With Election Day looming, the candidates are hunkering down for the final stretch. The last thing either of them needs is for a massive scandal to go public. Unfortunately for our sitting mayor, that’s exactly what happened.

Late last night, I was sent a soundbite of Mayor James Foley disparaging Emerson Valley luminary Miriam Rook at the annual Raven Club Halloween Bash. This was in especially poor taste considering the very function he was attending was hosted by the woman he was bashing.

“I don’t trust her,” Mayor Foley can be heard in the clip. “Miriam’s a snake. Once she sinks her fangs into you, she slowly fills you with her poison until you’re completely helpless. The worst thing for this town would be to have a mayor who’s in her pocket.”

Of course, it wasn’t just Ms. Rook that Mayor Foley took aim at. The “worst thing for this town” he was alluding to is of course Anthony Faulk, his opponent in the current mayoral election. But he wasn’t done yet. The clip continues:

“If I had it my way, her and all her little sycophants would’ve been stamped out ages ago.”

“What do you mean?” asks our anonymous source.

“This’ll be my last term,” Mayor Foley replies. “I don’t need to worry about appeasing these idiot voters again. I’ll finally be able to get some real work done.”

So not satisfied with insulting Ms. Rook and Mr. Faulk, Mayor Foley has slung a heap of mud at you as well. I hope my fellow “idiot voters” show our current mayor where the real power lies. It is the people’s will, NOT Mayor Foley’s, that our local government should follow. We can speak with our votes and send a clear message that this type of disrespect won’t be tolerated. I look forward to the day that “Mayor Foley” becomes “citizen Foley.”

-William Cooper, Emerson Valley Gazette