New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, faced for the first time with a media that does not uncritically regurgitate his pronouncements, is striking back with his Share the News initiative designed to combat “misinformation” (by which he means fact-based arguments against his policies). His pretext for the Share the News campaign is that Republicans on City Council have asked irresponsible questions about the GreeNR program like “Why does New Rochelle need to be a member of ICLEI?” and “How much does it cost to be a member of ICLEI?”. Pretty soon these same rabble-rousers will be asking “How much does New Rochelle spend each on ICLEI software, analysis, research, consulting and ICLEI-mandate consultants like Deborah Newborn?” No wonder the Mayor is contending that such questions amount to promulgating black helicopter conspiracy theories.
To put the Mayor’s mind at ease, let’s go back to 2008 when the City of New Rochelle put announced an RFP for a “Sustainability Coordinator” consultant, to be paid $40,000 a year for working 20 hours a week.
New Rochelle Sustainability Coordinator Job Description
Talk of the Sound has been making the point that GreeNR is really about implementing LEED in New Rochelle. LEED is a set of standards created by the U.S. Green Building Council which is an organization created by the National Resources Defense Council which is home to the kookiest of the kooky left including the far-left Hollywood crowd including Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Redford both of whom are active in the NRDC. Also active in the NRDC are the folks connected with the SEIU and the now-defunct ACORN.
Now the Mayor is frustrated because the Republicans on City Council are starting (better late than never) to ask questions Talk of the Sound has been asking for more than a year. He wants to label anyone who does not accept his explanations at face value as a purveyor of conspiracy theories. Talk of the Sound prefers to deal in facts such as public records.
Here is a direct quote from the RFP upon which Deborah Newborn was hired in 2008.
Staff Requirements:
This position requires an energetic and knowledgeable candidate to develop and implement a City-wide Sustainability Plan and Program, starting with the adoption and implementation of Green Building standards. The position requires extensive experience in the sustainable development arena, demonstrated project design, implementation and management skills and excellent communication skills.
New Rochelle now has the Mayor’s “City-wide Sustainability Plan and Program” now known as “GreeNR” courtesy of his friends at ICLEI and the United Nations. The resolution passed by the Mayor and his fellow Democrats instructs the City Manager to begin to implement the 43 initiatives contained in GreeNR.
It is no conspiracy theory that the priority will now shift to adopting and implementing LEED building standards in New Rochelle. It is right there in the RFP. Unless the RFP is all part of the diabolical plan to mislead New Rochelleans! A frightening thought.
Fortunately there is no theory and no conspiracy just plain old political games where unions and their supporters on the fringe left are seeking to advance their agenda under cover of planting trees and recycling newspapers.