Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings~
 
With the scary fright night of Halloween barely out of our short-term memory, Thanksgiving is only a blip on the holiday radar as we scream our way toward Christmas. However, there is another special day quickly approaching ~ Election Day. 
 
In the midst of this fierce election season, it’s hard to find the perfect gift to give; that perfect gift being our one vote, of course. While shopping, we try to find the best deal, the best quality, the best everything. We want to give our loved ones excellence in all that we do, and say. In word, and in deed. 
 
Go back with me a few months, will you? There was a former board member of SCAP who, as far as I know, went to the city council in late March, or early April, about the alleged inappropriate behavior of SCAP. 
 
While all the political tots gather ‘round the soon to be lit Election Victory tree, SCAP is still under investigation by various acronyms such as the FBI, HUD, and the OIG. The audits that the public is waiting for, I’ve been told, will not be back until after the election. This is convenient for those who feel they need to sweep this scandal under the spinning political carpet, but unfortunate for the informed voter who wishes to put the right man, or woman, in office.
 
I’ve been told numerous times, and again last night by The Mayor, that the council has no control over the timeline of the audit’s results. I can see that. However, it’s still unfortunate for the eager eyes of those who wish to unwrap this mess, to see what really awaits them in their tidy blue-ribboned package. A gift, or a lump of coal?
 
Darryl Fair, the President of SCAP when the story broke on May 28th in the Modesto Bee, gave the invocation at the city council’s meeting last night. 
 
Mr. Fair, was an active member on the board of SCAP long before I was invited to join their non-profit last November. He was also the elected President of SCAP from December 2010, until his resignation later this year. An election, by the way, I did not participate in. 
 
I’m appalled that his “blessings” in Chambers would be allowed at this pivotal point in time. Even if Mr. Fair was on the invocational schedule months ago, the appearance of him now, is, at the very least, unnerving to those of us who are watching, and looking to the council for strong, and unbiased leadership. 
 
Why ask the man who championed SCAP’s traditions to do this thing, while the homeless he swore to serve go hungry, with no blessings? 
 
Mr. Fair was in the thick of things with SCAP ~ in as far as a person could possibly be. In so far, that he asked for the heads of those who would not bow down to the SCAP alter, demanding the resignation from people who had honest concerns about the questionable financial status of SCAP, or demanding a vote from the remaining board members, to do his dirty work for him. 
 
I know I can’t fight city hall. I don’t want to. It’s my Christmas wish to fight for city hall. I hope to place Modesto’s bright star atop the county’s yule time tree, and hold my city up as light to the world. But, that’s very hard to do when our wise men invite the appearance of favoritism into their manger. 
 
The rattlely-bang you hear is not the hooves of Santa’s reindeer, but rather the sound of a federal sleigh. (slay?)
 
While we make our way through the fog this winter, will we have a Dasher and a Dancer with fiscal and ethical oversight, or will we be led by an unlikely leader to show us the way? 
 
Athens Abell
11-01-11