Bonior Boy Bruley reveals his penny-pincher side

Ed Bruley, forever linked to our former congressman, left-winger Dave Bonior, has gradually revealed his true spots.

Bruley, as a member of the county Board of Commissioners, was particularly blunt in the budget reduction sessions of 2008-09. He called for some tough measures to cut expenses, including a strong stand for employment reductions through attrition at a time when even some Republican commissioners were skittish about taking tough measures.

Now, as a Mount Clemens school board member, Bruley was a leading supporter for a plan approved earlier this month that calls for a $200,000 reduction in the budget every month until the school district’s deficit is cut by $1.8 million.

The Macomb Daily editors were apparently so surprised by this step that they made the reductions the top story on Page 1 in the Jan. 22 paper, far outshining President Obama’s second inauguration.

The tough-love approach to the Mount Clemens schools’ deficit comes from the same Ed Bruley who served as top aide and advisor to Bonior throughout the Democratic congressman’s 26 years in the House. The ultimate Bonior boy, when Bruley stepped out from the shadows to run for office, for county commissioner in 2006, most Republicans assumed he would serve as the left-wing advocate on the board.

I suspect that, from a personal standpoint, Bruley is a miser. But who knew that he would display that penny-pincher side in public?