Nepotism?

I know nothing about Eric Hellmann other than that he is the son of William Hellman, CPA. However, does a genetic inheritance guarantee that you'll be good at doing Dad's former job?

Morrisville Council: Monday, Dec. 17

Issue: Accept resignation of Will Hellman as borough controller and appoint his son Eric Hellman to fill the unexpired term.

Vote: Approved unanimously.

Nepotism has always made me uncomfortable. As gifted as John Adams was, John Quincy had to prove himself. Not all of John and Abagail's kids were quite as successful as JQ was.

Maybe Eric will be as successful as William Hellman, CPA, and just as possibly, maybe not. But when the Borough Council advertises the filial connection as stongly as they did, I have to ask why.

I Knew Someone Would Do It...

I'm just surprised it took so long. The poll is now closed.

Thank you to almost everyone who voted. I especially want to thank the ballot box stuffer, who worked overtime to record 47 "lame" votes from the same IP address over two days.

Here's the scoop: I heard from a lot of people that they wanted to be able to discuss and comment more, so I opened the comments up to anyone, but the comments never really took off except from a few PSPs. I dearly appreciate their insightful and provocative comments and I look forward to hearing more from them all.

So I thought I would take a poll to see if there was "anybody out there", or if everyone was "comfortably numb."

I was very gratified to find a nearly equal number of PSP and NSN votes from unique IP addresses until the past few days, when someone starting stuffing the ballot box toward
"lame" status. C'est la vie. This was never a scientific poll.

I very much appreciate the readership out there, and while I never had any intention of stopping, I am more than ever ready to continue. Agree with me, disagree with me (really--I would like to hear from the NSNs), let me annoy you.

But...I cannot be everywhere. The collective eyes and ears out there are far more effective than little old me pounding away on my keyboard. So participate. Speak up.