Well, whoopee do. Sterling Goodspeed has announced that he's going to seek the Republican nomination for the position of Johnsburg town supervisor.

Warren County needs fewer of individuals like Sterling Goodspeed on the Warren County Board of Supervisors, not more. He personifies what's wrong with Warren County. We need fresh ideas, not stale old repeats of the same stodgy ideas, lame excuses and phony promises that have been promulgated for years in this Republican controlled county, including the more than 20 years that Goodspeed's father was in county politics.

Goodspeed can't seem to keep a job. He's been all over. He tried being the Warren County district attorney, that was a pretty lackluster performance. Then he did a flip flop and tried to be the county's public defender. That didn't last long either ---a year and a half to be exact.

He's gone from being the district attorney in Warren County to being an assistant district attorney in Hamilton County. What a laugh. Why does that county even need an assistant to DA James Curry. There were only 86 adult arrests in the whole county for 2006, 18 felonies and 68 misdemeanors which included DWI arrests.

If you were an employer, you wouldn't hire a person like Goodspeed who can't seem to keep a job. For sure, he doesn't belong as a county legislator.

Along the way he and his wife tried to be the publishers of the weekly newspaper, The North Creek News Enterprise, but he didn't do a real hot job at that either. That only last a couple of years, long enough for him to control some upcounty press coverage and rake in revenue from the county's legal advertising which certainly raised a question of ethics.

He and his former assistant in the county prosecutor's office, Marcy Flores, had gone to the public defender's office together after DA Kate Hogan wisely disposed of Flores and then they opened their own law practice. Thing is, Goodspeed had somewhat of a conflict trying to represent criminal defendants as a private lawyer while he was also public defender.

Then he decided he wanted to be on the Johnsburg Town Board so he ran for councilman and of course, riding on the coattails and name of his father who was one of the good ole boys in Warren County as long-time Johnsburg supervisor and former chairman of the county board of supervisors, he was a shoo-in. Goodspeed Sr., like his compadre in the county cabal, county treasurer John Wertime, obviously didn't believe in term limits and stayed in office long after he should have but the voters were too polite to oppose him.

There's a controversy swirling in Johnsburg which has developed since Goodspeed's term on the town board, involving the alleged misuse of town equipment and theft of firewood by highway department employees. What's Goodspeed's position?

Well, even though there are witnesses, photos, tape-recorded admissions and other evidence, presented to the board and Goodspeed last November, Goodspeed stated that "it's probably nothing" before even an investigation had been conducted.

That posture would be bad enough as a councilman elected to serve the people and protect their tax dollars, but such a wholly irresponsible statement and preliminary attempt at a cover-up of governmental wrongdoing came from a person who played at being prosecutor and then a defender.

Roger Mosher, a Johnsburg resident who has been pursuing these allegations of wrongdoing, says a town truck loaded with firewood was seen entering the private property of a highway employee and when the town truck left, it was empty. That highway employee reportedly told a witness that they deserved to take the firewood for themselves because their sweat----and time paid by the taxpayers----went into cutting the wood as part of their public duties. Not only did they get paid, have their benefits paid but they wanted other fringe benefits too not in the negotiated contract. That stolen firewood has a value too and in essence, constitutes a larceny from the taxpayers.

And Goodspeed says it's "probably nothing"?

If Goodspeed refuses to look out for the interests and tax dollars of Johnsburg residents, alleged criminal wrongdoing besides while he sits on the town board, is this kind of person that should be on the county board?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Goodspeed ultimately has his eye on becoming chairman of the board, trying to follow in his father's footsteps.

Johnsburg residents are ill served to have Goodspeed represent them on their town board. For sure county residents will not be served well to have this individual represent them at the county level.

But hey, we might now have to worry about it. Given Goodspeed's record, he never sticks with any job very long. He may decide during the campaign to go off in another direction. Wonder if he's thought about trying a McJob?

Goodspeed, in trying to outline what he claims his platform will be, mentioned a proposed wind farm that would supply energy for town buildings.

He says he's "pro wind". We say he's a big bag of hot air and that both Johnsburg and county residents would be well served if he'd get out of politics and go back to his law practice---if he has one, and get his hands out of the taxpayers' pocket. The taxpayers don't owe him and his family a living just because of who his father was.

Keep your fingers crossed that a more qualified candidate steps forward for Johnsburg supervisor. After all, there should always be a choice. June Maxam 3-22-07

© 2007 North Country Gazette