CAMPANA SMACKDOWN

Everyone wants to talk about Clem Campana and certain events that may or may not have taken place the other night. Campana allegedly mixed it up at a recent neighborhood meeting. Franco has the story, here.

Nice story, except, it contains nothing but mere allegations against Mr. Campana. That's not to say it isn't news. It's just good to remember one person's allegations are not necessarily true.

Matt Ryan wants to sell the Hudson Mohawk Recovery Center certain property on Congress Street. The deal would net Mr. Ryan approximately $450,000. Except, word is, Ryan doesn't actually own the property. He's sort of a middle-man and his exact relationship to the property remains shadowy.

Neighbors do not want the recovery center in their neighborhood. Thus, a meeting was called in order for recovery center representatives to better explain the nature of their work. Mr. Ryan (not too popular with the neighbors) was specifically asked not to come to the meeting. He failed to honor that request.

The upshot is that Mr. Ryan has accused Councilman Campana of using "foul, disgusting and abusive" language. According to some, Mr. Campana accused Mr. Ryan of being a "poo-poo head."

In actuality, one has to wonder if Mr. Ryan knows what Mr. Campana looks like. Reliable witnesses say that Mr. Campana was never near Mr. Ryan although one neighbor did get in Ryan's face.

Lets see: one man has a cool $450,000 riding on a deal. Another is known for conducting himself like a gentleman and does not have a track record of such behavior (not to mention numerous witness that say Ryan is wrong). A non-story in our opinion.

Except, an area reporter received an anonymous letter describing the events. A letter that accused Mr. Campana of violating the ethics law for speaking in front of the Planning Board. We ask: what does that smell like? Smells like a BM.

Speaking of Bobby. The Democrats on the Council are introducing a resolution requesting an investigation into the City's procurement policies and the possible violation of same. Within a few hours of releasing that information, one councilman received a call from Bobby Mirch (we hope he wasn't driving at the time), asking if that councilman had signed off on the resolution. Bobby didn't sound pleased and hung-up.

Which Mirch called? In what capacity? Why is the DPW Commissioner calling legislators about a proposed resolution that has nothing to do with the DPW? Is this Bobby's fourth job?

As for the resolution, let us guess: Harry will fall back on his typical lament: "I wish they had talked to me...." When Democrats do make inquiries they receive no response. Asking Harry questions is like talking to Sergeant Schultz.

In fact, Councilman Campana did send a letter to Harry asking for information on the Spargo matter. No reply. Others have done the same. No reply. Ryan's allegations are likely payback. We suspect Peter Ryan is now on the payback list.

Maybe Harry can have Spargo conduct the investigation. It'll be expensive but you'll get a guaranteed outcome.