Atlantic City power play fails

Organizers of a petition drive to eliminate the position of mayor in Atlantic City thought they had 3,000-plus valid signatures. They had 699. Many of the others were illegible, ineligible or had been collected by notaries not in good standing. Worse still, “Some people said they were told to sign this to get on the list for Section 8 housing or to clean up the streets. They were duped,” said Mayor Marty Small. Big winner in the showdown was Small. Losers included Unite-Here labor boss Robert McDevitt, Resorts Atlantic City owner Morris Bailey and former state legislator Raymond Lesniak (pictured). McDevitt was unbowed, saying, “Marty Small and his family have been living comfortably for decades off the backs of Atlantic City residents. The least he could do out of respect to their contributions to his lavish lifestyle is to tell the truth. Of that, he is incapable.”

Vowing that “We’re not giving up, and we’re not going away,” McDevitt turned his ire upon city government. “This is a cartel. It’s the same dozen or so people who have controlled this city for 30 years, and they have ravaged the government, and we’re not going to let them anymore. We’re tired of them taking our money and doing nothing with it.” Small was untroubled, rejoining, “It’s a great day here in Atlantic City. We knew this was not going to go anywhere, be in through the process or at the polls. Thank you for exposing who you really are.” Small may not have much political power in a city run by Trenton but for a day he can feel large and in charge.

* When he’s not fretting about cyber-attacks from Iran, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson can now concern himself with ransomware. As the name implies, it takes your data hostage then enables the hacker to demand an exorbitant payday. Cyberinsurance may be contributing to the problem, says Cybersecurity Editor Sarah Nessel: “In many cases, insurers will pay the ransom demands, because doing so is cheaper than covering lost revenue during the time the targeted entity is unable to operate. This, in turn, encourages more ransomware attacks.” Nessel isn’t thrilled with biometrics either: “Proponents like to tout that biometric authentication will make everyone’s life better by doing away with passwords forever, and they often claim it’s foolproof, but at the moment, that isn’t the case. These technologies have a long way to go, and the scope of privacy concerns they’ll create is vast.” Amen to that.