And Rob O’Leary isn’t in public office anymore. He’s been acting in an advisory capacity, and there is a lot standing between him and making any kind of authority a reality, namely residents, selectmen, county commissioners, and the heads of the Cape Cod Commission and the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative, all of whom have said they’re not in favor of it. O’Leary can recommend a taxpayer-funded authority until he’s blue in the face, but unless it makes it through a multi-layered process that is already stacked against it, acting like O’Leary has some sort of unstoppable magical authority-creation power is ludicrous.

>> Political candidates who now inexplicably appear overly aggressive in trying to distance themselves from regional facilitation of the wastewater management problem…

Inaccurate statement. No one is distancing themselves from regional facilitation, they are rejecting the concept of a taxpayer-funded authority. Big difference.

>> …warnings about potential federal lawsuit consequences are engaging in nothing less than political fear mongering and scare tactics! Voters must not allow such officials to succeed in playing politics with their lives or bullying them!

You mean the lawsuit that is already well in-process? Also, why is it all right for one side to fear-monger, but not the other? Because you happen to agree/disagree with what they’re saying? Either they’re all plying the situation for political gain or none of them are. Can’t have it both ways.

Furthermore, relative to the current county commissioners, the taxpayers and voters should only trust them with a healthy dose of skepticism and caution. During the forthcoming November election, Cape Cod voters need to think carefully about who they elect to public office at the county or regional level. Political candidates who now inexplicably appear overly aggressive in trying to distance themselves from regional facilitation of the wastewater management problem (so they may expediently claim political deniability) or who incessantly belch out warnings about potential federal lawsuit consequences are engaging in nothing less than political fear mongering and scare tactics! Voters must not allow such officials to succeed in playing politics with their lives or bullying them! Cape voters should responsibility and astutely employ their commonsense and logic when approaching this matter on Election Day.

The topic of wastewater management on Cape Cod is being undermined by a very small handful of people — one especially driven, I dare say obsessed individual in particular — who cannot deal in hard facts and must instead twist information to suit their preferred narrative. Such chicanery is NOT helping the debate and only stands to harm the public. Shameless dissemination of propaganda, even outright lies, will not generate a good answer to this very thorny question.