We saw it coming

To no one’s great surprise, the Herald-Standard followed suit with our prediction and endorsed incumbent Democratic county commissioners Vince Vicites and Vince Zapotosky. That was as much a given as the fact that Fayette County’s coal mines are all tapped out.

The newspaper’s biggest criticism of Zapotosky was that he needs to come out from behind Vicites’ shadow. They even referred to Zapotosky as the “junior partner” in the duo’s alliance -- which had one guy at the fire hall wondering if we should start calling Vicites “Vince Sr.” and Zapotosky “Vince Jr.”

We found it interesting that in opting not to endorse challenger Al Ambrosini, the newspaper focused on his failure to hold Vicites and Zapotosky accountable for nixing a scheduled property reassessment two years ago, which wasted nearly $600,000 of taxpayer money.

In not doing this on the campaign trail, the Herald-Standard high command opined that Ambrosini wasted a “golden opportunity” to hold Vince Sr. and Vince Jr. accountable. What we’re perplexed about is this: If the newspaper feels the cancelled reassessment was a bad move, why are they focusing responsibility on the guy who DIDN’T made that decision?

We all know that periodic reassessments are the only way to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of property taxes. But it was Vicites and Zapotosky who made a blatant political calculation and canceled one after a half-million dollars had been spent.

By doing this, they ensured that everyone here in the patch pays a disproportionately higher share of property taxes. That’s because in a reassessment, the folks who live in higher-priced homes in higher-priced areas get a higher tax bill. The people who made out in this decision by Vince Sr. and Vince Jr. are those who live in places like Heritage Hills. And folks like Joe and Maggie Hardy, whose opulent Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (and soon-to-be-casino) remains assessed at a ridiculously low $38 million.

If the Herald-Standard thinks that reassessment is that important of an issue, why would it recommend the re-election of two politicians who killed it? Faulting Ambrosini on this one is like faulting New Zealand for bombing Pearl Harbor and starting World War II.

In endorsing Vince Jr. -- a.k.a. Zapotosky -- the Herald-Standard offered up this: He has taken the lead on several issues, particularly the formation of Fayette County TV …

While we would like to have seen a listing of those “several issues,” the mention of Fayette County TV only proves our point about the conflict of interest involving the use of county tourism tax dollars to revive the old HSTV operation. Here’s the skinny on how that works, as deduced from news reports: Tourism tax dollars ($70,000 so far) are funneled through the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau and awarded by the Fayette County Tourism Alliance to the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce’s nonprofit entity, the Redstone Foundation.

The Redstone Foundation then apparently contracts with Striped Shirt Media, the company operated by nice-guy Wes Ellis -- who is the son of one of the owners of Calkins Media, which owns the Herald-Standard -- to operate Fayette County TV, using the old HSTV facilities and building. Rent for that building is then paid to the Herald-Standard, thus helping bail out the newspaper from what ended up being a horrendous business decision to launch HSTV.

By wholeheartedly supporting the use of county tourism tax dollars to operate Fayette County TV, Vince Sr. and Vince Jr. have forged a bond with the newspaper that has reaped innumerable dividends. You’ve got to hand it to them; this may be the single biggest accomplishment of their four-year term.

On the other side of the coin, however, sits poor Angela Zimmerlink, who dared to question the propriety of this business arrangement -- and who has been feeling the wrath of the Herald-Standard ever since. Thus it is no surprise that she failed to get the newspaper’s endorsement in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

What is surprising, though, is the swiftness and ferocity with which the newspaper is attempting to make Zimmerlink Public Enemy No. 1. That worm turned on a fateful day last fall when, acting on information she read in the Herald-Standard, Zimmerink had the audacity to ask questions about -- you guessed it, class -- the aforementioned Fayette County TV.

Prior to that day, the Herald-Standard had nary a bad word to say about Zimmerlink, the Republican commissioner who serves as minority voice on the three-person board. Now, the newspaper says “her decisions (of the last four years) seemed to be made more with politics in mind than with the welfare of county residents,” and her “job performance over the past four years has done nothing to merit another term as a county commissioner.”

Au contrare, Herald-Standard. Here’s the problem with your logic: Zimmerlink has been the minority commissioner for the past four years. She’s been frozen out in all decision-making by Vince Sr. and Vince Jr. When she has had a good idea -- like the county’s Marcellus Shale Task Force -- they ignored it. (And the Herald-Standard couldn’t wait to give unprecedented voice to a Zimmerlink task force critic.)

When it comes to job performance, Vicites and Zapotosky have a track record littered with taking credit for money and projects brought to fruition by politicians at the state and federal level, and short on any individual accomplishments that have lifted Fayette County from its perpetual standing at the bottom of the heap. But when it comes to playing politics, Vince Jr. has a doctoral degree and Vince Sr. is as close as you can get to professor emeritus. Zimmerlink, comparatively, is a babe in the woods.

One final note regarding the endorsements: It didn’t escape our notice that while Ambrosini’s substantive business experience -- 30 years working for Allegheny Energy management, 35 years renting townhouses and apartments, 16 years as a business consultant -- weren’t enough to get him an endorsement on the Democratic side, Republican candidate Marilyn Cellurale won an endorsement largely because she has “experience running Cellurale Garden Center in Dunbar Township, and her business background should be an asset.”

We wonder if Cellarage’s “business background” includes knowledge of county zoning laws and when it is necessary to get a special exception permit before opening a business.