are not (yet) publicly visible.

posted by: robn on July 2, 2010  10:59am

I don’t believe that the sexual behavior of a candidate is germane to an election but I do believe that the financial behavior of a candidate is germane. This article is valid news.

posted by: Doyens on July 2, 2010  11:18am

Responses:

Paul Martin - Hauser’s business problems and the resulting foreclosure on her home is not unusual. As a taxpayer, I am more concerned with how she dealt with the crisis. She appears to have worked it out with the bank. That speaks volumes at a time when many others simply fold and walk away. If she was a serial forecloser, that would say something else but she’s not. As for the hit job - she has been in foreclosure proceedings since November 2009. It’s a real “coincidence” that it just surfaces on the eve of the primary, 8 months after it was begun and months after she announced, and ironically, right when there is a settlement. If you think this is just a coincidence, I hope you still believe in the tooth fairy.

Morris Cove Mom - Hauser should have had a business plan? Do you know that she didn’t? In all the businesses you have started or that your friends have started, how many of those business plans went exactly according to plan? Thank you. As for the clothes she wears and where she sends her kids to school - you have no idea how much either of them cost. You can find great buys at Target and TJ Maxx and you can mix and match so that things appear more expensive and elegant than they actually cost. There are some great buys at Macy’s and Lord/Taylor too. Unless you’re inspecting her labels, I don’t think you know anything about her clothes. As for private schools, if I could afford it that’s precisely where my children would be. That’s a problem? Hauser’s over-sized tax bill on her home supports the public schools regardless of whether she sends her children to them or not.  Since the Eastern Shore is home to a failing school, I would think you would want to do the best for your children too.

One additional note: Nobody is asking you to cry for Hauser nor has Hauser sought sympathy. She made a decision to leverage her home in support of her husband’s business. That’s not unusual. Others tap their 401Ks. For quite a few years, it worked. Most small businesses don’t last 5 years. It turned sour. She stood behind the underlying obligation. That’s worth noting.

Streever - I don’ really get your point. But I’ll be clear. I don’t hate the mayor and this race is not about the mayor. I do think he’s old, tired and his ideas and vision for the city are worn out re-treads. If he were a vehicle at a highway inspection station, the DOT would tow him away. My only point is about the coincidence of this story hitting on the eve of the primary. In my 30 years of studying politics, one thing is true. There are no coincidences and if one believes this is, then one also believes the mayor’s mythical musings about his governmance of the city.

Consumer Advocate - Who cares? She had 8 loans and paid off 4. The others she’s paying on - right? The rich doing what the rich do best? She borrowed money and it had no effect on me. I care? Why? Did it tank the economy? If you care so much about debt, then I sure as hell hope you are voting against the mayor and against any incumbent state legislator you can. We have the highest per capita debt of any state in the nation. The city is carrying more than $2 billion in debt and obligations and has done all kinds of weird off the books financing to prop up its spending. It’s debt our children’s children will be paying off and will not be closed out by the ones who signed up for it.

posted by: Consumer Advocate on July 2, 2010  11:44am

Doyens,

Don’t throw away your deserved reputation for providing important critiques of the mayor and analysis of the budget on this.

My political expertise is largely gleaned from watching The West Wing (and Season 3 of The Wire) but if you want headlines to get read, you don’t dump a story the Friday before July 4th.  Say what you want about the Mayor’s people—they’re smarter than that.  If this were a hit job, it would’ve hit on a Monday morning, probably shortly before the election (a month away is hardly “the eve” of the primary).  Given the timing and how glowing the article here (and in the Register is), this was probably an inside leak.  You lose credibility on real stuff when you become a conspiracy theorist.

And telling Morris Cove Mom that her kids are probably attending a failing school is BEYOND LOW—particularly since the neighborhood school there has well-deserved good reputation.

Actually, in my eyes, you have lost that credibility.

And my previous point had to do with her trying to spin this as good news, I’m not trying to judge the fact that she’s in foreclosure.  But her trying to sell this as experience?  Like it gives her some insight into the foreclosure crisis?  That’s where you lose me and where it becomes clear how little insight she actually has into the lives of middle class people.  Her experience is nothing like theirs.

posted by: Consumer Advocate on July 2, 2010  11:51am

And as an aside, while I won’t hold it against you, Doyens, you know jack about women’s clothing.

posted by: Westville Mom on July 2, 2010  11:55am

robn—- As history has shown us, the sexual behavior (i.e. MISbehavior) of a candidate (er, President) can result in scandals which then have negative effects on the country. 

Case in point:  JFK.  If you’ve been following the news in recent months, you know that there have been wide-ranging allegations of Mafia connections related to his sexual dalliances.  There’s so much more to this and its ripple-effects, I can’t even synopsize it here. 

Re: Clinton.  It is a valid point of contention (whether you agree or not) that the huge scandal/impeachment proceedings resulting from his taking advantage of a young intern could just MAYBE have taken valuable White House time/attention away from focusing better on other problems, such as the threat of radical Islamic terror groups.

Also, in relation to sexual MISbehavior—as the bombshell reports of Russian spies have so prominently highlighted, people in high places can be targeted for blackmail by threatening to expose secrets.  Or by “creating” secrets by entrapment.  This is a very old tactic that some seem to have conveniently forgotten.  The recent news has proven that there really ARE people among us attempting to do just that.

My point was simply that a candidate’s conspicuous weakness or bad judgement in ANY important realm should give one pause to reconsider electing that person.

posted by: robn on July 2, 2010  12:16pm

WESTVILLEMOM,

Republicans wasted time, energy, and $30M investigating adult consensual sexual acts which had nothing to do with governance. Given the rampant sexual dalliances within the ranks of the GOP, this highlights their their hypocrisy more than their moral high standing.

posted by: Moira on July 2, 2010  12:33pm

Lots of good points here, and I do have a hard time feeling bad for someone so well off. At the same time, I’m well-off compared to others who are struggling, and yet that doesn’t preclude me from financial struggles of my own.

Doyens, that was a low-blow to Nathan Hale School, which is an amazing school that is not failing. Just because the East Shore is not Westville or East Rock doesn’t mean our school sucks because it’s not Edgewood or Hooker.

And while Westville Mom is wise to pause when considering “a candidate’s conspicuous weakness or bad judgement in ANY important realm”, I wonder if we’re holding elected officials to standards even we can’t uphold. Who among us hasn’t, on SOME level, exercised bad judgement in an “important realm”?

Still, it appears that Hauser’s financial troubles are the fall-out of a simple case of greed on the part of Hauser and her husband. And since greed often leads to corruption, it’s not hard to see why it makes voters second-guess placing their trust in her.

posted by: Westville Mom on July 2, 2010  12:53pm

robn:  “nothing to do with governance” ???  That’s precisely what I addressed in my last post.

As for the GOP, I’m not a party hack and don’t wish to argue which party is worse. Sexual behavior and MISbehavior are two different things and MISbehavior is bad, whoever does it. [Do YOU have a 20 yr. old intern daughter involved with an old married geezer BOSS?  It didn’t work out too well for Chandra Levy, either.] I will say this, though. MOST Republicans (with the obvious exception of Sanford) resign their posts or even their seats when exposed.

This has gotten way off topic, but I still stand by my main point about judgement.

Doyens makes an excellent point about debt.  The question is, what kind of politician is most likely to REDUCE debt?  One with a record of doing so or one with a record of incurring it?  (I’d be interested to know if Hauser’s a TEA drinker.)

posted by: robn on July 2, 2010  12:59pm

At first I was sympathetic to Ms Hauser since it was her husbands business, not hers, that failed. However, the issue of 8 mortgages in as many years raises a lot of questions. The sour state of our economy today has a lot to do with irresponsible lending and borrowing.

posted by: Westville Mom on July 2, 2010  2:16pm

robn: Well said! Agreed.

posted by: Alan Felder on July 3, 2010  10:44am

Mrs. Hauser, Sister Debra Ephesian 6:13-14 Today’s New International Version says 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, ( and it is here) you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.

We live in a misogynistic society, men in three piece suits trading derivatives a complex system of corruption has our economy in foreclose. The political machine is rotten to the core, like malignant cancer their Niccolo DI Bernardo Machiavelli mentality causing destruction in every corner of society.
The old tactic of character assassination tyring to murder a person of virtue, when they themselves are morally corrupt and spiritually bankrupt.

posted by: Morris Cove Mom on July 3, 2010  11:52am

Doyens ... you sure do seem defensive about everything I said.  And your comments on Hauser’s clothing, the detail of wear she MIGHT shop, is just a guess.

What I see, little old lower middle-class me, is someone focusing on the look and the name, and not the reality of responsibility.

She looks great, her kids’ schools look fancy, but underneath it all is a woman who has not made or even attempted to make a mortgage payment in a very long time.

That’s when a mother starts to do without.  She pulls out of a campaign, she changes her kids’ schools, she sells her cars, her stocks, her bonds, and she regroups…to take responsibility of the debt she has.

I shop at the discount market and buy used clothes, and send my kids to Nathan Hale School in Morris Cove.  I don’t have car payments, I don’t eat out, and I don’t look fancy and pulled-together.

But I also pay my mortgage and taxes on time, in full, as is required by law.

I could play the game, dress nicer, drive better cars, have girls in private school, but I don’t.

I could say pity me, I’ve paid Yale Hospital over $12,000 in the past 22 months for the bills associated with my kid’s heart surgery.  But I don’t.

I proudly say, I live on the cheap.  I mow my own lawn, I cook my own food, I walk the kids to school, I don’t employ a babysitter or nanny, and I take full ownership of my responsibilities, for money, family, and all.

And that’s what we’d ask of a candidate.  Any candidate.

posted by: An EastRocker on July 3, 2010  3:29pm

Is there something I’m not getting here?  A person’s house goes into foreclosure, yet that same week I recieve two very expensive looking advertisemenents in the mail from this same person.  Shouldn’t that money be going to pay off the mortgage?  Or are the rules different for cardiologists and psychologists with 600 K houses on Livingstone Street?

posted by: Not Westville Mom on July 3, 2010  5:00pm

@Westville Mom

Are you kidding?  Republicans resign when caught in compromising positions?  Really?

There would be a long list of Republican politicians who have not resigned after major ethical breaches inconsistent with their holier than thou preaching.  But it would probably start with David Vitter. 

What the heck, I encourage others to join in.  Name your favorite Republican who speaks pro-family mumbo jumbo out of one side of their mouth while engaging in debauchery.  (No New Haven names please, just Republicans of the national variety—we like our New Haven Republicans just fine.)

posted by: Doyens on July 3, 2010  11:51pm

I believe I got my information on Nathan Hale from Mayor DeStefano during his budget sell-a-thon. I should have attributed it earlier, but figured surely the mayor got that point correct and that it was common knowledge. hmmm…my bad.

posted by: Westville Mom on July 4, 2010  12:25am

Resignations: Larry Craig, Tom DeLay, Trent Lott, Mark Foley, Rick Renzi, “Duke” Cunningham, off the top of my head. (There are many more.)

Why, exactly, have the Charlie Rangel allegations been buried? How many tax violations and rent-controlled apartments can one politician have before his own party gives a hoot?  Democrats protect their own, except in the most egregious, indefensible cases, such as Client No. 9.  Maybe if HE had just put $90,000 in his freezer, he could have gotten off, too.

Elected officials DO need to be held to a higher ideal than others because they make the laws and uphold the standards that govern all of our lives.  And there is plenty of hypocritical “preaching” from the Left, too—but let’s not bring “two-faced Americas” John Edwards and “warm” Al Gore into this.

BTW, I’m SICK of politicians and would vote for “Morris Cove Mom” any day! 

[Note to NHI:  Don’t you think the childish usurpation of someone’s screen name should be disallowed?—it’s not as if we have a shortage of words.]

posted by: Doyens on July 4, 2010  12:31am

Here is the bubble chart on Nathan Hale School and probably why the mayor said, if I’m recalling correctly, tht it had work to do.

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/16/news/new_haven/a1-school_reform_0316.txt

Morris Cove Mom: If you want every candidate to be just like you, you will vote for none of them. In the end, you will have to choose between a candidate that while imperfect and different from you, will still be able to represent your best interests. We all make choices - business, finances, retirement, jobs, children, clothes and cars. I’m not looking for somebody who looks and acts like me. I’m looking for an open ear, a responsive and respectful attitude and somebody who owns up to the responsibilities they take on and decisions they make without stealing the glory of successess or passing the buck for a bad decision or bad outcome.

posted by: Morris Cove Mom on July 4, 2010  1:22pm

Doyens, you’ve lost me again.

The link you’ve provided shows Nathan Hale is near the top of the High Growth High Achieving schools, right up there with Hooker.  ...

As for the nonsense about wanting a candidate with an open ear and respectful attitude, Hauser isn’t it.  Because with every mortgage payment she misses, she and people like her, skew the bank interest rates to become higher for everyone else, like me.

So Hauser may be a really NICE person, but I wouldn’t trust her with anything.  From my vote to my neighborhood to my money, nothing.  From what I can see in this article and all the other ones I’ve read about her, all I can tell is that she really wants to win, but doesn’t have the character that deserves to win.  Show me someone who has not been foreclosed due to overextension of credit and greed, and I will consider them immediately.

posted by: Out and About on July 4, 2010  11:35pm

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing her at two neighborhood events over the last weeks and I am glad to see that while Ms. Hauser is not making her mortgage payments, she (and her campaign donors) are managing to pay a pair of professional photographers to document her every move while she runs for office.

posted by: Moira on July 5, 2010  9:27am

Doyens, according to your chart-reading skills, Edgewood has work to do, too, since it is only second in the district. Since when are second- and third-ranked schools classified as “failing”? What’s more, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having something toward which a school can aspire. Additionally, Hooker, ranked first, is likely to get less resources thrown its way to maintain its rank than Nathan Hale will get to nudge it up the few points it needs to be considered acceptable by, say, you. There are many schools on this (silly) chart that actually ARE failing, and miserably at that. ...

posted by: Westville Mom on July 5, 2010  12:22pm

Just FYI ....

From an article on Defense Dept. firings:

“If you can’t pay your bills, you can’t keep your job.” .........

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=35&sid=1995749

As an aside, wasn’t there an Alderman who wasn’t paying his child support?  Whatever happened to that?

posted by: smoke screens on July 5, 2010  12:35pm

Hey, Westville -... Larry Craig did not resign - he completed his term.  Tom DeLay did not resign from Congress, but completed his term.  Trent Lott did not resign from the Senate at the time of the scandal, but 5 years later, to start his lobbying business before a new law would have placed limitations on his practice.  (His resignation was the real scandal.)  I guess you are counted resignations from party positions, which is really being forced out by your fellow sharks, not resigning from office.  Not included on your list are the many war criminals who led the charge in Iraq.  Well, not really, since none of them ever served in the military….

posted by: Bored on July 5, 2010  1:09pm

Hauser had a business…it failed…she figured out a way not to let it destroy her life. This is a totally neutral issue, and does not speak at all about her ability to lead. She is an idealist and the nature of her business was philanthropic (in the most literal sense, loving people).  The market was weak when she started the business, and it failed. She made a noble effort, if ill-advised and it failed. Kudos for the effort, sorry people weren’t ready for it.  Regardless, she did not act out of self-interest and when she took a major financial hit, she worked out a way not to let it destroy her life or even affect her children/family.
This article is a joke, and the arguments about whether this will affect her ability to lead are absurd.  Her financial situation is irrelevant to her politics, and now I’m bored of this.

posted by: Westville Mom on July 5, 2010  2:29pm

SS—I was also counting resignations from leadership posts.  Quoting myself, “MOST Republicans (with the obvious exception of Sanford) resign THEIR POSTS or even their seats when exposed.”  For example, Charlie Rangel resigning as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee .... oops, wrong again!

So you had to bring the war into this.  The trolls must be terribly desperate these days with Dems escalating the war (in terms of casualties) and bringing in Gen. “Betray Us” himself!

All the more reason (wouldn’t you agree?) to have absolute transparency and accountability for candidates ... so you don’t get Buyer’s Remorse or nasty surprises later.

posted by: smoke screens on July 5, 2010  6:50pm

Westville - I agree on total transparency and that most pols hide what they can.  ... However, “resigning a party post” is not a resignation - it’s being given the chance by your “colleagues” to quit before you get fired.  BTW - I also agree with those who think that personal business or financial failure is fair game in choosing who to vote for.  Some people learn from it, some don’t, but it raises the question of competence.

posted by: KABOOM on July 5, 2010  10:30pm

A house that big with two working professionals must have a cleaner and a landscaper. Do they have city ID cards.

posted by: Not Westville Mom on July 6, 2010  10:36am

@Westville Mom—
... Some of those Republicans did not resign, they chose not to run again.  Some of them did not resign, THEY WERE INDICTED AND WENT TO PRISON.  And some of them did not resign at all, they were kicked out of chairmanships by their colleagues.  Only in FoxNews/Glen Beck world are these resignations.

It’s pretty simple, resigning is when you quit the job you hold.  Like when Spitzer resigned for hiring prostitutes.  Now that would be a good example for you, except Spitzer is a DEMOCRAT.
...