Striking while the iron is hot was one of my dear departed mother's many truisms. I have since discovered that it is not good advice when it leads to the public being fed misinformation.

David Kotecki, president of AFSCME Local 1378, either neglected to check his facts or simply chose not to in his recent guest commentary, "Passero's ideas don't hold up to scrutiny," (Feb. 15).

Kotecki makes a number of claims, which include that Mayor Finizio passed a responsible contractor ordinance and that Kotecki's union endorsed Finizio. Both are either flat-out fiction or show a flagrant disregard for truth.

Finizio was not even a resident of this city in 2008 when then freshman Councilor Michael Passero argued passionately but unsuccessfully against rescinding the Responsible Contractor Ordinance. Since the responsibility for the passage of all ordinances belongs to the City Council and not the mayor, credit for the passage of the new RCO should go to Passero who worked diligently when council president to guide the ordinance to passage.

Kotecki also played fast and loose when claiming that his union had endorsed Finizio. The union members were never asked nor given the opportunity to vote.