Tartaglione: I’m Going to Flush Mr. Floatie

In a letter sent to MyRye.com, Ray Tartaglione, the antagonist behind Mr. Floatie, is claiming the 8-foot turd has been flushed.

Asked some follow-up questions in the wake of his letter, Tartaglione told MyRye.com "I believe Doug French and his team will… reestablish respect for the rule of law that protects each of us and should instinctively guide all elected officials in the performance of their duties.  Mr. Floatie and Jack A will not be attending any council meeting in the near future. The Floatie mobile will be placed in storage and – hopefully – will never again need to return to Rye."

We are not sure if that's a full flush or if Tartaglione has simply put Mr. Floatie and his two vehicles on ice, standing-by, ready to stink up Rye at a moment's notice.

Tartaglione's letter follows. What do you think? Leave a comment below.

Goodbye Mr. Floatie

Those of you who follow the Rye city council and local news may have noticed that neither I nor Mr. Floatie have been around lately.  Many of you, I’m sure, are glad.  But you can’t be any more pleased than I am.  The fact that Mr. Floatie and I can now step out of the public eye is a relief to me because it signals that Rye residents do care about health, public safety, the environment, and how their local government is run. 

Last week’s election results said it all: the people of Rye have made it clear that they want practical, transparent government and elected officials who will do more than just talk about safeguarding the environment.  Bravo, Rye! 

And, if I may say so, bravo, Mr. Floatie: You’ve embarked on a well-earned retirement after helping to focus people’s attention on the many health and environmental missteps perpetrated by the Otis administration.  One measure of the effectiveness of Mr. Floatie’s environmental awareness campaign is a recent statement by Myles Lavelle, a friend and running mate of Steve Otis.  In a Journal News article Mr. Lavelle cited the presence of Mr. Floatie and  friends at city council meetings as contributing to Otis’ defeat, "Steve respected it and  allowed it to go on because he thinks people have a right to speak, but the sideshow at  the City Council meetings weighed on him and the ticket.”

The, “sideshow,” Mr. Lavelle, is also known as free speech. If it, “weighed,” on Mayor Otis and his administration then the chips have fallen right where they belong.  And Mayor Otis, “allowed,” it to go on because my attorney reminded him that he had no other choice. 

Vote ’09 also brought a much-needed change to Rye government. The people have chosen wisely and I am confident the new administration will do the same.  I trust the new administration will look at Hen Island violations in a new, unbiased light and that the issues of potable water, mosquito infestations and untreated sewage, which have not yet been addressed, will be rectified. 

Finally, I’d really like to thank Jay Sears, publisher of My Rye.  Over the past few years, since I first tried to bring attention to conditions on Hen Island, Jay has kept an  open mind, allowed me space on the My Rye website to state my case and express  my opinions, and, instead of taking someone else’s word for the situation, gone out to Hen Island to see conditions for himself. He extends these same considerations to all who wish to express their point of view. 

Ray Tartaglione