04/25/2019
COREY LANE'S RESPONSE TO KATHY KENNEDY'S REMARKS
Kathy Kennedy made several accusations on Facebook about me (Corey Lane) that deserve a response.
I can honestly say I am not concerned about what Kathy Kennedy, Bryson Boyd, Gerald Groves, or their friends, think of me (Corey Lane). I am, however, concerned that people, who I respect, would give Kathy Kennedy’s Facebook post and Letter to the Editor any credence whatsoever. Kathy Kennedy’s motivation is her own. Trying to discredit me, to help Bryson Boyd and Vella Alexander, is not new and was expected. But for Kathy Kennedy to believe as she does, if she really believes as she does, was unexpected and unfortunate. I had thought her losing to me in her run for mayor was water under the bridge. Apparently, it is not. I also would have never believed Kathy Kennedy would follow the Shadow Government Conspiracy Theorists active in Bridgeport.
Kathy Kennedy says publicly endorsing or opposing a candidate would be unethical, but she has willingly done so in a way that prevents rebuttal. With the assistance of the Bridgeport Index, Kathy Kennedy posted and submitted her letter at the last possible moment, to assure her comments could not be challenged prior to the election. This act was meant to inflict the maximum amount of damage to my reputation, and discredit Billy Fred Walker and Bobby Brazier, while insulating Kathy Kennedy from any public critique. Kathy Kennedy is neither ‘Transparent” or “Accountable” as is proven by her outright prevarications and hiding behind the Bridgeport Index’s publication schedule.
The only true part of Kathy Kennedy’s Facebook post is that we had a telephone conversation. Beyond that, all other information is pure bunk.
Kathy Kennedy accused me of stating I felt it was my “duty” to replace Randy Singleton as Mayor. She claims I told her “I am going to run for mayor” and “I need to be mayor”. She stated I said I have several City Council members “wrapped around my finger”. She stated I have a negative attitude about several city departments: police, animal control, library, etc. And she stated I believe I control every aspect of our city government. (Shadow Government Theory)
Most of the information Kathy Kennedy posted was never discussed during that telephone conversation but rather during a meeting we had in my store prior to her being elected to City Council. About a month or so before her election, Kathy Kennedy asked me how I was able to defeat her in her run for Mayor years earlier. During an hour-long meeting at my furniture store, we openly discussed campaign mechanics, numbers, registered voters and the like. We also discussed policies and ideas to benefit Bridgeport, should she get elected to City Council. She agreed with me on every concept discussed. Now I wonder.
We discussed our City Council and Mayor. I have said to many people, not just Kathy Kennedy, that I view our City Council members as good-hearted public servants wanting to do their best for the people they serve. When given the right information they always vote right, no personal agendas, no secretive government, just honorable people making the best decisions based upon the information they have available. I have always said the Mayor’s job is to guide and direct our City Council in making the best decisions possible. This is done by researching concepts and ideas, encouraging open dialog, and providing information. How Kathy Kennedy can interpret my comments as saying I “twist what I want…and I can manipulate those three for my agenda”, is beyond my understanding, and quite frankly, insulting to her colleagues on City Council.
Furthermore, I believe Randy Singleton is a great public servant. There is no denying Randy’s long and distinguished service to our community, including his time as Mayor. I do believe his skill set would best be utilized as a city councilman rather than Mayor for two reasons, both of which I shared with Kathy Kennedy and Mayor Singleton and others. First, as a councilman, Randy would have a voice and a vote that he currently does not have. Randy is an intelligent, discerning individual with an independent mind and a deep desire to help our town grow and prosper. Could there be a better person making decisions for all of us? Second, a mayor needs to be a bit of a “booger” every once in a while. This “booger” attribute is simply not in Randy’s DNA. He is a really nice guy to everyone.
To suggest I think Mayor Singleton needs to be replaced, and specifically by me, is simply not true. I have never thought that or said that to anyone. Randy’s continued service to our community, in any capacity, is a benefit that touches everybody.
I have never said to anyone that I want to be Mayor again. I have said, however, that if a day came when a candidate for Mayor, whom I considered to be dangerous or damaging to our community, was running unopposed, I would consider it a “duty” to oppose him, up to and including running for Mayor again. I supposed I shared this with Kathy Kennedy during our meeting which gave her fodder for her spin.
My current efforts to help Re-Elect Billy Fred Walker and Bobby Brazier prove my commitment to Bridgeport and my willingness to accept the “duty” to stand up for our town.
During this meeting we discussed the concept of Depreciable Asset Accounts as part of the annual city budget. I believe our city budget should provide funding for each city department for operational expenses and supplies. Each department should also have a Depreciable Asset Account to fund the replacement of equipment as necessary. Every department head should know what assets he or she controls, when they may need replacement and at what cost. In this way money can be put aside every year, so our city will not need to finance the replacement of these depreciable assets. In discussing this concept with Kathy Kennedy, we understood funding these accounts would necessitate prioritizing city departments. High priority departments like Police and Fire should be funded first, utilities next. Non-essential departments like the city library would be funded last, as money is available. For Kathy Kennedy to spin our discussion into believing I have questioned the necessity or management of any city department is, again, beyond my understanding.
Now about the telephone conversation on Feb 11. I did call Kathy Kennedy, as a courtesy. I had just received information regarding Bryson Boyd’s FOIA requests relating to me and I knew he was looking for discrediting information to use in his campaign. I also knew I was not going to let him use me to hurt Billy Fred Walker or Bobby Brazier, or anyone else, so I was planning to be involved in the election process. I did not know, at this time, to what extent I would be involved.
The purpose of my courtesy call to Kathy Kennedy was to determine her position regarding the candidates and to assure her I did not want to step on her toes. I made the same call to Jimmy Meyers, Bobby Brazier and Billy Fred Walker. I do not have Kevin Lopez’s phone number, so I did not place a call to him. Kathy Kennedy’s comments to me, while non-committal, indicated she was supporting Bryson Boyd and Vella Alexander. I later found out it was Kathy Kennedy’s suggestion that encouraged Vella Alexander to run for office. Very little, if any, of the afore mentioned concerns she attributes to me, were made during that telephone conversation. Our conversation was too short for all the information she says was shared.
This is a she-said, he-said situation and ultimately unprovable either way. But I challenge all to consider the obvious. During this campaign for City Council, Bridgeport Re-Election Committee has exposed the character of the candidates and their surrogates. In all their dialog, they have been unable to convince any voter that Billy Fred Walker and Bobby Brazier are underserving of voter support. So, they have tried to taint these two good men by discrediting me. They insist I am lying about the past and present activities of Bryson Boyd and Vella Alexander, they have yet to provide verifiable evidence to support that claim.
Kathy Kennedy’s letter is just more of the same unsubstantiated dribble from a sore loser.
