Reform-minded county legislators, acting in the public interest, have killed Fasoldt's attempt to reform the process that led to the legislative pay raise last December.
Raise your hand if you didn't see this one coming. If your hand is raised you must be one of those people that is shocked that O.J. hasn't found the "real killer". The fact that Mirch was on the committee should have been a tip-off to everyone that Kelleher did not take reform seriously. The committee has accomplished exactly what it was intended to accomplish: nothing.
Republicans also refuse to concede that the pay raise was not public knowledge before their votes were cast. If, by public knowledge, Kelleher means that he opened his back door and whispered, "we're getting raises," then he's correct. Does he mean it was out in the open, debated and highlighted in area newspapers? No, it wasn't.
And why not? The rationale for the raise was that the legislature had not received a raise for many years. Supporters of the GOP majority also point out that the Rensselaer County Legislature may be one of the world's greatest deliberative bodies, second only to the Anglo-Saxon Althing. If true, why wasn't this case made to the voters before the election? Why did they lie to Talespin? Why did they do the deed during one of the busiest weeks in the year?
On the upside, according to Shawn Charniga's article (The Record, April 6, 2006, p. 8), Kelleher "shushed" Mirch at the meeting. That's priceless. On the otherhand, Kelleher said it would be unfair for a legislator to have to run in November on the lone issue of whether or not they voted for a pay raise. We'll file that complaint in the 'boo-fucking-hoo" file.
Good government marches on!
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