Delaware County to axe DWI coordinator
By Julia Reischel
12/9/10 - 10:28 pm
12/9/10 - 10:28 pm
Lisa Barrows, the Delaware County DWI Coordinator, in front of her office door in Delhi. Photo by Julia Reischel.
This story has been updated with new information as of 12:30pm, 12/10/10. Scroll to the bottom to read the update.
Unlikely as it sounds, the Delaware County Stop DWI program and its sole employee, Lisa Barrows, have become the center of a political firestorm.
In six of years running the anti-drunk-driving program, Barrows has racked up an impressive track record. Educators and law enforcement have praised her outreach efforts in local schools. During her tenure, she reports, drunk driving fatalities in the county have fallen by 50 percent.
But despite her program's successes, Barrows said that county supervisor Jim Eisel told her today that her appointment as coordinator of the Stop DWI program will not be renewed when her term expires at the end of 2010. Eisel did not return multiple calls for comment, but two other sources confirmed that county officials have decided not to renew her contract.
Sources offered differing accounts of how and when the decision about Barrows was made.
The last time Barrows was up for reappointment by the county, in January of 2009, public safety committee chairman Craig DuMond stated on the record that Barrows “has turned the department into a model DWI program for other counties in New York State” and that she had done “an outstanding job.”
In an interview yesterday, when asked if he still supported Barrows's work, DuMond declined to comment on her performance.
“I think the program itself is doing OK,” he said. “It would be inappropriate for me to comment on personnel matters.”
Len Utter, the supervisor of Middletown, and also a member of the Public Safety committee, still endorses Barrows.
“She took a program that was basically defunct and, as far as I'm concerned, put it back on the map,” he said yesterday.
But support for Barrows on the county board appears to have largely evaporated since her last reappointment. In particular, Sidney supervisor Bob McCarthy, who sits on the public safety committee, took an instant dislike to her when he took the supervisor job in January.
Barrows claims that when she met McCarthy for the first time, at a county board meeting on January 5, he told her, “I'm your worst enemy.”
Barrows and McCarthy traded letters this spring, in which McCarthy criticized the Stop DWI program and Barrows defended it. (You can see both letters below.)
The correspondence reached a peak in July, when McCarthy emailed Barrows and copied all of Delaware County's supervisors to say that he “did not approve of [the] program or the way DWI laws were enforced in general.”
He then attacked the Stop DWI program for being a “waste of taxpayer money.” (In fact, the program is not funded with taxpayer money, but by fines paid by drunk drivers.)
In the email, McCarthy also called Barrows “vindictive, arrogant, and aggressive,” and stated that he believed she should not work with schoolchildren. (The entirety of that email is printed below.)
Eisel has also expressed distaste for anti-DWI efforts in the county. In a county board meeting on May 26, he argued successfully against accepting a grant from the county Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council to fund an underage drinking enforcement program. In the meeting, Eisel said that retail compliance checks to deter underage drinking amounted to “entrapment.”
There are other forces working against Barrows as well. The Delaware County Sheriff, Thomas Mills, has floated the idea of putting the Stop DWI program under his own department, where, he says, it will save the county money by eliminating Barrows's salary. (The county's 2011 budget states that the program will have a budget of $122,000, which includes a $38,000 salary for its coordinator.)
“Hypothetically, I commented to somebody that yes, it would [save money], because it would eliminate a paid position within the county,” Mills said today.
Under the sheriff's department, the Stop DWI program and its education programs in local schools would be staffed by sheriff's deputies, MIlls said. He added that he had not been officially told that his department would be managing the program, or of any decisions about Barrows.
In an interview yesterday, before she had been informed that the county had decided not to reappoint her, Barrows said the politics surrounding her – and the Stop DWI program in general – had become unbearably hostile.
“It's a nightmare,” she said. “I wish I could be in a department where I could just come to work every day and do my job.”
12/10/10 update: The Daily Star also has a story in today's paper, and cites an email sent by Eisel to Utter confirming that Barrows will not be reappointed.
Craig DuMond returned a call this morning to confirm that Barrows's contract will not be renewed next year. He said that he could not explain the situation two days ago during an interview because Barrows "had not been advised about that yet."
DuMond said that the decision about Barrows was made "mainly for budgetary reasons."
"Aobut half of the [Stop DWI] budget is eaten by wages and future benefits of the coordinator," he said. "We're looking at making the position a part-time position."
The county would not have to pay a part-time Stop DWI coordinator healthcare or retirement benefits, Dumond said. That part of the Stop DWI budget "could be pushed to [those doing the] grunt work" of DWI enforcement.
There has been no decision made yet about where or how the program will be administered, DuMond said. He added that he personally is not recommending that it go to the Sheriff's Office. "We're going to be discussing it in future public safety meetings," he said.
The decision to end Barrows's appointment at the head of the program "has been the topic of discussion" by the public safety committee over "the past couple of months," DuMond said. But officially, the public safety commitee has no say in the decision to end Barrows's contract, he said, because by statute, her position is appointed solely by the county chairman.
"There was a recommendation from the public safety committee to proceed in this direction," he said. "But the appointment is totally Jim [Eisel]'s."
Correspondence between Bob McCarthy and Lisa Barrows:
Barrows to McCarthy, June 24, 2010:
Letter from Bob McCarthy to Lisa Barrows, copied to the Delaware County Board of Supervisors, July 22, 2010:
Subject: Insubordination
Let’s put this in chronological order:
At a Jan meeting of the Board of Supervisors you approached me and introduced yourself. I told you that I did not approve of your program or the way DWI laws were enforced in general.
At the end of April you sent me an Email extolling your new and improved “mock crash”.
In mid May I answered your Email telling you that a “mock crash” was ridiculous and reiterated my feelings about the issue in general.
Within four hours I received a threatening Email from a Terry Hannum who informed me that if I did not mend my ways that I would be reported to MADD, SADD, etc.
I received word that you had contacted area schools informing them of my “indiscretion” and seeking aid against this travesty.
I received word that you had contacted “the list” (apparently an Email list of other STOP DWI directors, etc) with the similar purpose of enlisting support for your cause.
I received a letter from the Mayor of Sidney praising your efforts, condemning my actions, doubting my constituent support, while failing to mention the fact that you had just gifted a car, purchased with 26 thousand dollars of County funds, to them.
The Sidney Democratic Party attacked me, on your behalf, in a letter to the Oneonta Star
In late June, after you had attacked me in apparently every way that you could think of, you sent me a letter, while copying every news outlet in the area, wanting to explain to me how wonderful you are and the value of your program. It was printed in the Tri Town News. I just answered that letter and copied all of the venues that you had added.
This is insubordination in its most extreme form.
In our form of government, job descriptions, oversight, and funding are generated by elected officials. Although, by design, you report to the Public Safety Committee you have apparently received very little supervision, believed that you were autonomous, and could do anything that you wanted.
I don’t know what you hoped to accomplish by your actions, if you thought you could blackmail me into changing my vote that certainly didn’t work. If you thought your actions would cow other Supervisors into not opposing you, I hope that doesn’t work either.
When this first started I just believed that your job description was ill conceived and that your program was a waste of taxpayer money. I still believe that, but in addition I now believe that your manner is too vindictive, arrogant, and aggressive for you to represent the County, especially in any program involving school children.
Sincerely yours,
Bob McCarthy, Town of Sidney Supervisor
Comments
Bob Mc Carthy
I would be willing to bet Bob did not write either of the letters above especially the top/most recent one, he's not that intelligent or articulate enough. He probably dictated while in the bathroom looking in the mirror hence the words vindictive,arrogant and aggressive.
Watch out Delaware County Residents your government is being run behind closed doors!
We'd ask that you please
We'd ask that you please refrain from ad hominem attacks on individuals, especially when commenting anonymously.
Thanks,
Your friendly neighborhood comment moderator
Hey Bob - are your related to
Hey Bob - are your related to Joseph?
Lisa Barrows
Ah, the old boy network at work again. He probably had a few beers before he wrote that letter, then got in the car to drive it to the post office.
nice pic!
quite the story! mostly, i love this photo.
Great Story
Thanks for such great reporting. Hope you'll be following this. I think lots of people will be very interested to see how things play out.
STOP DWI PROGRAM AND COORDINATOR
Based on the decision made by the Delaware County Board of Supervisors Wednseday evening I am even more cynical about where our Country is heading. If the number of DWI arrests and fatalities has dropped, obviously educating our children has been positive. My teenager was shocked when he heard that Ms. Barrows was being removed from the position. She has had a very positive relationship with our young population.
Education and Preventative Measures
I'm a
Oh, and PS, the
Oh, and PS, the insubordination letter from top to bottom says everything we need to know about McCarthy's lack of professionalism, tact and basic human decency. His over the top exaggerations and claim of "insubordination" are nothing short of ridiculous.
Insubordination is the act of a subordinate deliberately disobeying a lawful order.
How exactly is Ms. Barrows a subordinate?
DWI coordinator/ Bob McCarthy
She is actually my mother, and I am ashamed someone like Bob McCarthy has any power to do anything. It is clear this was planned out, and it is much deeper then most people think/know. This is a clear-as-day conspiracy, and moments like this make me ashamed to be an American, knowing that lives will potentially be lost because of bogus, greedy, no-show supervisors. Obviously anyone voting against her and this life-saving program is voting for Bob McCarthy, who should not have any say in ANYTHING in politics. Please support my mother and her life-saving program that is on the verge of being run to the ground.
another non-biased opinion.
another non-biased opinion. conspiracy? what do you know about it? besides of course what your mother has already stated. the moderator seems to seek factual based input yet we allow emotional outpouring from a child to be posted. where is your "conspiracy"? any facts to back that up? aside of course from those supplied by barrows herself (which i might add should be taken with a hefty grain of salt)
seriously?
can we have a better Jerry Springer moment than the over dramatized silly picture? is she standing in front of the firing range target supposed to reflect the fact that she is under fire or has been fired? let me tell you something about Barrows. she's a liar. she's a thief. she is incapable of speaking the truth. here's a suggestion: call all the schools in the county and see how many she has actually done a program in within the last year. i know my kids school has invited her repeatedly but she never shows up. how about some soundbites from other people she's supposed to be working with? how come they aren't coming to her defense? courts? police departments? prosecutors? clinics? where are the dwi victims that she's helped? why haven't they spoken up? oh yeah, because they know something this "story" and it is a story, a work of fiction; she probably deserved to be fired.
fiction?
If you know of any factual errors in this story, please send requests for corrections to editor@watershedpost.com.
Also, this comment thread is in danger of degenerating into a swamp of ad hominem nastiness. Please keep it civil.
We'd prefer that readers sign up for a username to leave comments. Preferably their real one. There are other local news sites that require all commenters to use their full name and give their local address to the moderator. If things get too ugly around here, we may institute a similar policy.
reply
i don't understand. prior postings were viciously attacking the county and mccarthy specifically, but there was no warning issued about keeping it civil. suddenly someone who knows barrows for what she is, and asks the watershed to do a little more background than just call her suggested references, gets chided for keeping it civil. do some digging and try to apply the standard to all posters, not just those who criticize barrows.
I haven't weighed in as a
I haven't weighed in as a moderator on anything until today -- we've been busy. I posted a warning to a McCarthy-attacking post as well, possibly as you were writing your second comment. See entire comment thread above.
We do try to be in all places simultaneously, but it tends to violate the laws of physics.
note to all future commenters on this thread
Please stay on topic. Criticisms of people's performance as elected or appointed officials are kosher. Personal attacks are not.
If this thread can't behave itself, it will be closed to anonymous commenting.
Lisa Barrows
Hi This is actually Lisa Barrows typing. I'm putting my actual name so there is no confusion. First, I truly appreciate the time people have taken to come forward and voice their displeasure about what Mr. McCarthy, Craig Dumond and Jim Eisel are doing. My messages at work were all from angery parents and school officials wanting to know what they can do to help. My office phone also rang off the hook with more of the same.
I'm sure the above slanderous comment is a planted seed from a good ol boy. I'm not worried, in fact I find it humorous. Please do call any school in this county, plus Oneonta Job Corps. I have been to every school that has answered my invitation. I am a dept. of one, there for it is physically implossible for me to be at every school during the prom/graduation time, which is when most schools want me. I did however, manage to do 5 mock crashes in 5 schools, and visit two other schools with the Pedal Karts & Drunk Goggles. Try calling Downsville Central School, Delaware Academy, Sidney Central School, Franklin Central School, Charolette Valley, South Kortright, Walton Central School, Oneonta Job Corps.,..I think you get my point. Regarding law enforcement, although I have all their supportive emails and phone calls, clearly they have jobs ot keep and it would be difficult, I'm sure for them to come forward publically. I certainly understand this. Having said, that (hopefully they won't mind taking a few calls) please feel free to contact Colchester PD, State Troopers/Troop C, Sidney PD, Delhi PD, Walton PD, DEC & DEP. I have worked proudly with them all and have complete faith that they would verify this positive relationship. My personnel record is immaculate and I have stacks of cards and letters given through the 6 years from those whose lives the program has touched. Anyone who knows me knows the above is simply smoke and mirrors...something the good ol boys are good at. Now, in honor of my father who always advised to never get into a pissing match with a skunk, I will say no more. My record speaks for itself.
yup, a broken record
yup, a broken record
if your record speaks for
if your record speaks for itself why are you losing your job? furthermore, aren't you in an appointed position? which means you serve at the discretion of the board of supervisors. if they don't like something you're doing, then you lose your position. appointed does not equal entitled. i see there are schools missing from your list and police agencies missing also...why are they not on your list?
About the Stop DWI budget
I'm curious about something. The article states, in part:
Just how much discretion does the county have with that budget, anyway. I know that, if they were to get rid of the program altogether, they'd lose the money altogether since the program is the only way the state gives those DWI fines back to the counties. But what about the fine print? Do the counties even have the option of pushing that part of the budget to those doing the grunt work of enforcement?
Besides, I thought the point of the program was to focus on prevention, which would obviate the need for so much enforcement.
You do have to wonder why the Board of Supervisors found it necessary to screw around with something that was working.
(And I'm not afraid to say who I am, even if I haven't signed up for an account!)
Dawn Rivers Baker, Sidney
actually, the very tone of
actually, the very tone of your email speaks volumes of the lack of respect you have for the people who you answer to, which i would guess was a reason in your axeing. "good old boys"? yup, i want that person working for delaware county...
Dear Editor
Dear editor, a credible news source does not allow anonymous commenting and runs the risk of being sued for what is written otherwise. You might want to adjust your policies.
anonymous commenting
This is something we've wrestled with, actually, and will continue to wrestle with.
Most newspaper websites that allow commenting allow anonymous (or pseudonymous) comments, including local ones. I know of few that insist on people using their real names.
Some do. The Batavian, a news website in western New York, insists on real names from commentes. That policy requires a great deal or work on the part of the publisher, though, since doing it right requires cross-checking the address of every new poster to make sure no one is using a fake name.
Personally, I would rather have comments only by logged-in users who post under their real name. But we don't have the manpower just now to police such a policy, and so we haven't instituted one. We may change this policy if anonymous/pseudonymous comments get out of hand.
The goal: keeping the place fairly civil without shutting down real discussion of tough issues. Not always an easy task.
not anonymous
I totally support the Watershed Post moving to a policy of users using real names only. The blogoshere has been ruined by rude , anonymous posts. Thanks for your great work WP !
There's a certain irony in
There's a certain irony in this comment being left by an anon. *grin* But thanks -- we'd love to hear from more readers on how they feel about this issue.
Wait a minute anonymous
Wait a minute anonymous above....credible news sources allow responders to respond anonymously all the time. Too bad, because people just can't avoid being rude and obnoxious when they are allowed to take no responsibility for it.
Anonymous Postings
The problem with anonymous postings is that the person posting is not being truthful about who they are, so how can you really take their posting seriously? When you sign your name, you are stating your support for what you write. You can also be held accountable for your comments, accusations, and opinion.
I agree with Lissa, questioning track records and programs is fair game (particularly when they involve tax payer funds). But character assasination by anonymous post is not. If you point a finger, provide facts to back up your claims. To those of you signing as "anonymous", time to own up to what you post.
While Lisa Barrows and I are not on personally friendly terms, I do commend her for tackling an unpopular topic and I respect her work at resurrecting an abandoned program. If her commitment to educating audiences about drunk driving saves ONE life, her time and our taxpayer money is well spent.
If we were to openly review all of the County's appointed positions, I'm sure we'd find that many positions could be eliminated or reduced to part-time status to save the County money. But then again, what does that do for the economic viability of one of New York State's poorest counties (Delaware)?
Tara Collins, Meredith
Why is there no mention of
Why is there no mention of Ms. Barrows' disastrous motorcycle raffle, which she ran with no authority to do so and, for a while, in violation of state law? Her treatment of those who questioned it, including Supervisors, led to much of the opposition to her management of the program.
Lisa Barrows earned this firing.
Delaware County politics have
Delaware County politics have been dirty for a long time....nothing new here. Small town minds wielding too much power over people who are actually doing the work.
Candyce Ricco, East Branch
You know perhaps other
You know perhaps other folks had the same experience I did in posting here. I thought if I was writing thru my email account I would be identified by name on my post unless I requested anonymity. Not.
Maureen Millar Mt Tremper NY
Thanks Maureen. Just to
Thanks Maureen. Just to clarify: no, your email address will not be published if you register for a username on our site. People will be able to send you messages through our site if they wish, but they won't have direct access to your private email.
Favoritism by Watershed Post?
Yesterday, I submitted a post that was critical of Ms. Barrows' handling of a motorcycle raffle. It has not been posted. Are you only allowing comments that paint her in a positive light?
your comment
I believe your comment was among several (including this one) that I just approved.
We do not allow anonymous comments to be published immediately; if we did, the site would be overrun with Viagra spam, not to mention the sort of incivility we're generally trying to discourage around here. We have been offline in meetings for most of the day, and comments posted since early yesterday evening have been waiting in a moderation queue.
We do not generally withhold anonymous comments unless they are clearly either 1. spam, or 2. truly egregious personal attacks. We use our judgement, and try to err on the side of free and open discussion.
If you would like access to post comments immediately, please register for a username on our site and you will be able to comment without waiting for the moderator. Abuse of this privilege will result in your account being blocked.
Thanks for asking. Like I said, our comment policy is a work in progress, and it's not perfect.
P.S.
FYI, we haven't yet rejected any comments on this story.
I'm registered but my name did not show on the post!
I'm registered but my name did not show on the post!
one more step to registering
When you register for a username, our system sends you an email, with a link in it. Your account isn't fully activated until you click the link. I'm guessing that's what your issue is.
We do this, again, to weed out the Viagra spammers. We get a lot of fake accounts created by spambots trying to flood our site with comments about shady mortgage loans and pharmaceuticals.
Bob McCarthy is out to ruin
Bob McCarthy is out to ruin not only a small town but now hes moved to the county. How long are we going to allow this "man" to rip ever thing that has worked apart ? This "man" should go back to bing a liltte pee on that he was. And Craig Dumond should go back to bing a cop atless then he works for the people and not against the people.
Sidney center, Resident
careful, anon
Your scare quotes around "man" are skirting the line, there.
McCarthyism
Seems like McCarthy moved on from his ill-informed pursuit to close down the Muslim cemetery to an equally ill-informed position on spending taxpayer's money. His comments indicate he has no understanding that the DWI program funding comes from DWI fines and cannot be re-directed for any other purpose than the DWI programs. I hope he's prepared to return the car that was purchased for the program coordinator's use back to Albany now that he succeeded in closing down that part of the program in Delaware County. Will he now move to stop police from doing random stops at DWI check spots?
http://stopdwi.org/county_detail.php?cid=13
Admin - you can skip my posting as anonymous now that I have an account :+}
Lisa Barrows: Passion & Integrity.
My name is Lea Davis from Oregon. I have known Lisa for 40 plus years. We grew up together. From the very beginning when Lisa had a mission to accomplish she did it with passion and integrity. Many people in Oregon would describe Lisa with these two words. I have been following Lisa’s success story with the DWI program. It does not surprise me that her program is a model program for other states. It does not surprise me that she has had countless people contact her and express their sadness for her unjustly firing. I am sure many are in a position to not be “public” of their distaste for this decision and for who is responsible. You will read about Lisa Barrows again. She will again be involved in something that she helps turn to gold. I will not wish ill feelings towards the fate of this program’s future for obvious reasons of its importance of continued success-the reason Lisa was involved in something so important. I have three teenagers and the mock crash they witnessed has left a huge impression on them. I wish you much success in filling Lisa’s shoes-because it will be a difficult task to ever hire another Lisa. Lisa’s success will define her and not by people in power that introduce themselves as someone’s “worst enemy”. As my husband’s very dear late grandmother would say, “What goes around, comes around.” Your community will tire of this person and in this person’s own words “worst enemy” will “come around” and define this person. (Shame on you!) The world needs more people like Lisa. This Oregonian sends their deep regrets to Delaware.