Re “Malsin’s True Colors”
With former City Councilman Scott Malsin’s choice in taking the money and running, there probably are some disreputable developers out there right now wondering, trying to figure out, just how much it might cost to have Mr. Malsin “work with them” on a future project if he were re-elected on April 10.
Of course, this, too, could be twisted as being acceptable under the same flawed rationale of being done for the sake of his family.
It seems Mr. Malsin wants us to believe that his decision was somehow warranted. He would have us believe that he did what he did only because he had no other choice but to take the money for the sake of his family.
Mr. Malsin did have choices. He erred ethically in choosing to take advantage of his local community.
Motivation
In the past, a poor, desperate family man risked having a hand chopped off when stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family. As for Mr. Malsin’s motivation, he took, not because he had to—I would say he and his family are far from being destitute—but because he legally could, and he took advantage of it. He took because a previous Council said that he could, not because he had no other recourse.
Stark Ethical Differences
Beyond the obvious differences in the times in which they lived: One, a poor man resorted to breaking the law; the other, fairly well-to-do, acted in an open, legal manner. But what was Mr Malsin’s motivation? The poor man acted out of desperation to feed his family. It looks as if Mr. Malsin chose to act out of just pure greed.
Utter Contempt
Even though the poor man broke the law, I can understand the reasoning behind his desperate act. I might even condone his actions, being a father, myself. As for Mr. Malsin, I have only utter contempt.
Spiking His Pension
The down-on-his-luck family man probably would not go around and brag about stealing a loaf of bread. Mr. Malsin brazenly took six long months, in telegraphing his actions. In what publicly played out like a slow-motion movie, he finally perpetrated the alleged Bell-like “spiking” of his own retirement. It seems as though he has no shame or remorse over it.
Inflation Will Take Toll
By today’s standards, a loaf of bread probably costs about three dollars, maybe four. The ultimate cost of Mr Malsin’s allegedly Bell-like lifetime healthcare for himself and his family may never be known to us. It could cost local taxpayers in the hundreds of thousands of dollars if he were to live to a ripe age. Don’t forget, the cost of his healthcare will escalate as he ages. I close by asking a single, pertinent question that can only be answered by the citizens of Culver City:
How much is a Council member’s service worth to our community?
Is it worth a lifetime of free healthcare paid for by the local taxpayers? I don’t think so.
Tell Scott Malsin that the cost of his lifetime of free healthcare is too high. Send him a message by not voting for him in the upcoming April election. Hold him accountable!
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
