Surrounded by members of the City Council, executives from Grover Electric, and supportive spectators, Mayor Gondola ceremoniously “pushed out” the first electric snow plow into duty to begin clearing the streets of snow as flurries fell earlier this morning. The mayor took a cue from the traditional “push-in” ceremony used by fire departments when they add a new truck to their fleet. “This is an historic event. It’s yet another example of Cinniapolis talking the talk and walking the walk. Our planet is a little bit healthier because of all the hard work our teams in government and the private sector put in. This is an unprecedented project that can be a blueprint for cities around the world,” said Mayor Gondola.

Grover Electric President, Jade Gondola (Mayor Gondola’s sister-in-law), championed the cooperation between City Council and Grover Electric, “There are endless possibilities when the powers and influence of government and corporations meld together to achieve greatness. We look forward to partnering with our government friends for future projects to usher in a clean energy era for Cinniapolis,” she said. Ms. Gondola is referring to the government engineers and Grover Electric engineers that worked together to design, construct and build this fleet of electric snow plows. Several experienced automakers bid on this project but it was infamously awarded to an electric utility company, drawing the ire of Gondola naysayers.

“This family is gutting Cinniapolis. They circulate our tax dollars to their corporate cronies and then benefit by being appointed to a board of directors or given a cushy executive position because of their last name,” said Chess Murphy at the time contracts were awarded. Mr. Murphy, an outspoken critic of the Gondola family, alleged Grover Electric received the contract because of family ties, “Look, it doesn’t take a genius, okay? Mayor Gondola’s brother is married to the heiress of the Grover family, which is why Grover got the contract. We protested the results but our objection was summarily dismissed,” he said, in reference to Murphy Waste Management not being awarded the contract, even though they have a fleet of proven electric dumpster trucks. “Our trucks were already proven in the field as far as durability and capability, there was no proposal that could’ve been better than ours. All we had to do was affix a (plow) blade to the grills and our trucks would’ve been good to go. The only problem with our proposal is that none of our employees are married to a Gondola,” he said.

After the snow plows hit the streets, the mayor fielded questions for a couple minutes. On the topic of his public absence, “I was getting up to date on medical appointments.” Regarding the more frequent, public calls for a special election, “Well, there are a few prominent voices shouting into the winds. Cinniapolis is a terrific city with more than capable leadership.” Lastly, the assembled press collectively wondered about the mayor’s new glasses, “These were a result of my medical appointments. I’m not the young, sharp-sighted man I used to be. These little cheaters help me with my vision.” And just like that, the mayor was whisked away out of sight.