All in the (Howard) Family
Sheriff Tim Howard has hired his wife to be on “Scientific Staff Reserve”. I have feelers out to see what background she has in law enforcement, and whether Howard created the position for her, or if she filled an existing one.
Via Facebook
Via Facebook
Yeah, I recall the raised eyebrows in this space, and the cries of “Nepotism!”, when Mark Poloncarz’s brother Robb, an unemployed chef, was hired to a hack job at the Erie County Water Authority — only to wash out because he couldn’t pass the civil service test — then was hired at $42,000 by Dennis Ward at the Board of Elections.
Wait — no I don’t.
Yes you do as I railed on several times in print….as late as last week as a matter of fact…..
Maybe she fine tunes the cell phone eavesdropping device?
Of all the things that are wrong with governments these days, I personally have to rank nepotism toward the bottom of the list. It seems to me one of those things that both sides do, and while it IS a problem that DOES result in people earning government paychecks for jobs they’re not qualified to do (sometimes to the extent that the “job” even comes with any expectation that they DO anything at all), I tend to file this sort of thing in my “Solve this one when we’ve fixed the more pressing stuff first” box. Put it this way: it would take a truly SPECTACULAR kind of nepotism to really trip my outrage meter.
Not to insult the lovely Mrs. Howard, but it is a sign of a certain degree of intelligence when you conclude every single sentence with an exclmation point!
Good luck Alan on checking that backround but something tells me that one who is just graduating from the Basic Course for Peace Officers has little to none.
As hwhamlin notes below what will be interesting is seeing all the T-Party types who went berserk over Polincarz’ brother at the Water Authority responding to this juicy little tidbit.
Will it also be interesting to see if the Artvoice post about the “hiring” is updated (and your comparison withdrawn about the Water Authority hiring of Poloncarz) if it turns out that the Scientific Reserve is indeed a volunteer position?
http://www2.erie.gov/sheriff/index.php?q=scientific-reserve
Alan, this guy did a nice bit of research…better check it out.
Thanks for the effort starrbuck.
You’re welcome, rh.
I agree that once available it will be good to follow up by reporting either some detail of “now on the payroll because she needed the time to boost her pension” if that’s confirmed, or retracting it otherwise.
Even better might have been be to not publish that type of accusation while “still trying to find out”. Perhaps that might be the slower approach here if the accusation related to a favored politician instead of an unfavored one? That’s if the accusation would be reported at all in AV’s blog or paper if it were about a favored pol.
If the payroll accusation is true, I think it reflects negatively on Howard in a friends/family way somewhat similar to the Water Authority’s hiring of Poloncarz’s brother.
It is, but my information is that she is now on the payroll because she needed the time to boost her pension. I’m still trying to find out.
http://www2.erie.gov/sheriff/index.php?q=scientific-reserve
Supposedly a volunteer group…
I’m with Jaquandor. If she’s qualified, and the position wasn’t created for her (Alan’s concern)…I really don’t care. Nepotism is kind of expected, and only becomes a huge issue when the person has no idea how to do the job. See: Brown, Michael D., former head of FEMA
peace and officer used to describe law enforcement in this city…..what a joke….