Is Anyone Surprised?

For through the grace of God given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  ~Romans 12:3 NASB

In an article in the 28 Dec 2010 issue of the Clare Sentinel, Zoning Boss Slot Opens in Hayes Township, by Rosemary Horvath, Lyle Criscuolo felt it necessary to invoke his occupation as a pastor in a show of pious, self-righteous indignation directed against the Mostetler Road and Deer Lake neighbors.   We dared to question the integrity of a pastor (as though that makes us somehow less Christian).  I have refrained from mentioning Mr. Criscuolo’s vocation because I felt it was inappropriate to do so. 

Pastors are fallible human beings, prone to pride and ambition just like the rest of us laypeople.  Mr. Criscuolo believes that because he is a pastor and missionary in his church, his leadership in the Hayes Township government is beyond scrutiny.  It upsets him that we have questioned his authority and actions on the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals.

Mr. Criscuolo’s standing as a pastor in his church and his missionary activities, while commendable, are irrelevant.  They have nothing to do with Mr. Criscuolo’s actions with regard to Michigan Moto Mania.  Mr. Criscuolo’s church activities are not the issue in Hayes Township, and have no bearing on this discussion.   

“Do you know who I am?”

What is your first reaction to those words when someone asks you that?  Is it a positive reaction or is it a negative reaction? 

Do you ever wonder what motivates a person to speak those words?  Generally, those words are designed to make the one to whom they are directed shrink back and get back in his place because he is obviously in the presence of one who is his superior.  The implication being, “I’m someone important around here and you’re nobody.”

Those were the very first words Mr. Criscuolo spoke to me the first time I met him personally, in May 2010.  Of course, he wanted to make sure that I knew that he was the chairman of both the Hayes Township Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals; to be sure, an important person with whom to be reckoned.  At the time, I did not realize the power grip that Mr. Criscuolo holds over the entire township’s government; but I soon figured it out.  It is power that does not belong to him.  The citizens of Hayes Township did not elect him.  Mr. Criscuolo was appointed to his position by the Board of Trustees some twenty years ago.  He has acquired power and been wielding it over the last 15 years as the chairman of two boards.  His grip on the power he has usurped is tenacious.

So it does not surprise me that despite Mr. Criscuolo’s many acts of malfeasance that we have brought to light, he still does not believe he has done anything wrong.  He refuses to step down.  If Mr. Criscuolo leaves office, it will not be voluntarily, as he has indicated to the Clare Sentinel (Criscuolo Won’t Be Resigning, by Rosemary Horvath) and the Clare County Cleaver (Opposition Seeks Removal of Criscuolo From Hayes Planning Commission, by Genine Hopkins).  He will have to be removed, and he will go defiantly.

Frankly, I don’t care if Mr. Criscuolo has little patience with those of us who don’t want a noisy racetrack in our backyard.  Our issues with Hayes Township have moved beyond the motocross business in our backyard to the apparent ineptitude or corruption in our Township government that allowed it to happen in the first place.  This is the same township government in which Mr. Criscuolo plays an inappropriately large role as an appointed (not elected) official.  We don’t have much patience with appointed officials who abuse the power of their offices, and we will do what we can to see them removed from office.    

I am in no position to judge Mr. Criscuolo as a pastor or as a brother in Christ.  He will stand or fall before the Judge of us all.  I do question Mr. Criscuolo’s motivations as an appointed commissioner.  We hold him accountable for his actions in his role as an appointed commissioner.  We did not elect him, and we object to his continued presence on both the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

At the December 2010 Board of Trustees meeting, Township Supervisor John Scherrer committed to putting Mr. Criscuolo’s continued tenure on the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals on the agenda of the18 Jan 2011 Board of Trustees meeting.  They should be discussing whether or not to have a public hearing about Mr. Criscuolo’s continued service, or to simply ignore his malfeasance and all it has cost the taxpayers of Hayes Township to date and will continue to cost.      

It is time for the Hayes Township Board of Trustees to relieve Mr. Criscuolo of his “unfortunate burden,” thank him for his years on the boards, and replace him on the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals with someone who will act in accordance with the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance.  Then perhaps Mr. Criscuolo will have more time to pursue his missionary activities in Africa and serve the much greater good instead of abusing his power in Hayes Township.   

One thing is certain, whatever they decide to do (or not do) about Mr. Criscuolo, each member of the Board of Trustees will be on the record.