I usually don’t bother to respond to letters to the editor. After all, in my line of work, you learn to give as good as you get and vice versa. Everybody is entitled to their opinion and after 10 years of column writing, I’ve taken some shots without giving a reply. It goes with the territory.
However, after some thought I decided that I should probably comment on one recently published missive that suggested that my columns were at least partially to blame for Westchester County Board Chairman Bill Ryan’s heart problems. Ryan successfuly underwen open heart surgery a couple of weeks ago.

Here’s the letter in full that was published in The Journal News on June 27:

 

• I hope columnist Phil Reisman is satisfied. His recent uncalled-for, incessant, continuing attacks on Westchester County legislative Chairman Bill Ryan have surely contributed to Ryan’s need for bypass surgery. Stress can seriously affect health. Although it is true that the recent effort of Ryan to increase county legislator salaries was over-reaching, it most certainly did not warrant the continued attacks on Ryan’s integrity. Those of us who have known Bill Ryan since he began his political career know without a doubt that he is an honest, hard-working, dedicated public servant.


• If Reisman wants to serve the good of the public, he should go after the politicians who have really betrayed the public trust. They are well-known and not a bit hard to find. Reisman’s vendetta against Ryan is yellow journalism. He owes Ryan an apology

No doubt I was tough in my reporting, but it wasn’t personal. Indeed, my “vendetta” is only against governmental greed—and in my view, Ryan’s attempt at a salary grab was nothing short of greedy, especially at a time when so many people are facing wage stagnation, higher taxes and job loss. If I harbor any satisfaction at all, it’s because his effort failed.

I know nothing of Ryan’s health history in terms of his diet or exercise habits. However, I always took him at his word that he worked ridiculously long hours. His self-imposed work regimen was something he used to justify the idea of raising his pay beyond that of a part-time legislator.

In a March 20 column, I wrote the following:

“Ryan claims he toils from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., which sounds like the daily regimen of those workaholic Tokyo executives who never go home, rarely sleep and end up dropping dead on the street. In Japan, they have a word for this; it’s called ‘karoshi.’

“If the boss of the board is truly working these kinds of hours, and there is no reason to think he isn’t, then we must worry about his long-term health.”

Three months after those words were written, Ryan underwent heart bypass surgery. Less than two weeks later, he rushed back to the county board to participate in a vote on the county’s controversial $13. 6 million purchase and renovation of 450 Saw Mill River Road in Ardsley.

Only his doctor knows if that was a good idea. But I might suggest, as I did in March, that Ryan might do well for himself to slow down a little bit. His full recovery, it seems to me, depends on two things— good medical care and his own common sense.

In the meantime, I only wish him well.