Paul Decelles looks in the mirror and sees a true hero

A single solitary man, standing Galt-like against the unruly hordes of spendthrift liberalism. A giant among men. A David facing Goliath with only a sling and a little rock.

I’m talking about Paul Decelles, Republican member of Burlington City Council, and a ballot question facing Burlington voters on Election Day. The initiative, which would refinance a debt burden left over from the Burlington Telecom mess, was placed on the ballot by Council on a 13-1 vote. Guess who?

Councilor Paul Decelles, R-Ward 7 – who cast the sole vote against placing the bond on the ballot – said Friday he has been waging “essentially a one-man war” against the measure.

This brave, brave man. At least that’s what he told Freeploid reporter Joel Banner Baird last week. Problem: at the time he peddled that bit of heroic self-pity, he knew he had a big, rich, powerful friend in his corner.

First they supported statewide candidates. Then they tackled legislative races. Now Vermonters First, the big-spending, conservative super PAC, is going local.

That’s right, folks. Lenore Broughton’s Super PAC has enlisted in Decelles’ “one-man war.” VF put out a highly deceptive mailer that hit city residents’ mailboxes on Saturday. And, as Paul Heintz reports…

Republican Paul Decelles, tells Seven Days he worked with Vermonters First treasurer and consultant Tayt Brooks on the super PAC’s new mailer.

“We definitely talked about it,” Decelles says. “They ran some things by us and we ran some things by them.”

From the timing, it’s obvious that he knew all of that when he bragged to Baird about waging “essentially a one-man war.”

To be fair, he did insert the weasel word “essentially.” But in fact, his little “one-man war” is backstopped by the political equivalent of an aircraft carrier.

Some hero.  

2 thoughts on “Paul Decelles looks in the mirror and sees a true hero

  1. Seen sponsored posts / emails from ‘Concerned Citizens for Burlington’ on the Front Porch Forums and I have enquired about where / who the posting has come from. Haven’t seen a response, and I didn’t get anywhere with Google. Also someone is paying for the onslaught of outdoor signage.  I figured that somehow, somewhere this might be a root of it.

    Sad. For sure. Maybe Paul hopes to tap the money tree and run for Mayor next go? Or a house or state senate seat?

    We here in BTV need to stabilize the financial ship were in. Refinancing debt is something millions of home owners and businesses do everyday. Yes, there is some small, short term pain, but FFS, lets realize what an asset we have in BT, lets make headway on the waterfront and the bike path (1,2,3 are all sort of related to ‘new spending’ in some people’s eyes), and lets start to put a real fix in place with our current debt issues. Some small costs here will pay big dividends down the road. We need to suck up and get on with it. BTV, yeah, it’s more expensive to live here than elsewhere in the country, but there is a reason our real estate market didn’t drop like elsewhere, and there are reasons why we are consistently ranked as a great small city to live in… we pay for it, and in most instances I’m proud of that, and happy to do so.  

  2. By someone heavily involved in the NPA on my end of town.

    Big on Broughton

    [Re “Who is Lenore Broughton?” October 17]: I do not think it is healthy for democracy in Vermont that one party dominates. It puts one party in a position to pass legislation without collaboration, and it diminishes the benefit for all of the indispensable opposition. It’s too bad that Broughton has to do it alone when there are plenty of Republicans in this state who could do their share. They have given up on the political debate in Vermont. Broughton hasn’t. I applaud her determination and her personal commitment. Some people spend their money on bling and designer clothes. She splurges on democracy, and I admire her for it.  

    Authors name withheld, but here is the link:

    http://www.7dvt.com/2012letter

    Sad sad sad.

    Democracy, its like dropping mad cash on blow, or heading to Manchester and shoppong for shoes!

    Yeah, that’s it.  

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