Did McCormac Politicize the Town's MLK Celebration?

When Mayor John McCormac brought almost the entire town council to an interfaith service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, he introduced them and his new council choice, Kyle Anderson, to the assembled crowd. He also made a note that "one person" from the council was not in attendance - Councilman Bob Luban, the council's only Republican.

Rumor has it that Luban may also be the Republican candidate McCormac will face in November, when the mayor himself will be up for reelection.

The Republican councilman was a bit perplexed about why McCormac would go to such lengths to mention his absence from the event, without mentioning his name.

"If I had been invited, I'd have been happy to come. I think it's unfortunate that the mayor only invited his fellow Democrats to the event," Luban said.  "I would have been delighted to have come and offer my good wishes. I have been to other Dr. King events in the past."

But in the past, Luban had been a registered Democrat. Since he switched parties to become a Republican, McCormac has given him the cold shoulder, even from events that have been traditionally non-partisan with other Woodbridge administrations, such as the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

McCormac arrived at the event, held at the Woodbridge Community Center, with an entourage who had come straight from a Democratic Committee meeting where Anderson was picked to be the replacement for retired Councilwoman Patricia Osborne. The mayor used the moment to announce the news that Anderson was not only his personal choice for the vacant council seat, but the first minority candidate who would sit on that body in Woodbridge.

McCormac made his announcement before Anderson confirmation has been approved by the council. He assured the audience at the MLK event that the confirmation was a done deal, and it would be completed at the next council meeting on Jan. 25.

"I'm disappointed in the mayor that he chose to get political on a day that should unite us all," Luban said. The Republican councilman said he was taken a bit dismayed that the Democrat Commitee would even hold a political rally at the same time the King commemoration was going on.

 "I'm surprised that a partisan political event would have been held on a day like that. I would have loved to have gone to honor Dr. King, but maybe you had to be part of the Democrat Committee to get an invitation," he said.

"It's never a good policy to politicize events like Dr. King's birthday which should remain above the fray," Luban added. "The mayor should have kept the politics out of it."