The City of Troy, New York, "Where Henry Hudson Turned Around."

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

AT-LARGE

This is the Big Kahuna. You run what is basically a mayoral campaign and all you get is the same vote as District 4 (pop. 75). You can win the Council Presidency if you're not too careful. So candidates, beware. Shoot for second place. Your mistakes are not as publicized. Currently, there are 57 candidates running for 3 at-large seats.

Except for 2013, when Republican Carmella Mantello finished fourth, narrowly losing to Lynn Kopka, the Democrats have dominated the At-Large races. Since 2009 that is. The third place Democrat has averaged about 450 votes more than the highest Republican vote-getter. Will this year be different with spoiler Team Troy in the mix?

TEAM DEMOCRAT


These are the real democrats. We mean the candidates that actually won the Democrat Primary. Two out of the three are newcomers to electoral politics. The veteran of the group has only one election notch on her belt. One candidate, we won't say which one, is a cyborg.

CARY DRESHER

This political newcomer is an Associate Dean at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. We don't what an associate dean does but it sounds impressive. Dresher was the top vote-getter in the Democratic primary on September 10. He's young, smart and professional. That said, we still believe he would be an asset to the council and to Troy. He's in a unique position to help integrate RPI and the city to the benefit of all. We should be a college town. We are not. Not compared to other college towns.


ERIN SULLIVAN-TETA

An incumbent, Sullivan-Teta is running for her second term on the council. She has comported herself in a diligent, mature manner. Despite that reputation, she can still be a good representative. Sullivan-Teta is the mother of six children, so she probably needs to get out of the house once in a while. Her project: A Residency Occupancy Permit program to help fight slumlords.

CAROL WEAVER

Carol Weaver, another political newbie. She either worked for a variety criminal justice agencies and was the Public Information Officer for the Board of Parole or she's on parole. We were drinking when we read her bio. That's all we know.




TEAM GOP



When the GOP needs some wins, they turn to the ladies. Female candidates tend to run well in Troy politics, no matter the party.  They don't always win of course. Billie Jean Green and Deb Lockrow didn't but they ran against incumbents. Like the Democrats, two out of the three here are first-timers. All three issued a joint press release a few weeks back on their plan to fight crime. Domestic violence was not addressed.

ANDREA DALEY

Another first-timers, Daley hails from Utica, NY and owns and operates an art restoration business. To date, she has restored former councilman Art Judge and former Deputy DA, Art Glass. We'd like to write all we know about Andrea, and we just did. She looks like a neighborhood association type. A well-known capo in Little Italy. Well-liked by all accounts.

KIM MCPHERSON

Once again, another rookie in the field. McPherson is a lifelong Trojan. According to her facebook page, she believes "enough is enough." Rumor has it that she killed a man in Tijuana one night just to watch him die. Again, well-liked by all accounts.

CARMELLA MANTELLO

Already profiled, by us and everyone else.  Stalking Troy voters for over twenty years.




TEAM TROY


The people who wanted to run as Democrats and lost in the primaries have regrouped and will run on the Working Families Party Line. It was a smart move by Wiltshire to assemble a ticket for his bid for the Democratic nod. In the districts, they only pose a problem for the Democrats in district 5. Here, they could have a bit more of an impact. While it is unlikely that any of them will win, they could drain a few votes from certain candidates, especially Weaver. We'll know soon enough. The WFP is searching for a new logo. One that doesn't look like, at quick glance, a hospital parking sign.


PEGGY KOWNACK

aka The Dart Lady.* It's not uncommon to hear people paint Kownack as, well, a bit of a flake. If she is a flake, we could use some more flakiness around town.  Kownack is a graduate of Troy High School and an veteran of the United States Army. She is one of those activist types. You know the kind, all talk and no action. Except, Kownack has put her money where her mouth is on more than a few occasions. She was instrumental in revitalizing the Troy Central Little League. She was involved in the Uptown Community Harvest Festival and a host of other groups. She actually attends Council meetings. Best of all, the only candidate we know that has been threatened with the guillotine by a cliché. Sacre Bleu!


DAVID MARTIN

No, it's not a fake name on a hotel registry. It's a candidate. Don't know about this guy. Works at Coxsackie Correctional Facility. We don't believe he's a Corrections Officer. Perhaps he works in Guidance or payroll. He did save our life one day when he drove by and did not run us over. That's all we have.

ANASHA CUMMINGS

Already profiled.




CONCLUSION:

Overall, a disappointing group. We have the sinking feeling that this might be the least partisan group of at-large candidates in quite some time. There is a good chance that any combination of the above will exercise common-sense, decency and collegiality. Not a bomb-thrower in the bunch. If this is a trend, we'll be out of business soon.

* Called the Dart Lady for her exemplary work on the Detroit Area Rapid Transit system.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Still no thoughts about the Jim Gordon domestic violence incident (alleged) by the 3 at large Republican candidates (all women) Can ONE of them give us their thoughts on the incident? ONE? C'mon Carmella, you talk about everyone else. This is a women's safety issue and not one if you have the courage to mention it? Carmella has a huge problem being referred to as "she" yet has no opinion on the man chosen to run for mayor over her, holds down his wife (Mrs Gordon's words) causing enough fear in her that she calls 911! Carmella, where is your backbone?

Anonymous said...

Agreed. If I was a female voter, I would be disgusted by their silence. I'm sure many are! Another loss for Carmella

Anonymous said...

Carmella blasted Rodney for derogating women when all he did was refer to her using the pronoun "she"! But she has nothing to say about domestic violence? Pinning women down and scaring them until they call 911 is good stuff in her book? Ridiculous. What a phony.

Anonymous said...

Carmella and the gang take the prize for largest signs, impressive.

Anonymous said...


Carmella doesn't like being called "she," and then has signs that would make a 60 year old Corvette driver flinch... Classic penis envy. Freud could write another whole book on this case.

Anonymous said...

Carmella has no backbone, fact!

Dr. Lovejoy said...

Carm is spineless. I Know. I actually removed her spine in 2007. We put in a silly straw. No titanium rods were available

Anonymous said...

Same person posting over and over again. This blog does really suck.

Anonymous said...

Not a matter of a spinal deficiancy -- selfish//// self absorbed, might better sum it up. And what exactly has she ever done for Troy? Not a Gordon fan, but at least he's been very active in his community over the years. Same goes for Kopka,in the Washington Park area. I do love the fact that Carmella keeps running, and just hands us whatever seat she runs for. Bugbee & McDonough better set up cots for the inevitable recount coming

Anonymous said...

You have this blog confused with Troy spin

Anonymous said...

Sorry fella. I am right of center and I probably disagree with 75% of this stuff but this blog Is very well written, funny and entertaining. Whoever writes this, he/she could be a professional. Franco and some local columnists should take note.

He/she also approves all the comments like "this blog sucks." I don't know about you but I think he/she is pretty grounded. The fact you would take the time to comment on such a sucky blog belies what you say.

Anonymous said...

Harry = Dinosaur. Thriving ancor to the downtown. This is where it all started.
Dunne = Bombers. Name says it all. How much will the city lose?
This my friends is the difference between leadership and foresight. Knowing what the people want and helping place it in the right atmosphere vs Bill Dunne a yogurt and a bad business Barito plan. It will be good to see Madden/Gordon kicking his ass to the curb. His act is old and ineffective.

Anonymous said...

Bouchard and Rosney released that 911 recording. They gave it to Oneill who sent it to centanni. Centanni sent it to Dean and Gordon and they cashed it in to Buddy for 1,000 hours in overtime. Buddy put it back in the file and Willy Woodworth got it and sold it to Asst. Chief Elgeiser for a Famous lunch egg sandwich. Chief Elgeiser gave it to his son Joe who put it in his car and crashed into a family of five. Tiny the tow truck driver found it in elgeisers glove box and gave it to George Anderson. Mother Anderson gave it to George Boone who sold it to a hooker for a sniff of her shoes. The hooker sold it to Rosneys brother in law at black and white taxi who in turn gave it back to Pat. Pat brought it to crabby dicks with sprague and played it in the hot tub over a chicken dinner. Sprague gave it back to tiger Pat who brought it to Queens and played it for his 13 year old date. She sold it back to tiger pat for a crabby dicks tee shirt and a half chewed cigar. In the end, it was discovered that Jason Jones found the tape in DB when he was screaming for his LAWYER and sold it to Bouchard for a free weekend in a log home on Humiston Ave. The last thing anybody knew, the tape was stored in Ebadge and was going to be released in two weeks.

Anonymous said...

6:22 well said

Anonymous said...

7:43, do you really believe that dinosaur wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Harry?!?! Get with the program. You guys are indeed delusional. How many times was Harry sued?

Anonymous said...

Don't read it!

Anonymous said...

say what you want about Harry but he did do a lot for downtown, he may have a few lawsuits but so doesnt Lou, it goes with the job.

Anonymous said...

Harry did bring in the Dinosaur. He also did it with a dreaded PILOT. I was for bringing Dinosaur here with a PILOT but some of the same people today think PILOTS are a scam.

Anonymous said...

Who gives a shit about the Dinosaur. I'll give Harry credit for it, just for shits and giggles, but who cares? It's .0001% of the Renaissance. You guys are grasping at straws. Harry's a has been. Move over and make way for the innovators.

Anonymous said...

Violating civil rights goes with the job of being mayor? I was not aware. Using code enforcement as a weapon is part of the job? And when did our current mayor ever get sued? I'm not aware of any lawsuits against the current mayor. If Tut did such a great job with downtown, why can't he get elected? He was a horrible boy, who treated people horribly who is a failure in the private sector and needs his political friends to give him a livelihood. He can't even support his wife or pay back taxes. He is a spoiled, thin skinned, self important, egotistical blowhard, the worst mayor we ever had! And you have the Gaul to praise him about anything? Your as sad as he is

Anonymous said...

Dinosaur would be here whether Harry was mayor or not. Another bald face lie being told by Harry to try to make himself feel better. Dishonesty runs rampant with Harry and company! This just in, Harry invented the wheel!

Anonymous said...

Best post ever! I laughed , I cried, and read it over and over!

Anonymous said...

Carmella will be debuting a huge TV ad buy. Going to pitch her big idea...riverboat gambling! Third time has to be the charm, right?

Anonymous said...

Some real Harry fans out here eh? Didn't he win re-election?

Anonymous said...

Yes, he did. He won his re-election easily. His real downturn was the second term. His head swelled to an enormous size and he refused to acknowledge there was a Democratic Council. Instead of working together he tried to work around them.

Anonymous said...

Lou would have had a much more successful tenure if Wiltshire hadn't grandstanded and held things up for a year with those silly hearings.

Lou would win re-election. Madden would be the easy favorite but for Wiltshire.

Anonymous said...

Screw Harry and forget about Lou. Yesterday's news. Who is going to do the best job possible in the future.

Anonymous said...

Bombers Burrito the legacy of taxpayer funded failure by democrats Dunne and Lou. "SLAP" Yes sir may I have another?

Anonymous said...

Harry did steal coopers girl!

Anonymous said...

Hate to break it to you. It's not the same person over and over. People just don't like Carmella and Jimbo.

Anonymous said...

He should have just given her the $10 and a bag of chips like everyone else.did. No need to steal

Anonymous said...

Dream on, Harry. Go wipe the BBQ sauce off your three chins.

Anonymous said...

It wasn't just his head that swelled to an enormous size.

God Help Us said...

Jim Gordon is Harry without brains or balls. Not that Harry was blessed with a lot of either, but at least he had some.

Anonymous said...

Bombers Burrito was subsidized with LDC and IDA funding. That's taxpayer dollars slick.

Anonymous said...

Those types of entities don't use tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

Also, I assume you'd prefer the building remained vacant.

Sharkey said...

Daley and Ashe-McPherson come in 5 and 6. Nice people but they just will not do well.

Anonymous said...

The money in the LDC was a penalty awarded the city from national grid. Get it, awarded the city, municipal, now taxpayers dollars.

Anonymous said...

Judging from her facebook posts Ashe- McPherson might actually be stupider than Gordon. We didn't think it was possible.