This letter responds to Lisa Brenner’s self-congratulatory narrative about how the bogus ethics charges she filed against County Councilors James Chrobocisnki and Susan O’Leary were really a brilliant political masterstroke. (See link https://ladailypost.com content/letter-editor-ethics- complaint-dismissal)

 

When reasonable people see a newspaper like the Los Alamos Monitor run big photos and bold headlines that scream ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED, they naturally think that somebody must have done something wrong. But in explaining her frivolous complaint against the Councilors – a complaint that was dismissed out-of-hand by the New Mexico Secretary of State, former Los Alamos resident and political gadfly Lisa Brenner wrote: “…it is a typical political tactic to go after technicalities such as these.”, and “…the complaint had the desired disruptive effect.” So, Ms. Brenner thinks damaging people’s personal reputations and putting people through the ethics wringer is a legitimate and clever way to hijack a public integrity process to win a political point. Nice to know there are people like that out there – not just on talk radio and third tier cable channels, but right here at home.

 

I might be a bit more accepting of these hard-ball tactics if there was something monumental at stake, but this was an issue that was supposed to be about a pool, a rec center and a few other local projects. But wait, reading what was written by Ms. Brenner’s adult son, Patrick, they were never really against these recreation projects. It seems they were unhappy about the way our beleaguered Sheriff has been held back (see link https://ladailypost.com content/former-county-council- candidate-berates-councilors) So, everyone who lost out on the opportunity for improved recreation has to ask themselves: Did we, as Lisa Brenner suggests, miss out on all these recreation improvements because the Brenner’s tricked a few small number of swing voters into opposing the rec bond as a clever way to gain pay back for perceived slights to our local Sheriff? How bizarre is that? Well done Lisa Brenner! Bizarre, especially considering that James Chrobocinski — a central target of the Brenners — has been one of the few Council members to try to give the Sheriff some actual duties.

 

Near the end of her comments, Ms. Brenner writes: “Politics isn’t pretty.” That’s certainly true when you have people like Ms. Brenner who are prepared to go rabidly, abusively negative over the most mundane and trivial disagreement. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see even 10 percent of this boundless energy directed toward some little positive thing – a yes on anything, rather than a no on everything – just once in a while?