TOPTA needs to wage war on the sin, not the sinner

If I had the choice of having lunch with Potsdam Assessor Kim Bisonette or the devil, I would choose Bisonette. Bruce Konkoski would probably choose the devil. And Bruce would likely offer to pay.

Konkoski – who heads a group called the Town of Potsdam Taxpayers Association - is as much a fan of Bisonette as mice are of boa constrictors. He thinks Bisonette’s assessment work is shoddy. I’ve seen evidence that supports this position and I agree that Bisonette doesn’t do a very good job. But that makes him a bad assessor, not a bad guy.

One of the TOPTA guys – Derek Stevenson - the other day lodged a complaint that Bisonette had yelled at him and poked him with his finger during a discussion of his assessment. The town is investigating the incident and I suspect it will be found that there are two sides to the story. http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090527/NEWS05/305279968/-1/NEWS

It would be bad if Bisonette did the things Stevenson accused him of doing. But it would also be bad if the other side of the story was that Stevenson got the fight he came in looking for ... that the whole TOPTA plan was to provoke bad behavior by Bisonette. TOPTA has lodged a strong attack on Bisonette’s professional ability, so it would not be too hard to believe that they are expanding the strategy to take some pokes at him personally.

I’d like to believe that is not the case. I also suspect it very well could be the case. Konkoski wants the assessor booted from his job. He says he spends four hours or so every day working on the project. When some retirees would be fishing or mowing the lawn, Konkoski is researching and plotting and trying to figure out ways to kick some assessor butt out of office. He is man on a mission with a whatever it takes attitude.

Which is OK, as long as whatever it takes involves amassing evidence that Bisonette doesn’t do his job very well. The assessor doesn’t have to be Dale Carnegie, he has to assess properties in a fair and equitable way. If Konkoski and his crew can show that Bisonette too often fails to meet this standard, it seems town officials would have to consider making a switch.

Konkoski and TOPTA can succeed without making the issue personal. They can hate the sin and love the sinner. Well, they don’t have to love Bisonette, but they should at least keep in mind that he isn’t the devil – even if they think he does a hell of a poor job.