Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Believing you deserve special "courtesy"

What is it that makes elected officials believe they are above the law? If any group of people should be even more obedient of the law you would think it was those who took an oath of office. Yet over and over again we see situations where when an elected official or one of their family members gets into a possible law breaking scenario "special courtesy" is demanded.

Let's look at the most recent case of Parma Councilwoman Mary Galinas who ironically is the chair of the Parma City Council Safety Committee and some drama in Parma that concerns her 17 year old son. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Parma Heights- Mary Galinas...became so belligerent with police as they gave her son a sobriety test that she was threatened with arrest, according to a police report.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Friday, Parma Heights police found 17-year-old James Galinas and James L. Powers, 18, in a parked truck behind a church on West Ridgewood Drive. Police stopped the two for trespassing on church property and smelled alcohol from inside their truck.

The younger Galinas called his mother...Before his mother arrived, James Galinas registered a .045 percent on a portable breath analyzer, according to the report.

When Mary Galinas arrived, she began shouting at her son not to take the sobriety test.

"Mrs. Galinas began yelling that she was a Parma councilperson, she was calling the mayor and kept repeating 'This is all bull -' over and over again, " wrote Patrolman Jeff Dunnell.

Galinas said she was not trying to pull political rank on the officers. She admitted to swearing because the officers were rude to her and using "Gestapo tactics" on her son.

She said an officer told her over her son's cell phone that they were going to offer her a professional courtesy and she could pick up her son and the car.

Galinas said when she arrived, there was no "courtesy," and officers were harassing her son.


The rest of the details are at the link, but to make a long story short after being told by her to refuse the second sobriety test the 17 year old listened to his mother.

First of all drinking and buying alcohol is against the law for a 17 year old, the legal limit the state of Ohio has set is 0.08 from my understanding of the law. Which wouldn't matter if you were under 21, you would still be drinking illegally under the circumstance the two boys were caught in. Unless it's changed, Parma also has a curfew in which those under 18 are not supposed to be out after midnight unless they are with a parent.

Given Mary Galinas has stated publicly that she was inspired by President Reagan:

"To me, he was someone who made politics look like a worthy occupation,"

And in her 2001 election ran under the promise:

Mary is a professional business woman who will bring integrity and accountability to Parma City Council. The city of Parma needs fresh faces with fresh ideas ~ it is time to say good bye to the Good Ole Boys and leaders who are beholding to special interest groups.

Mary obviously talked the talk to get voters to support her. Yet like so many others, Republican and Democrats alike, do not walk the walk when it comes to themselves or family members breaking the law. One also wonders what it is about politics that drives them or their family members to drink. Vernon Sykes, Joe Birmingham, Frankie Coleman and Alice Robie Resnick come immediately to mind...

This was written for the Carnival of Ohio Politics which is brought to you thanks to the hard work of Paul Miller at Northwest Ohio Net.

7 comments:

Scott G said...

You can never trust a politician who tells you they are going to bring integrity to office.

Hooda Thunkit (Dave Zawodny) said...

Better yet, before voting for a politician promising to bring integrity to the office, make sure that you know where that integrity is going to come from.

This incident, like all of the others you mentioned, is unforgivable (but, not unheard of).

If politicians lead by example. . .

Anonymous said...

I really belive that the injustice in this case are the people who belive every word of what they read in the newspapers. From previous experiences I have learned not to.

Anonymous said...

kate,

1. i hope your children are perfect. i hope they never drink a drop before 21, are in by curfew, and never break the law.
2. this boy's brother IS a police officer. so i think he would respect them more than the average teen.
3. he probably learned a many lessons, your examples being none of them.

ms. galinas has done wonderful things for her city. she has done justice to her position as a council member.

the article clearly states that the officers told her they were giving her a courtesy, by allowing her to pick up her son, who was out past curfew. it said nothing of a courtesy regarding the drinking. if she felt disrespected or violated, she spoke up for her son and herself. congratulations to her for not allowing policemen to badger her or belittle her. she obviously knows her rights and her freedom of speech is one of them. why would you frown upon that?

the media jumps on stories like this and tangles and twists them so they can sway voters their way. it happens all the time.

how can one who speaks of morals be so judgmental of a situation you weren't there for. isn't that condescending? i hope you don't teach your children to sit in judgment of others. try to stop and think outside the box and don't believe everything that is forced down your throat.

to james, you are young, we all make mistakes, hopefully you learn from them.

to mary, i'm glad you are bringing integrity and dedication to the office, as well as to your family. things like this happen, unfortunately in your position, people twist the truth to get a juicy story. thank God for people like you, who are out doing things to better life, not just sitting back, watching and criticizing those doing it.

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work narcozis and topamax

Anonymous said...

MARY GALINAS THE ALL PROTECTIVE MOTHER....HER SON THE PARMA POLICEMAN WAS SUSPENDED FOR USING EXCESSIVE FORCE IN AN INTERROGATION ROOM...NOW WHO IS USING GESTAPO TACTICS MARY????
THE ONLY REASON SHERAN FOR COUNCILPERSON WAS TO INSURE HER POLITICAL FAVORS WOULD GET HER SON REINSTATED TO THE PARMA POLICE FORCE. OR IS IT FARCE???

Anonymous said...

do not believe everything you read in the paper. and this article makes it worse because half of it is false. when you come from a political family know the law and have to abide by it in everyway in your home you would think some would get a little more rebellious. and how many kids now a days are drinking in high school just because they can, its as common as cigarettes. most people that get off by the skin of their teeth when they do something like them, are too scared to ever do it again. and im sure that you belive that that has all happened. and the cops are lower then the council in parma.. they gave a sort of slap in the face to parma council by lowering their wages