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

Thursday, March 10, 2016

DOMESTIGATE REVISITED

So, we've searched for a crime and couldn't find one. Although, official misconduct may apply if someone received a benefit for failing to do their job or abusing their authority. It would seem that violating County Law by disclosing the 911 recording would constitute abuse of authority. That may be the closest we get. We'll see what Joel figures out. Here's the site we used. Have a go for yourself. If you find anything better, let us know.

Do people really believe a veteran officer would do something like this so his child receives employment? Is that how it works? The Mayor or Tom Wade hire someone? Isn't there a test? And then a list you're placed on? Then the academy? We're not saying nepotism can't occur but it is more difficult today than in years past. Then...

What would former Detective Ron Fountain have to gain, considering Gordon was Tedesco's candidate and Fountain was one of Tedesco's men?

Now Gary Gordon? Who knows what he may have wanted.

The odd man out is former Assistant District Attorney Shane Hug. We don't know if he was involved or not. If he was, he seems an unnecessary piece of the puzzle. Too many parts. If the tape goes from State Street to Gary Gordon, to Brendan Lyons, isn't Hug unnecessary? This one seems far afield but one cannot deny what happened in December.

Some commenters have defended Tim Colaneri. It is unclear what exactly he did or did not do. But, if you had possession of this hot potato, would you let anyone get a hold of it? It all leads right back to two people. One of them was cleared. 

A Grassy Knoll fan's wet dream.

THE OUTCOME OF THE ELECTION?

UPDATE: A reader called us out over failing to mention Kathy Jimino's endorsement of her brother, Patrick Madden. Our bad. Yes, of course, that would either sway some R's to Madden or perhaps keep some home.


Did the release of the 911 recording alter the outcome of the election? A question we will ponder for years to come.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that the 911 Tape release effected the election. The real question is: Who got screwed? The obvious answer is Republican Jim Gordon. Perhaps, that is not accurate.

Could Working Families Party candidate Rodney Wiltshire be the electoral victim of the 911 tape release. This is a working theory. However, we are not alone.

On March 26, 2015, Jim Franco picked Wiltshire as the frontrunner and set forth his argument. Sound reasoning: name recognition; elected city-wide twice; family man, successful business owner...

Although, on October 16, 2015, he believed Gordon had a 3-1 chance to win, with Wiltshire coming in at 5-1, Madden at 7-1.

Wiltshire's strengths should not be underestimated. He had name recognition. He had won twice, city-wide. He looked like a crusader with the King Street hearings. Maybe his greatest strength was the organization he built and the excitement of his supporters. They were the type that vote no-matter-what! We see it with Sanders.

Then, add the unions and the person-power they can bring and you have a formidable third-party challenge.

Finally, Rodney Wiltshire was just a better candidate than Gordon and Madden. More engaging and a better public speaker. Wiltshire was a strong candidate, like him or not.

Madden was not a good candidate and not a very effective public speaker. He was not as well known as the other two among the general public. He eschewed the party apparatus and went his own way, working with a few close friends and former Mayor Pattison.

Gordon was a poor candidate as well. Yet, he clearly worked his campaign.

So, why the poor turnout? Turnout was down about 2,000* votes from the two previous mayoral elections. Did republican voters stay home, disenchanted after they heard the 911 recording but unwilling to vote for Madden or Wiltshire? Were voters of different stripes disillusioned by it all: the 911 recording, its release, nasty robo calls....the whole Troy political experience?

If voters did change their votes, isn't it more likely that some Gordon votes went to Madden rather than Wiltshire. Wiltshire ran as an unapologetic progressive. If you are undecided, are you choosing between Gordon and Madden or Gordon and Wiltshire? Madden was, and reminds, something of an unknown quantity.

Could Madden have picked up a chunk of Gordon's vote at the least minute and also get some nervous democrats that worried that a vote for Wiltshire was a vote for Gordon? Perhaps we'll never know. Give us your thoughts.



* We seem to recall Wiltshire's claim of registering many new voters. Did they stay home? If they did vote, the number who failed to participate was much higher than 2,000.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agree on many points. Despite the 911 issue Gordon may be a great family man and good guy BUT he is not perceived that way by the public. Don't know exactly what it is but people don't care for him. That along with the 911 release and Jiminos 11th hour singing endorsement of her brother derailed Gordon. I disagree about Wiltshire though. Rodney only helped Gordon. If Madden or Wiltshire ran 1 on 1 against Gordon they would have crushed him. Just my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Agree 100% with 7:03, except Gordon probably would have lost without the wife's 911 call and the Jimino endorsement. He just wouldn't have lost so badly. Jim comes off as weird and phony. Not personable, stiff at door to door. Heard that over and over from GOP voters.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the retard from South Troy will enlighten us on what the crimes are here.

Sean Hannity said...

Despite all of his strengths that you mention, Wiltshire underperformed big time. I bought into the zealous supporters who will take three friends to the polls with them thing. Didn't happen.

Wiltshire v Gordon, Madden v Gordon, with no third party, landslide on an epic scale.

Anonymous said...

Glad you opened this discussion analyzing outcome of Mayoral race.
First, Franco's odds are meaningless. They are not based on analysis, merely for fiction in his column.

This experienced political operative offers a true picture of the outcome. To wit: Wiltshire had no chance of winning after losing Democratic primary. His only impact in the race was to siphon votes from Madden. His alleged legions of support from labor and Trump like followers was a myth ( an example of paper tigers). He wanted to punish the Democrats and their party leaders by defeating their mayoral candidate. He lost by a whopping 1,200 votes to Madden in a very low turnout year. Conclusion: Wiltshire was no factor. Not even his enormous ego could justify his continuance in the race after losing the primary. Democrats will long remember his destructive tactics however.

Gordon probably set a record by holding five (count them 5) party endorsements and losing by a large margin. Main reason for his embarrassing showing is the 911 tape. Secondary reason is simple...he is just not a decent candidate.
He and other Republicans can whine about release of the 911 tape but facts are facts.

Jimino endorsement was final blow to the already defeated Gordon. She not only crossed party lines to endorse her brother but made a clear indirect statement that her employee (Gordon) is not suited for the job. Who should know better about his abilities than his boss ?
Overall, it was a "perfect storm" for the Democrats and Chairman Wade. They booted Wiltshire from political existence, Gordon is banished to political exile, and the chronic complainers and naysayers in the party who supported Wiltshire were the recipients of another knockout punch.

Phana24JG said...

Reasonably good analyses by all. While Wiltshire did well, he clearly could not connect with the Democrat rank-and-file, and damaged his future in the party. For a candidate with enrollment logistics against him, Gordon ran a very quiet campaign. Unless the 911 call made him opt to go low-key, he either got terrible advice or mistakenly assumed Wiltshire would have a greater impact on Madden.

I think people underestimate Madden's efforts. While he was almost invisible in the primary, he worked very hard on the general election, and was much better in person than expected. I was very impressed, as were a number of people I talked with.

Anonymous said...

BOOM. 9:33 is dead on.

Anonymous said...

I thought he was doomed from the start. A quixotic quest. Team Troy did effect down ballot. I think we'd be looking at 5-4 Dem. Maybe Carmella would still be pres. That would have been a spectacle.

Anonymous said...

Madden did not have a good social media campaign. He obviously did not need one and a good one won't carry the day but it is a good thing to have to augment your campaign. He was a hard worker. I agree with Phana. He did make the rounds.

Gordon was not a natural campaigner and did his best.

Anonymous said...

Wiltshire was a lot stronger, than the vote he got. People got nervous towards the end and thought we might get Gordon. Many switched to Madden though there hearts were with Wiltshire. They were less worried in the council races.

Anonymous said...

Good observation. Why would Hug need to be in on it? He seems completely unnecessary to the whole mess. Was he just a pass through to Gordon?

Anonymous said...

What did Hug have to do with it? Nothing! Slanderous accusations by awful rumor mongers. Troy's bread and butter.

Guy Fawkes said...

I disagree, Phana. Madden is a Papist! A Papist, in dear old Troy. In fact, the government here is filled with Papists. That is why we have such fiscal problems. Even the Exchequer is a Papist, confound him.

Now, off to the Tower.

Anonymous said...

Guy, you are funny but its not November 5.

Anonymous said...

So that's how it happened??? Thanks

Anonymous said...

Wade wins another. Guy must have a rabbit in his tank

Anonymous said...

I thought Guy Fawkes was a Papist?

Anonymous said...

If there's an arrest in this case, will our intrepid(ha ha) D.A. actually prosecute someone or will he just sit on the case with the arrested cooling his proverbial heels in county enjoying the fried bologna sandwich largess of our tax dollars for seemingly forever....ala not 1, but 2 apparent murderers? Send word!
...........................Hull Cogan

Anonymous said...

Stop questioning whether John Tedesco's investigation had political motive. Is there any question that he consults on such matters with fellow republican associates? You're silly!! There has been a steady pipeline of information on the progress of the investigation since October fed to the #drunktweeter.
What is sad is the man hours that have been directed towards the 'spin off' investigations when it was known right away that 1 person leaked the tape. The spin has an agenda- smear the rivals! Pay back those who helped him get the job! And try to prop up some of his boys for after his exit.
That exit couldn't come soon enough.

Anonymous said...

C R O O K E D T R O Y C O P S

Anonymous said...

Stay John please stay on as chief.

Anonymous said...

How is 520 5th. Thanks zba chair for saving our town and sending bobby packing !~~! Jack legg

Anonymous said...

Hows la familia de jack legg???

Anonymous said...

There's no reason to believe that the 2,000 missing voters were mostly republican. Voter turnout was high in the early part of the day, higher than usual in many polling places. It wasn't until afternoon/evening that the votes failed to show. My understanding is that the demographics which tend to vote republican are more likely to vote early in the day while those that vote democratic tend to skew later.

But isn't this something that can be researched? Who you vote for is confidential, but whether you voted is not, as the Governor so charmingly reminded some registered democrats a while back. Why not inquire at the Board of elections if we are curious?

Also the talk I heard about registering voters seemed like it was more geared towards the primary. A few hundred people won't swing the general election that often, but they could have the primary. Heck, maybe they did and it would have been a more definitive Madden win without them.

Dave collette said...

Not open on 5th fo sure

Anonymous said...

I'm sure Tedesco is getting tired of that long commute home to Colonie

Anonymous said...

The fact is that if Everett had been stopped for the illegal signatures it would be mayor Wiltshire. The God forbid is a whole other Troy poloi article.

Anonymous said...

He still live closer than most cops

Anonymous said...

911 tape arrests today or Monday.

Anonymous said...

Gary Gordons greed ruined 2 more careers.

Anonymous said...

Which careers? Aren't they responsible for their own actions?

Anonymous said...

First of all, what Everett was accused of was not fabricating signatures, it was signing the statement that he, personally, had witnessed the signatures. The signatures were those of the people they claimed to be and those people were registered democrats. So while the petitions were technically deficient, what he did was no where near as unethical as what some have made it out to be. It's the kind of mistake a non-savvy newcomer is likely to make without the guidance of an experienced hand. And not to belabor the point, but had the Wiltshire team not been attempting to file at the last minute--presumably to give his opponents less time to determine whether or not to make their own challenge--he probably could have knocked Everett out. Live by the Sword, die by the sword.

Secondly, if you do the math, to win the primary Wiltshire would have needed Everett's votes to break 60-40 in his favor. Certainly doable, but by no means as certain as people, including Democratus, have claimed it to be. After all, 60-40 is a landslide in any election.

Anonymous said...

@7:37 just a Wade apologist and your slanted views border on lies. True the signatures were the very people who signed them. What you failed to explain there was a large portion who were't registered democrats or registered at all. As far as the 60-40 split Madden won by 47 votes, and most of the Everett voters were driven to vote by the Everetts and Wiltsjres. They were sick of the Wade puppets who have corrupted Troy's political system.

Anonymous said...

Anything is better than Rodney and his band of Merry Misfits. One can only imagine the destruction they would cause if it office. But I will give Rodney credit for one thing, human trafficking has slowed down quite a bit since he passed the resolution decrying the practice.

Anonymous said...

@2:52, can't disagree but you didn't address the your initial wade cover-up post. You can't change the facts.

Anonymous said...

FYI, I wrote the 7:37 comment I'm assuming you are referring to. @2:52 is a different person.

This Wade fixation people seem to have is out of control. Shockingly, people can believe Rodney lost the election fair and square for reasons other than being a "Wade apologist".

Did Everett's petitions include non-democrats? I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. Was that what he was arrested for? Absolutely not. The only people who can know how many non-democrats were on Ernest's petitions are those who've gone through them.

Another question, did Rodney Wiltshire's signatures include significant numbers of signatures from people who weren't registered democrats or registered in Troy? Since I heard his people were down at the Farmers Market getting signatures willy-nilly, I doubt Rodney was any better than Earnest on that front.

Anonymous said...

Well if you "heard it" it must be true. The only thing more concrete is if you read it on this blog.