Politics & Government
Council Responds to McGrady Commentary
Resident and former candidate for mayor Patrick McGrady ruffled feathers earlier this week with a letter to the editor on Aberden Patch.
During , three members refuted remarks from a letter to the editor from .
McGrady criticized Mayor Michael Bennett and members of council .
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Councilwoman Ruth Elliott was the first to comment, saying that the article "kind of irritated me."
“The information on [Aberdeen] Patch comes from a Patrick McGrady. It says some things in here, which, he doesn’t know what in the hell he’s talking about for one thing,” Elliott said. “If you’re going to print something, make sure it’s the truth. This person never does. He comes up with all these ideas and such, and he has no suggestion, he doesn’t have any plans, he doesn’t have any recommendations. He doesn’t talk to the council about any of this, because he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. That’s the bottom line.”
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Elliott paused, and said, “I’m on my bandwagon tonight,” before continuing her address by admonishing a columnist with The Record for a recent editorial about the city.
Councilwoman Sandy Landbeck took issue with McGrady's claim that the city has unfair water bills.
"I have really tried to show for four months that they are fair. They are predictable. They are the lowest around," she said. "I’m not sure how much more we can do than to do that."
Landbeck also denied the claim that she hasn't returned emails to McGrady.
"I can’t speak for the rest of the council, but I haven’t had an email from this person in 11 months and I did answer that one. So I’m not sure where that comes from," she said.
Councilman Bruce Garner pointed out more errors in McGrady's statement, particularly in regards to a council retreat held earlier this month at .
“This wasn’t held at . It was held at . It was open to the public. No one chose to attend,” he said. “If you’re going to make statements, make sure you put the correct statements out. Words can really be interpreted so many different ways.”
McGrady did not attend Monday's meeting, the retreat at or the .
Councilwoman Ruth Ann Young and Mayor Michael Bennett did not publicly comment on McGrady's editorial.
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