By Patrick Brodrick

            To anyone that reads The Independent, it’s no secret that I supported Mary Rose Dickhaut and Kevin Haley in last year’s election, and many of those same readers have called me a “water carrier” for both politicians. The irony always brings a smile to my face, because the same people that have been lauding my recent work on The Independent are the same people that called me a “water carrier” for Bill Connolly Jr., Selectman Joseph Notaro Jr. and their fellow Rifle Range Supporters during my stint at the Times & Courier.

            But when you peddle the truth – a strange, fluid and fluctuating entity – that’s the burden you have to bear; someone is always going to be pissed at you and you damn well better get used to it.

            So when people contacted me to voice their discontent over recent postings claiming I have an “agenda” because I hardly mention Selectwoman Mary Rose Dickhaut and Selectman Kevin Haley on The Independent, I just have to shrug my shoulders. It’s not that I’m some lap dog for the two, despite what some may think, it’s just that the disagreements I have with Dickhaut and Haley, and their actions, are minor compared to the colossal clusterfucks that Selectmen Robert Pasquale Jr., Joseph Notaro Jr. and Anthony Fiorentino continue to steer the town into time-and-time again. Decisions that I believe have had far-reaching impacts on the town, and not in a good way – how many lawsuits is Clinton involved in now because of their litigation-first approach to issues in the last several months? Three? Four? To be honest I stopped keeping track.

            However, in the last few weeks both Dickhaut and Haley have allowed their personal feelings to get in the way of doing what is in the best interest of the town, and for the first time since last year’s election I can honestly say that I’ve been disappointed at their stomp-their-feet, take-my-ball-and-go-home attitudes during a recent selectmen’s meeting.

            (Note: Being disappointed in my candidates is a far cry from regretting my decision to vote for them, and I stand by my choice and respect both candidates a great deal. The only other option would have been to elect Haaavaaad Professor Gregg Stahl — a pompous and bloated bag of flesh stuffed with pig shit and monkey brains — which wasn’t a choice at all. The thought of having Stahl serving on a board with Notaro, Pasquale and Fiorentino causes me to throw-up a little bit in my mouth, and makes me piss my pants and forget who I am for a half-hour.)

Great Expectations

            About a week ago I got a call from Haley, asking me about my recent postings regarding a smear site that was created to defame his reputation. He casually asked me what type of response I had gotten – surprisingly, more positive than negative – and then recounted a recent meeting when selectmen scheduled time to discuss a report from the state. The report listed a number of areas of town government that could stand to see some much-needed changes; however, when it came time to discuss possible solutions to the complex problems both Haley and Dickhaut simply threw their hands up in the air.

            “You should have seen it, I just sat there, looking up at the ceiling and didn’t say a word,” Haley said. “Joe [Notaro] was like, ‘I don’t know why no one is saying anything.’ Mary Rose just looked at him and said, ‘You go ahead and do whatever you want Joe.’ You should have seen it, it was great.”

            I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I had a lot of adjectives running through my mind at the time and “great” wasn’t even on the list; childish and cowardly, but not great.

            I understand that both Haley’s and Dickhaut’s actions were fuelled by frustration over having their names dragged through the bilge water of the HMS Free Speech by a group of juveniles; but that frustration manifested itself into something that did more to harm to the town than the slight momentary satisfaction it could have possibly have wrought in either politician.

            Haley, however, defended his actions and said his silence during the discussion was because he felt it was inappropriate for the selectmen to be implementing changes to governmental procedures without the input of the variousboards that would be affected.

            “This report is an important issue and I don’t believe that venue was the proper forum to have that discussion,” Haley said. “These issues should be addressed in a working meeting and should involve all the department heads so they have a chance to give us their input. I don’t think we should be making decisions that affect departments without input from the heads of those departments — that’s crazy.”

            Believe me, I can only take wild shots in the dark at the anger, frustration and disappointment both politicos must feel at having to serve with the mouthpieces of the people that have tarnished their names. Hell, I don’t like the idea of living in the same town with some of these cretins, never mind what it’d be like to sit in a meeting with their chosen representatives, but that doesn’t justify either Haley’s or Dickhaut’s actions.

            This report is a chance to make some significant improvements to the town and how it functions on a daily basis. I’m sure both Dickhaut and Haley are hedging their bets that it will only be a few more weeks until at least one of the incumbent board members is voted out of office, but I’m not one to count chickens before they’re hatched. And, as terrifying as it is, there is a chance that both candidates could be reelected.

A Fight Worth Fighting

            When I cast my vote for both Haley and Dickhaut I did so because I wanted to see some semblance of a discussion on any given issue instead of a blanket consensus vote that was most likely determined long before the meeting was called to order. I was sick and tired of watching the controlling majority of the board vote in the best interests of their base instead of the best interest of the town.

            In short, I voted for the two people that I thought would get on the board and drag the devious actions of the majority, kicking and screaming, out into the light. I voted for the two candidates that were going to fight – and I mean a knock-down, drag-em-out, kick-the-hell-out-of-them brawl — for what they thought was right, not just throw their hands up in the air with a just-wait-until May mentality.

            Hell, if I wanted someone that was going to simply roll over and play dead every time Pasquale, Notaro and Fiorentino opened their mouth I would have voted for Gregg Stahl.    

“My one intention is the [political] destruction of the undesirables who continue to make miserable the life of ordinary people…I have paid them back in their own coin.”

– Michael Collins

By Patrick Brodrick

“Notaro said this week he has no connection with that site [www.kevin-haley.com] and he does not condone personal attacks on public officials. ‘It’s not appropriate to do that to anyone,’ Notaro said.”— Times & Courier, March 6 

“I think it’s pathetic that who I thought had one of the most professional non basis opions [sic] when it comes to reporting has turned into a one sided Davey vs Goliath brute with regards to his new career as a blogger…All I can say is Pat Broderick [sic] says a lot of fancy nothings in his opinions, and he is definitely way off track with his facts, and so what if one person was smarter than he was with regards to this blog crap!

— Selectman Robert Pasquale Jr. Times & Courier Blog 

     I’ve always considered myself a student of irony, so I can’t help but smile when two of the most deplorable politicians to ever be elected in Clinton preach about the importance of taking the high road, while at the same time painting themselves as helpless victims.

     Shortly, and I mean days, possibly even hours, after he was elected, Pasquale, a life-long Democrat suddenly switched his political affiliation to be closer to Notaro, a registered Republican. In turn, Notaro lobbied his allies on the Republican Town Committee to indoctrinate Pasquale as a full-fledged member. It was such a controversial move that the chairman of the committee threatened to resign in protest. (It was actually kind of sweet; can’t you just picture Notaro and Pasquale driving full-tilt over the edge of a cliff, hand-in-hand like some bastardized version of Thelma and Louise? The only problem is the rest of the town is trapped in the backseat during this hellbent joyride.)

     And just like that, one of the most devious political pacts since Lucifer and Judas was forged in a baptism of bullshit.

     But just how attached at the hip are Notaro and Pasquale? Well, when I worked at the Times & Courier I routinely spoke with both men on the phone, and I used to play a game, unbeknownst to them, where I would throw a verbal Molotov cocktail that I knew would piss them off. If I called Pasquale, within days, sometimes hours, without fail, I would get a phone call from Notaro repeating exactly what I had just said, verbatim, and grilling me on my intentions.

     Within days of the story on Kevin Haley announcing his intentions of running for a seat on the Board of Selectmen I got a call from both Pasquale and Notaro.

     “What? He doesn’t think we’re doing a good job?” a petulant Notaro said, upset that anyone would have the gall to seek a seat on his board. “He’s a big drinker you know.”

     Pasquale essentially said the same thing, “He’s a big drinker you know.”

     I couldn’t help but feel that each politician was trying to entice me into doing a smear piece on Haley.

(To his credit, once Haley trounced the candidate Notaro was backing during last year’s election, he called and said he was wrong about him; however, in my opinion Notaro’s mea culpa had all the high-gloss sincerity of a cereal box. So you’ll have to forgive my barking laughter when I read quotes from Notaro claiming he doesn’t condone “personal attacks” on elected officials.)

     So when I discovered, with the help of readers, and exposed a Web site created by the rotten base of these two pillars – and I use that term very lightly – of the community, I immediately thought back to those phone calls. The story was eventually picked up by the Times & Courier, which produced one of the most slanted screeds of journalism this side of Fox News and completely missed the point of the story, further cementing my opinion that the paper has simply become a puppet for Notaro and Pasquale’s propaganda. If the executives at Gatehouse Media are wondering why the Times & Courier is hemorrhaging subscriptions, I would offer that story as one of many smoking guns.

Six Degrees of Separation

     While I’m not making allegations that either politician is behind the smear site, their supporters clearly are, so it’s hard to imagine that Notaro had no knowledge of the Kevin Haley site.

     In his disjointed, and poorly spelled, ramblings on the Times & Courier blog, Pasquale said I am “way off track with my facts.” Well, here are the facts that I’ve been able to prove, which until now have been ignored by the “mainstream media” in Clinton.

     Notaro’s faux Local Independent site was designed by a company named Jesco Inc., and has an administrative contact listed on Devenwood Lane in Clinton. A quick search of the corporate records at the Secretary of State’s Office has no listing of a Jesco registered in Clinton. I’m sure it is purely coincidental that Notaro’s brother’s in-laws live on Devenwood Lane.

     Coincidentally, the person responsible for designing the Kevin Haley site was named Jess. And Jess is quite the entrepreneur, selling the Web site to the highest bidder. If you’re interested, simply contact her/him over at a certain free speech swamp that is riddled with close friends and supporters of Notaro and Pasquale.

     But the Kevin Haley site isn’t Jess’ first foray into the sleazy world of URL selling. Nope, she has a number of other gems for sale as well including thatfagfromclinton.com and queerpondpeople.com. And, apparently, there is such a cash windfall to be made selling domain names that Notaro decided to try his hand in the cyber-sleaze market by selling thelocalindependent.com.

     Since my last post, detractors have said that these twisted ramblings are the work of someone with an agenda, and they’re absolutely correct. My agenda is the political destruction of the undesirables that continue to make miserable the life of ordinary people. I say there is no room for these hypocrites and their smear tactics, bigotry and ignorance in Clinton politics, let alone Clinton, and come May voters will hopefully decide that it’s time to pay these swine back in their own coin.   

By Patrick Brodrick

            “Try to stay in touch, huh,” I said to an old friend that I hadn’t spoken to in almost a year as we were about to part ways after bumping into each other outside of a local watering hole. She was on her way in with a group of friends, dressed to the nines for a night on the town; I was on my way out, lost in a warm whiskey haze that had the dangerous potential of spinning completely out of control. “It’s been too long.”

            “It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long because I watch your show all the time,” she said. “You’re like the King of All Clinton Media. You’re a celebrity now.”

            “Yeah, I’ve got to go pick up my cocaine-addled supermodel girlfriend for a night of drunken debauchery the likes of which haven’t been seen since Caligula ruled before the paparazzi show up,” I scoffed before we both went our separate ways.

Celebrity…Jesus, I hate that word and every vapid thing it stands for in this media-driven sty, but I suppose, as reluctant as I am to admit it, in some twisted way she’s right. Between my prison-like time spent at the Times & Courier, at least under CNC’s soul-crushing reign, hosting “In The Loop” and hunting the monsters that roam the dark countryside of my mind and crucifying them for all to see on this blog, I’ve met more people in this town in the last five years than my previous 25. And, for good or ill, people feel comfortable enough to approach me to talk about local politics or the latest episode of the show.

And while I’ll never consider myself anything more than an eccentric recluse with a nasty deviant streak, I may have to start to learn to embrace my new found celebrity status, especially after a reader sent me the following link, www.thelocalindependent.com

Oh sweet imitation, the sincerest form of flattery. (Seriously, please take the time to click over to this link and read it – especially the part where they compare me to Hunter Thompson. That’s seriously the greatest thing anyone’s ever said about me, although I’m pretty sure that’s not the reaction the shaved monkeys were going for.)

Apparently the leeches have decided to rouse themselves from the rank and murky depths of their free-speech swamp to latch onto my status as a “celebrity.” Let this be a cautionary tale to the Heath Ledgers, River Phoenixes and James Deans of the world; there will always be vampires and human traffickers looking for any opportunity to try and live off your hide. Jesus, they couldn’t even come up with something original for a name. I mean c’mon, seriously? That’s the best you’ve got?

The founders of The Local Independent Redeux claim that they’ll report the news without the “hate and venom” and won’t use “words to assassinate the character” of certain local politicians. Of course, if I was a betting man – and I am so if you’re giving odds get in touch with me – I’d place a substantial wager that the treacherous swine that started this site are the same homophobic pigs that started a similar site, http://www.kevin-haley.com/, claiming Selectman Kevin Haley was a drunken, closeted homosexual. It sure is a good thing they’ll be getting rid of the hate and venom and won’t be using words to assassinate the character of our elected officials.

Of course I’ll never be able to prove this since, like all leeches, they don’t have the spine to put their names anywhere on the site. Say what you want about me and the things I vomit up onto this blog, at least I have the courage to put my name above each story I write. You see that’s what’s called integrity; something that’s sorely lacking from those jackals and the conniving politicians that put them up to their latest scheme.

Apparently they are still the bunch of prepubescent schoolboys in the gym locker room, cracking themselves up with whispered jokes about sodomy and getting erections while they read books about the Holocaust. They’ve just traded in the whispered conversations and locker room for secret Internet chatrooms, posting with bullshit bravado under screen names.

Normally I’d worry about the repercussions of writing something like this, but why bother. There’s not one of them that has the guts to approach me like a man to tell me they don’t like what I write or, perish the thought, try and have a rational discussion about the issues. Nope, they’d rather post about it in communication-blackout chatrooms behind secret identities. (Again, see my name at the top of the page)

That’s alright, it’s almost butchering season and the swine will have to watch as their political allies are slaughtered at the polls come May. And in true swine fashion – as anyone that’s ever butchered pigs knows – we’ll be able to watch as they run over to lap up the blood of their fallen brethren. (Hell, even if they get reelected I get another three years of writing about their bullshit cronyism so either way I win.)

But enough of this talk! It’s getting late and, like most celebrities, I’ve got to go blow lines of crushed Ambien off the backs of the strippers that have wound themselves up into a mass of writhing flesh on my living room floor, doing unspeakable things to each other with slabs of meat, as a Mexican transvestite midget looks on.

            Yeah, I think I can get used to this whole decadent-celebrity thing…

By Patrick Brodrick

            CLINTON – “Are you prepared for just how brutal this election is going to be?” I asked Jim Leblanc, who recently pulled papers to run for one of the two seats up for grabs during this year’s local elections.

            David Hennis, Leblanc’s partner of more than 20 years, sits on the floor petting the couple’s pet pug, Simon, shaking his head and mouthing the word, ‘No.’ Leblanc, who is sitting in an armchair in his spacious living room, pauses just long enough to take a sip of coffee from the mug on the table next to him before responding.

            “I try not to have preconceived notions, I try to look at things openly and I do my homework, and yes, I know it’s not going to be pretty - and unfortunately that’s the nature of politics,” Leblanc responds. “Let’s face it, part of the problem is that not everyone that runs and gets elected for the Board of Selectmen is objective, and I like to think that I am objective. But it is going to get ugly.”

            With two seats on the Board of Selectmen ripe for the taking and a controlling majority — and in turn the fate of a number of controversial issues with vehement supporters on both sides — at stake come May, this year’s campaign season is already shaping up to be one of the most vicious in the town’s sordid political history.

            Leblanc, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, who works at UMass Medical School in Worcester, joins current Selectman Joseph Notaro Jr. as the only two candidates to have formally pulled papers to run. Selectman Robert Pasquale Jr. has been quoted as saying he would be seeking another term on the board, and former Selectman Steven Mendoza has been campaigning for a chance to return to the board since he was narrowly defeated by Mary Rose Dickhaut last year, but has yet to pull papers.

                    A Different Voice           

            So why would Leblanc, a naturally private person, decide to jump headfirst into the waters of the shark tank that is Clinton politics? One of the major driving forces, according to Leblanc, was the fact that a number of decisions regarding issues that affected his precinct were being made by people that live in other sections of town.

             “First and foremost I think voters need to have a choice, and I want to be able to give voters a choice,” Leblanc said. “Another reason why I’m running is that this precinct, Precinct 4, needs to have a voice on the board and right now we don’t have one. I also think the Board of Selectmen need to display some fiscal responsibility, especially in times of belt-tightening. The feds are saying we are heading towards a recession, but we are already actually in it. One community in California has gone into receivership and the state has said, ‘OK, you take over,’ and I don’t want to see Clinton go down that road.”

            If elected, Leblanc said, he would focus on fiscal responsibility and work with the various departments within the town during budget season. One particular area that concerns Leblanc is the rapidly expanding school district’s budget, which is calling for a 7.5 percent increase this year. He said he would like to try and work with the commonwealth to come up with ways to find funding to offset the high costs of state-imposed mandates, including using money generated by the lottery as part of the stabilization fund, which could be used for emergency situations.

            Leblanc said he would also work to rebuild relationships with surrounding communities, such as Lancaster and Sterling, that have been ruined by certain members of the Board of Selectmen whose initial response is litigation when it comes to issues, namely, the Wekepeke and Brandli Parcel, that stretch across town lines.

            “Excluding Mary Rose [Dickhaut] and Kevin [Haley], the selectmen have not exhibited a very good policy when it comes to being good neighbors,’ he said. ”They are basically saying to Lancaster and Sterling, ‘We are just going to take you to court if you don’t agree with us.’ Those are bully tactics and it has both of those communities upset. I’m sorry, but we have to do a lot better than that when it comes to fostering relationships with other communities.”

Running Against Ignorance

            But where Leblanc stands on the issues is already taking a back seat to his sexuality, as a number of residents have already started spewing bigoted venom about his sexual orientation on a local discussion forum. Stunning examples of the ignorance that permeates a swath of the town’s citizenry, and just how important it is for their chosen candidates to remain on the board to further their agenda. Leblanc, however, has no plans to engage in such juvenile attacks. 

            “First of all, sexuality has nothing to do with the qualifications of any person’s ability to do anything,” Leblanc said. “If that’s all people focus on in this election, they have bigger problems than understanding what is going on in the town. We’ve [motioning to Hennis] been together for 21 years, and I know there are some people that will have an issue with that and will say that’s not the same as being married, but apparently that’s not the same for Elizabeth Taylor, who is working on husband number nine. I’m not here to argue about what people choose to do in the privacy of their own home, I don’t really care, that’s not why I’m running, but there are people that are already making it an issue. If that’s the best that they could come up with as to why I shouldn’t be elected then that’s pretty [pathetic].”

            And while his fellow candidates can fall back on their political experience as a strength, Leblanc said the fact that he is a political novice guarantees that voters will be able to elect someone that can truly be objective when it comes time to make a decisions that affect the entire town.

            “I’m not entrenched and I don’t side with one group or the other,” Leblanc said. “I don’t have a problem with the mentality that people like Bob Pasquale and Joe Notaro have lived in town their whole lives, but there are people, like me, that have come into this town in the last 20 years and are passionate about this community in which we live; I think that helps balance out a board. Sometimes you need to have that perspective from someone that lives in the town but wasn’t raised here, yet loves the town and the community and wants to make a difference - and that’s what I’d like to do.”