Szerdi's Parting Shots

Szerdi’s Parting Shots:

Voters Were ‘Gullible’

My Opponent was Deceitful and

The Trib Contributed to my Defeat!

By Margaret Menge

The Lake Worth Tribune        March 20, 2015  

Outgoing City Commissioner John Szerdi took the opportunity of his last commission meeting on Monday evening to rail against the voters, whom he said were fooled into voting for his opponent, and said he “really didn’t realize how gullible people can be.”

He complained that a small minority of people turned out to vote, and that the voters had voted based on ‘words’ and not ‘deeds.’

But the voters weren’t the only ones who took hits from the one-term District 4 commissioner, who was defeated by first-time candidate Ryan Maier on March 10 by 57-37 percent.   .......continued below

John Szerdi, center, flanked by Commissioner Andy Amoroso and attorney Christy Goddeau, delivers an unusual last speech at City Hall on March 16. (photo by Margaret Menge)

Szerdi, after congratulating Maier and Commissioner Christopher McVoy, who was re-elected with 64 percent of the vote last week, quickly moved into blame mode, saying: “I have to admit, though, having a newspaper up there the way it popped up there before an election was very effective” and saying “scaring of people” that the beach was going to be privatized also worked against him.

For a moment, it appeared as though Szerdi, an architect and contractor, was going to turn introspective, saying at 62 years of age, he was not too old to learn from his mistakes. But he took a different direction altogether:

“I learned that well-timed deceitfulness can be leveraged to divide our city,” said Szerdi, reading from written remarks. “I do take solace in the fact that there’s no true satisfaction in learning by deceit. But I will always have faith that the truth will prevail.”

More than 80 people had come to the City Commission chambers for the special meeting on Monday night, and many were forced into the hallway and the conference room next door, as three rows in the chambers had been reserved on the left side for Szerdi supporters and three rows reserved on the right side for supporters of both Maier and McVoy, and these all quickly filled.

Szerdi smiled often while reading his speech, and got laughs from the audience when his cell phone rang in the middle of it. He checked the number, and then continued:

 “I really didn’t realize how gullible people can be,” he said. “It does remind me of a Bob Marley song: You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time.”

A decrescendo whistle was heard in the audience after the “gullible” comment and someone murmured “Can you believe this?” after the reference to the Bob Marley song.

Szerdi went on to say that “some people” have “spoken and written whatever it takes” at the expense of his reputation.

In wrapping up, he sounded as though he was still campaigning, talking about being “part of the concerted effort” to bring investment into the city, and his support for more than 50 local ordinances to help support the city’s effort to clean up abandoned properties.

“I’m a founding member of the cottages of Lake Worth,” he continued, “which is to promote one of the city’s most valuable and charming resources we have. This in itself will continue to fill the city with more residents to patronize our businesses and create jobs.”

But the parting shots continued after this, with the Bible used as quiver.

“In closing, please indulge my reference to Proverbs 29:8,” he said. “People who make fun of wisdom cause trouble in the city. But wise people calm anger down.”

“So I hope that the actions of the past few years are perceived as wise,” he said, “and that the continued elevation of the city’s financial resources through private investment and new projects, and that our existing homes and businesses will quiet the anger that I heard during the election. This is why our city will not go backwards.”

With that, he pledged to stay involved in the city, using his “experience and expertise,” thanked his supporters, and said “God Bless, Lake Worth.”

He rose from the dais after his speech, and walked out of the chamber before Maier and McVoy took the oath of office.

---   copyright Lake Worth Tribune, Inc. ---