The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-09-28

M es offsee inc people who have had charge of our affairs Tor the m st four years and replace them with others who claim they are better qualified to manage them.
 IT want to tell you what conclu- .,ora have reached on this qucs- lion ana how arrived at them.
 "Tighting Alderman"
 aY havo noticed that MT Cooney, the republican candidate Tor mayor, in many, if not in all, Of ms spoeches during tho campaign, nus openiy challenged the public 10 look up his record as Q 'hghtlng niderman. He has praised himself. loudly and often, as 6 two-hsted fifhtcr, who has ever been the champion of tho oppressed tax payer, Ho tells us that, as Q mem ber of tho board of aldermen, ms record was ono of constant battle for tho right, which resulted m great efficiency and economy: which he promises to continue II elected mayor.
 delv!ng through the Journals of the Board of Aldermen Tor lVsV and 1921, those being two years or MT coonoys career as an elaer' man. They are particularly inter- eating. because at that timo MT Cooney was n representative of the controlling party, thesc years DC: ing tho dnto of tho last Sandland administration.
 Look at Record
 "well, my friends. as our re. vered Al smith would say, Let's at tAA RAAARAs
 "Tho tax rato for 1921 was set. in December, 1920, at 2s mills. MT cooney voted for this budget (leso ' Srhe tax rate for 1928, also voted for by Mir Cooney in Deeem- bor, 1921. jumped to 90 mills io2l Journal, ?. 786).
 "Of course. this might seem as though tho taxpayers were being too well used, 90 Mir Cooney, on october 6, 1920, voted in favor of a. special three-quarter mill tax to raise S47,s00 for tho street depart- mont and s44,oo0 for the police department to mako up deficiencies caused by over-expenditures in these departments (ieso Journal
 Again, on December 90. 1921. our champion voted for another specIal tax of ono mill to pay va- rlous claims against the city, (1o21
 "so we ma that Mir Cooney's battles for tho taxpayers resulted in . not increase. in only two years, of threo and three.duarter mills in the tax rate.
 "But in caso tho average tax uaxAu tllsa xUa a at aa n aA aH that this was enough to do for him, lot us look at what happened to our bonded indebtedness dur ing the same two years.
 stand On Bonds
 T won't tako tho time to list tho various bond issues in detail. but will give you the references so that anyone interested may check 1t up for himself.
 "fn 1920, new bonds were issued 10 the amount of $125,000 and in 1921 tho bond issues were sweiled by the additional amount of $f,- 975.000. Mir Cooney is recorded as voting in favor of each of these bond Issues. (io20 Journal. ?. 323. 1921 Journal, pp. 37, 229, 234, 239, 5os. 603, eos and 613.)
 What a break tho taxpayers got from their champion?
 But. look at this. As q fur thor example of economy and effi- ciency. I find. on pages 2se and POT of the 1921 JouYnal, that MT Cooney voted with the majority and over the protests of the demo- cratic aldermen. to accept bid of bonds,-just a mere $21,375 below mar AnAthAp uiNtApxy fAp tha fav- payer!
 Our White Elephant
 Here's another one. Do you re- call the great White Elephant on Watertown avenue, commonly known as the Municipal hospital? We taxpayers have not forgotten it. for we have been paying for 1t for thirteen years and probably will be for generations to come.
 ''How did MT Cooney help the taxpayers on this question? By voting, on September 20, 1920, to award a contract for the erection of this edifice at a cost of $144,662. (1920 Journal. p. 31s.) By voting the award of an additional con- tract, on December 5, 1921, amounting to $1s0.795. (1921 Jour- nal. p. 666.) And by voting an additional 5000 on the same date for architects fees (1921 Journal, p. 691).
 MT Cooney gave us plenty of relief on this. In fact, he relieved us of sSs0.457. to pay for this par tdcular bit of waste and extrava- gance.
 T can find no record in either Journal of MT Cooney having rais- cd his voice in objection on any question coming up during these two years. He seems to have been a very good boy. to have done ex- actly as he was told. and to have voted with the majority on practi- cally every question.
 Rather Inactive
 'He was appointed as the alder manic member of the board of health and served on a committee to bring in a report on the "jitney" question. Outside of these, his standing with his own party seems to have been such that he was en- fErcIy ignored by the chairman. member of his party. in the ap- polntmont of any of the many com snittecs which served during this period.