Prior to the vote for City Council president between Aidee Nieves and Jeanette Herron in late December, City Councilwoman Maria Pereira drafted a demand letter, with 15 specifications, of “Requirements in order to Commit to Vote for Jeanette Herron.”
Pereira included her 138th District partner Keyla Medina as part of the requirement package. Pereira and Medina were key swing votes that elected Herron as leader.
The demands run the gamut from rescinding money for an an East End school and wiring financial support for schools in her district; sign off of commissioners appointed from her district; protect Pereira from censure resolutions (she’s received several); her district constituents appointed to various boards and commissions; $200,000 for a walking path in a district park; control over creation of a Charter Revision Commission.
In email exchanges the past week for control of the agenda for the Miscellaneous Matters Committee meeting, Pereira asserts that Herron reneged on “verbal commitments.”
That’s because Herron refused to sign the quid pro quo solicitation. Promised support in exchange for something is a slippery slope when it comes to government services and taxpayer dollars. That’s why it’s rarely reduced to writing. Pereira wanted to institutionalize it in writing to wield it like a wand.
In an interview with OIB Thursday morning Herron said “I told Maria we can work together, but I’m absolutely not signing that, that would be illegal. She started yelling and screaming. I explained we will work together but there’s no guarantees here.”
Herron explained other council members were part of the meeting.
See demand letter below:
Maria Perra should have gone all the way and forged Jeanette Herron’s signature.
Haha..ya gotta love Bpt politics..