To the editor:
News flash for Manlius: The ex-Mayor Mark-Paul Serafin is running once again for the position of village mayor. Is this a joke or what? As one may recall, Serafin lost the 2013 mayoral election in a landslide by a whopping margin of 63 percent. Fortunately, the astute and well-informed village residents saw through the misconduct that tarnished his position as an elected official, and essentially sent him a well-deserved farewell message by voting him out of office. Since he continues to ignore the severity of his transgressions committed while in office that led to his downfall, let’s review the sordid details before he gets serious about running again.
During his controversial term as mayor, Serafin was cited for a number of improprieties. In August 2010, he was charged with a violation of local Village of Manlius law for pilfering recyclables from his neighbors’ blue bins. In September 2010, he was listed in a police report as a suspect in the theft of sausage from the kitchen of the Manlius Fire Department. And, as if Serafin didn’t learn a lesson from his first encounter with the authorities, during October 2010 he was ticketed a second time for stealing recyclables. When Serafin was apprehended by the police with a large bag of recyclables in his possession, he claimed that “I took a large Pepsi bottle out of the bin.” In June 2011, Serafin accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to violating the village’s recycling law and paid a $100 fine.
Please don’t stop reading now because this expose gets better.
In 2012, Serafin was caught trying to claim a STAR tax exemption for property that he wasn’t entitled to do legally.
How can anyone believe the audacity of this man who boasted about his record of “keeping taxes in line” while serving as mayor?
And last but not the least, during the fall of 2012, at a village board meeting, the outgoing parks and recreation director filed a workplace violence charge against Mayor Serafin. She filed charges stating that she was afraid of the mayor and, as a result, had security install a panic button in her office because of his actions. After further review, the board found her complaint to be credible. In his defiant nature, the mayor demanded police protection for himself due to his outrageous behavior that incited public anger during the meeting. Furthermore, the village board cited that during Serafin’s first term as mayor he managed to violate the village code of ethics on numerous occasions. And, as an elected official, Serafin pursued a code of conduct that raised suspicion among the public.
Now comes the obvious question. Does such a disreputable person deserve to be considered for election to a position that he once dishonored?
D.A. Thomas
Manlius
