Consider the source

One of my recent blog postings focused on the ongoing dilemma surrounding the waterfront development along the Fox River. It talked about how a developer who councilmember Paul Esslinger spoke on behalf of at a September Redevelopment Authority meeting first offered up development plans for the area and successfully got a decision by the RDA temporarily delayed, only to withdraw those “plans” approximately two weeks later. That was certainly talked about in the community and was worthy of being blogged about, as did several besides me, including bloggers on the Oshkosh Northwestern’s site. The fact that Esslinger got involved in the situation only to end up – in some people’s opinion, including mine – looking foolish, was worth noting, especially when I don’t think his involvement was necessary, nor was the need for such secrecy and anonymity.

Now, along comes Kent Monte, a longtime mouthpiece for Esslinger, stating I’ve turned it personal and suggesting I should let it go and get on with my life. Making things personal is what we’ve seen time and again on the Monte blogs. I almost feel sorry for the Montes because there seems to be a real disconnect for them between that which is fair criticism of actions by an elected official and things which truly are personal. So while I agree with Mr. Monte that there is more to life than Paul Esslinger, and thank God there is, the fact is he is an elected official in this community and, as such, will be talked about for his actions and votes. If his mouthpiece and friends don’t like that, perhaps they should encourage him to not run for re-election in the future. Or at a minimum, maybe they could tell him to stop grandstanding and trying to act like a hero at every turn. Since I expect neither will happen, Mr. Monte can expect to continue seeing his pal Paul talked and written about whenever I feel his actions as a local representative - good or bad - call for it, just as most everyone else seems to have the right to do without criticism.

So the short answer to your question of when will it end, Kent, is it will end when Paul Esslinger is no longer in office (unless we're looking back historically).

In the meantime, it’s also amusing to watch the Monte spin on things. There are plenty of things I’ve given Paul Esslinger praise for over the years, both on the show and this blog, as well as in conversations with others. But we never see Kent or others in the Paul Posse commenting about that. They only carp about things when poor Paul Esslinger has been criticized by CERTAIN people. Then those people – and only those people – become targeted. THAT is what’s personal, not to mention hypocritical and biased, Kent. But, like others, I’ve grown accustomed to your M.O. and don’t expect it to change. Instead, I just consider the source and smile.