Councilwoman Sabo Seeks Praise for Accomplishments

This week's Sand Lake Advertiser includes a response from Councilwoman Mary Sabo to the Chairman of the town Democratic Party, Dan Ashley's letter from last week's edition. 

Ashley asked Sabo to take corrective action to restore the salary of the town clerk which Sabo voted with Republicans to slash by $20,000 before she could take office last January. He asked her why she would do this, to hurt a fellow office holder and a person who ran with her last June and November.

Mrs. Sabo's response was not to answer or even acknowledge her actions. Instead she criticized the Chairman of her party for "not publicly praising her accomplishments". Oh my, did she really say that? "Chairman Ashley has never praised me publicly for my accomplishments". She then went on to list a few of those items.

We checked back issues of the Advertiser and she is correct. Chairman Ashley has not issued letters praising Mrs. Sabo's accomplishments. Neither he or anyone else issued a letter praising her accomplishments. Chairman Ashley has rarely issued public comments on Mrs. Sabo or anyone else for that matter. 

But why has no one else issued public praise for Councilwoman Sabo's accomplishments? Go figure.

If you look at her Facebook page, you'll see it's loaded with all the things she does. It's a sort of reference guide if you need a reason to praise, you can issue a comment below the picture or article.

It is instructive that Mrs. Sabo feels she deserves praise for her many accomplishments. We thought of the actress Helen Hayes and some well known advice she gave that may serve as good guidance. The renowned actress reflected on her mother's advice.  “Achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others, and that’s nice too, but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success.” 

Cutting someone's salary by $20,000 after they won a hard fought election is not in the list of Facebook achievements you will find on Councilwoman Sabo's Facebook pages.  It is neither something one would expect to receive praise for nor pointed to as an achievement in a list of accomplishments. Rather it is an example of poor judgement, uncalled for retribution and something which we hope can be acknowledged and corrected. It's rare to find someone in elected office who is able and willing to take responsibility for their errors. President Kennedy did it after his decision to authorize the Bay of Pigs and Governor Cuomo did so more recently asking New Yorkers not to blame their local officials for the shutdown of the State during this pandemic. Quoting President Truman, Cuomo said blame me, "The buck stops here".