Cornelio Facing Closed Doors and Mouths at City Hall
By Josh Resnek
The School Committee agenda for this week’s Monday night meeting was not scheduled on time.
A snafu occurred.
The Monday meeting had to be rescheduled for Tuesday night.
We come to learn that the School Department sent over the agenda request to the city clerk’s office on the appointed day at the appointed time as it always tends to do.
It’s like clockwork.
But something, somehow went amiss last week.
One would be led to believe that such a gaffe is the shoddy work of City Clerk Sergio Cornelio.
However, intaking the agenda from the School Department and posting it on time is part of his job that has been taken away from him by the city, presumably the mayor.
A third party company has been hired to post the agenda.
”It is thoroughly ridiculous that Cornelio cannot post the school committee agenda. This week’s inability to post by the third party reveals the efforts to which others are trying to marginalize Cornelio,” said the source, who wished to remain unnamed.
This makes it difficult to impossible for Cornelio to do his job.
It also creates an atmosphere inside the office that is not conducive to the teamwork it takes to run such a place inside city hall.
In fact, virtually no one associated with the mayor is speaking with Cornelio.
The stage has been set to attempt his removal – as promised by the mayor some months back when he took Cornelio to court with a lawsuit.
Assistant City Clerk Peter Napolitano has been another source of angst for Cornelio.
Napolitano has nothing to do with Cornelio.
He reports to the mayor and to the mayor’s coteries of officials carrying out his wishes at city hall.
“Napolitano is Cornelio’s Trojan Horse, even worse,” added the source.
Napolitano has morphed from a talkative almost friendly councilor to a belligerent, confrontational assistant clerk.
A public blow-up inside the office between former Rep. Stat Smith and Napolitano last Thursday epitomizes the rancor inside the office.
“I treat everyone with respect. Why can’t he do the same,” Napolitano complained to the Leader Herald about Napolitano.
Cornelio goes about his work surrounded by enemies in an office he has come to love. He is a man alone at city hall except for a few friends who know better than to publicize their friendly relationship with him.
By all accounts, Cornelio knows what he is doing. Despite the mayor’s efforts to strip him of his duties before having the city council vote him out of his office, Cornelio is carrying on.