Saturday, May 7, 2011

Know Your Primary Candidate: Marilyn Cellurale

Commissioner candidate #5 and I don't care anymore.

If Cellurale sounds familiar, it should. She owns the Cellurale Garden Center in Dunbar by Pechins and the beloved Laurel Mall Flea Market That Pretends to Be a Mall. Side note: What's with an article on a business that's been around for years that contributes no new information?

Cellurale was a lifelong Democrat but jumped that boat and became an Independent and ran for office in 2007. Then she jumped that boat and became Republican, because she "became disillusioned with the overspending and the big government handouts." Hey, remember that time Bush was using the bailout technique? No? Neither do Republicans who hate government handouts.

Two party changes, each around an election? Hmm.

She thinks government should be run as a business and wants to focus on they children (they are our future, after all).

"We must see that our local career technical centers and community colleges offer our children an education in the jobs Fayette County has to offer," she said. "Our population is shrinking and we must find ways to prevent our children from moving away."

That's awesome, but we'll see what happens with those pesky budget cuts first. As for the Nam's shrinking population...I'll tell you how to prevent us from leaving. Make the county stop sucking. But I have a whole post planned on that since politicians don't seem to get why we're leaving the county. I think this entire blog makes that abundantly clear, but I will lay it all out.

Anyway, Cellurale is a fan of Marcellus Shale as long as its safe, which I have to agree with. However...

"Cellurale said she knows about growing plants, and not bookkeeping, so she has a bookkeeper handle that aspect of her business."

Wait, what?

I know county commissioner and bookkeeping aren't the same thing, but the implication is her expertise is in botany and not finances. We can't pay for the necessities of life with trees (or cookies). That makes me feel awesome about her as a candidate, but what do I know? I'm a liberal Independent.

Also awesome is yet another lawsuit that makes this entire race for commissioner look like a total shit storm: Cellurale and others in her family/business/family business sued the county and Angela Zimmerlink, current commissioner seeking re-election, specifically "claiming that Zimmerlink used her position to target them for alleged zoning violations." She's got "citizen" all wound up: according to him/her, the Cellurales actually have a shooting range in the flight path of the Connellsville Airport. Yeah, we have an airport.

Cellurale's also been showing up at commissioner meetings every month and has accused Zimmerlink of "meddling in code enforcement issues." And now who's she running against? Yeah. So combine this with Zimmerlink's suit against the Two Vinces and this election totally doesn't look like it's all about the candidates seeking vengeance on each other. Out with the old and in with the new, I say. Let these four all duke it out away from politics.

Honestly, Cellurale seems really shady and extremely motivated by self-interest. A commissioner is giving her a hard time about zoning issues so she runs for commissioner? Yeah, okay. I don't trust.

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