Today is the 4th anniversary of a seminal turning point in my professional life: Ubergate.
On this day, four years then County Comptroller accused me publicly of wrong doing, which upended my life for weeks. I was cleared, and the voters punished him for the unfair attacks. I won’t go much into the details in this post. Google my name and Uber, and you will see all the articles and make judgments for yourself.
I don’t really talk about that much in the time on my professional feeds since. And someday, I will tell the whole story of that year and what led up to those moments. The fact county offices were used to target the Board of Elections throughout the year with needless audits and little-known county charter provisions allowing subpoenas into my private business records were used. It was much more than the public knew.
However, in this year of local elections, it is important to remember that we make sure we put people in office who are there to serve, not to use the power of government to protect their friends and punish their ends. It is our government; they serve at our pleasure. They are there to protect us and make our lives better, not seek personal vendettas and enrich themselves or their friends.
I have left this non-partisan because I truly believe there are good people on both sides, even though I disagree with their philosophies. I will always cherish the friends who reached out this day four years ago on all political spectrums and stood by me, and had faith in my integrity despite the rhetoric from a few reckless, dangerous people.
Thank you to all of you for still allowing me to serve as one of our elections commissioners in my home, Onondaga County. It’s the honor of my life, and I strive every day trying to live up to the faith people have had in my ability to serve.
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Dustin M. Czarny 