Politicians find out parenting is demanding, rewarding
BRIAN ACKLEY Political Columnist
There are three roles in life I never wished to fulfill: restaurant waiter, apartment landlord and parent.

The first always seem to be subjected to far too much grief, for too little reward, over things largely out of their control. The second has something to do with the fact I'm the anti Bob Vi l a and the fact that while those who do have rental properties appreciate the extra income, I don't know any that really are happy about the constant life interruptions of a failed furnace or leaky water line, which always seem to come at inopportune times.

The third just simply scared the heck out of me, or at least the consequences did if by chance, even the smallest chance, that I turned out to be lousy at it.

I don't think Byron Brown is a lousy parent. Nor do I think Joel Giambra is either, despite the fact that on the same day Byron III finally came clean on his role in stealing the family SUV, word surfaced that the county executive's 17-year-old son had just pleaded guilty to driving under the influence after earlier being stopped by Tonawanda town police.

And as proof, I offer up another set of parents who have been in the news just a bit recently, Anthony and Mary Capozzi, perhaps the quintessential representation of the almost unearthly bond between a parent and their child. How else do you describe a mother who attends church every day, for 22 straight years, to pray for her son and his exoneration? Not once was a family portrait ever snapped in that time, because in mom's and dad's way of thinking, there wasn't a full family to be photographed. Explain a father who never lost his faith in his son's innocence either, despite a society and a system that repeatedly told them he was not.

Our two most visible political leaders deserve much of the public questioning and criticism they receive. The jury is still a long way from returning a verdict on Brown; Giambra's indefensible performance in his second term has unnecessarily kept handcuffs on any number of possible initiatives, so polluted is his public presence. For the good of the county, he should have resigned two years ago.

But it is true that choosing to be a public figure often comes at the expense of being a father figure.

We want them to attend our dinners, cut our ribbons, march in our parades and often they oblige, five, six nights a week. The higher the office they hold, the more we want them at our event; and oh by the way, could you figure out a way to save an entire region while you're at it. (Even though those that preceded you couldn't.) There's someone else, however, who needs help on his homework, wants to toss a Frisbee in the back yard, drop a worm in the water together on a warm Wednesday evening after work. It's a tradeoff of which I'm sure many office-holders often think, and I believe the answer is just as often uneasy, if not unavoidable.

I'm not one, but I have no doubt parenting is the most difficult, terrifying and rewarding job any person will ever imagine or accept. There isn't one among us who as a teen either directly made, or were at least peripherally involved in, not just one, but a whole slew of stupid decisions. Only the wisdom of the years illuminates just how dumb they really were. Some were criminal; thankfully many were not, in some case only because we didn't get caught.

To suggest Brown should step down for SUV-gate is ludicrous. Public suspicions born by covering up for others are rooted in politics. To defend a son, even in the face of seemingly overwhelming evidence, is rooted in parenthood.

It's not unusual to hear parents say how blessed they are to have good children. I'd bet Brown and Giambra have said as much themselves, and more than once.

As their sons will come to realize, if not now, then later on, and as many of us already have discovered time and again, that's backwards. We are the ones blessed to have such good parents.

(Brian Ackley is a columnist for the Weekly Independent Newspapers of Western New York. For more information on WIN, or to provide feedback on this column, visit our Web site at www.wnynewspapers.com. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)