THE DAVE MITCHELL STORY

Does anyone know the real story behind Dave Mitchell? What he did before becoming Troy's bestest Corporation Counsel ever?

He obviously wants people to think he lives in Troy, or at least in Rensselaer County. But where exactly does our boy reside?

Word is it's in King Street in Saratoga Springs....or McMaster Street, at number 62.

Mitchell's residency issues also explains why he would not appear to be deposed in the Carignan suit. As you all know, the second question at almost all depositions is, "where do you reside?"

Even more interesting is what little history we could piece together. Mitchell was a Village Justice in Ballston Spa but mysteriously resigned. From the Saratogian:

"Following the resignation of Village Justice David Mitchell Thursday, acting Village Judge Richard Fox will be appointed at a special board meeting this morning to fill the remaining 12 months of the term.

Records obtained by The Saratogian indicate that from April 1999 to April 2000, Fox responded to 25 calls from the Ballston Spa Police Department when Mitchell was unavailable or did not return calls to his pager.

Mitchell's surprise resignation, which came on the heels of a state comptroller's audit indicating disarray in parking bureau and village court financial records, was not disclosed to Fox before it became public."

Did the resignation have anything to do with this?

Days after appointing new village Judge Richard Fox, village officials have revamped the accounting procedures for the village court.

A state comptroller's audit report, dated April 7, found a lack of complete, reliable information both in the recording of parking tickets and in record-keeping in the court. Six days later, village Justice David Mitchell resigned from his post. Fox was selected to serve out the remaining 12 months of Mitchell's term.

And lets not forget all the other fun stuff Mitchell was up to:

Meanwhile, in a bizarre twist, village of Lake George Mayor Robert Blais revealed this week his municipality is named in a lawsuit filed by David and Joseph Mitchell. The suit seeks $50 million in lost profits allegedly occurring on the weekend of Sept. 10, 1999. According to the papers, filed Dec. 10, part of the public highway known as Canada Street was blocked to exclude the public from the Mitchell's business, Zachary's Barbeque.

There have been other incidents involving Zachary's and village of Lake George officials, Blais said. A large maple tree valued at $3,000 planted in front of the establishment was sawed through, causing permanent damage, and Blais said there have been other minor violations with the operation of the bar.

David Mitchell launched a lawsuit against Romano and the village of Ballston Spa in February claiming harassment, slander, libel and defamation, following statements made by Romano at a public meeting. That lawsuit does not list a dollar amount sought for compensatory and punitive damages.

No wonder Mitchell had to come to Harry's Home for Wayward Judges. Boy, Harry, you can really pick 'em.

Why did he resign with a full year left on his term of office? Was he really a high school wrestling star in Camden, NY? Did he get his $50,000,000 in lost profits?

So, if you know where Mitchell actually lives or how he came to be our Corporation Counsel, drop us a line. We're dying to know more about the man who is leading Troy into a new renaissance. Mitchell obviously values his privacy. We can't have that now, can we?

COLUMBUS DAY?

WHAT ABOUT LEIF?

We completely missed one of the most important days of of the year on Monday. For those of you who may not know, Monday, October 9, is a day set aside by the Federal Government to honor the first European to set foot in the New World. No, not the two-bit spice salesman from Genoa. October 9 is Leif Ericsson Day.

Yes, thanks to President Ford, October 9, is Leif Ericsson Day. When signing the proclamation, Ford said that "Ericsson landed in the America more than two hundred years before an Italian explorer first went ashore in the Dominican Republic."

Never mind that it was San Salvador, Gerry meant well. The brave Norwegian beat the Italian by a few hundred years. The Norse even colonized North America. So lets dump Columbus Day. Lets stop honoring the man who came in second and go with the First Place finisher. When will Troy get it's Leif Ericsson statue? How much longer do we have to wait?

Speaking of statues, on Monday The Record had a nice photo of our own ugly statuary being cleaned and buffed. The Uncle Sam statue is easily one of the ugliest statues around. Isn't it time to melt that thing down? Note to The Record: Sam Wilson conducted his war profiteering during the War of 1812, not the Civil War.


If we really want to honor Sam Wilson (and where but Troy would one honor a meat packer) how about a statue of Wilson in garb that a man of the early 1800's would have worn? For those of you who may not know, Wilson didn't walk around looking like a refugee from Fire Island.

RIDICULOUS

This story is ludicrous. One hundred and twenty hours? Listen, the $100.00 an hour rate is fine. But a $12,000+ bill to prosecute, and lose, a misdemeanor and a violation?

We've consulted two attorneys on this and they gave us a pretty liberal breakdown of what this should have cost. They've erred, so they told us, on the side of the Special Prosecutor:


Interview a few people (if necessary) 5 hours;
Review any documents 5 hours;
Research the statutes and case law 8 hours;
Miscellaneous stuff 10 hours;
Coffee and donuts 4 hours;
Court time 10 hours.

That's a liberal estimate, very liberal. It comes to 42 hours. Now, no ADA is spending even 42 hours on this thing. That's good money that could have been used for pay raises for our legislators. Shame on you Tim!

BENEFITS SAGA

The saga surrounding the fate of 99 former city employees and their healthcare benefits has taken an intriguing turn.

Initially, we took the realistic view that people who are not entitled to benefits - shouldn't receive benefits. The fatal flaw in our reasoning was soon apparent: We believed the Administration. We know, we know. Even we make mistakes.

Now, there's a Memorandum of Understanding (hereinafter MU) and at least one Union contract that could very well cast doubt on the Administration's veracity. No shocker, that.

Last Thursday, at a Council meeting well-attended by some pissed-off old people (hereinafter POOPS), the Democrats and Marge wanted to extend the cut-off date for "the 99" from November 1, 2006 until December 31, 2006 (because many of the programs used by the retirees end on 12/31). They were criticized by their legal counsel, Mr. Mitchell, who said such a move would be "illegal." Then, Tutunjian extends the cut-off date anyway.

If we've learned something by taking a close look at this Administration it is this: If they say A, do not simply take their word for it. They have a knack for lying and/or not knowing what they're talking about.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the Retired Firefighters is at the center of one potential lawsuit. According to the agreement, 19 firefighters should receive healthcare benefits and live happily ever after. They, along with the other 80, will have their benefits taken away in a few weeks. Initially, the City took the position that the Memorandum of Understanding was invalid. Now, according to sources, their latest line is that the city does not have the original MU on file. The implication being that the MU is a forgery. That argument, so patently ridiculous, will be laughed out of court.

There's also an issue with former crossing-guards who may also have an agreement that belies the city's position.

This move now makes much more sense. Harry had to hike taxes again. How much more of a hike would there have been if "the 99" were still getting benefits?

A retiree comments at last Thrusday's meeting

This should be interesting.

MORE COMPUTER MISUSE - II

The Sweeney Campaign is using County Computers to campaign and raise money. According to our Corp. Counsel, that's against the law. However, as we've already learned, around here, laws are merely suggestions, to be followed or ignored at the discretion of our public officials.

City Hall in Troy is also implicated. Emily Hartnett e-mailed the following invite to someone at City Hall. The e-mail was then forwarded to all Council members? Good move, that. Here's the original:

From: Emily Hartnett [mailto:emily@thestargroup.cc]
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 3:41 PM
To: emily@thestargroup.cc
Subject: Dinner with Laura Bush & Congressman Sweeney - PDF Invite attached

Here's the forwarded e-mail:

From: Citycouncil.
To: Carolin Collier \(E-mail\); Clement Campana \(E-mail\); Flora.O'Malley; Henry Bauer \(E-mail\); Marge DerGurahian \(E-mail\); Mark McGrath \(E-mail\); Mark Wojcik; Peter Ryan \(E-mail\); Robert Krogh \(E-mail\); William Dunne \(E-mail\)
Date: 9/27/2006 4:10.18 PM
SubjectDinner with Laura Bush & Congressman Sweeney - PDF Invite attached

It's a pretty invite. Very understated, with soothing earth tones. Less than an hour turn-around time, too. Not bad. A pity potholes don't get filled that fast after a complaint.

We await the findings of the City Hall investigation into these activity.

On to the County: Here's a few examples.

-----Original Message-----
From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, August 14, 2006 7:14 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: Rudy Giuliani - John Sweeney Event


-----Original Message-----
From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 5:39 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: Giuliani/Sweeney Rally: Come Meet and Greet Rudy Giuliani and Congressman Sweeney In Glens Falls



-----Original Message-----
From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2006 4:19 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: IMPORTANT CHANGE: Giuliani/Congressman Sweeney Meet and Greet


-----Original Message-----
From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 4:04 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: REMINDER: Giuliani/Congressman Sweeney Meet and Greet

-----Original Message-----
From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 8:15 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: August 22, 2006: Congressman Sweeney Update: Outpouring of Labor Support Continues


-----Original Message-----
From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2006 7:35 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: August 29, 2006: Congressman Sweeney Update

-----Original Message-----
From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 7:01 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: Congressman Sweeney Update: Congressman Sweeney recieves* Important UTU Endorsement and Campaigns at Local Fairs

We really wanted to see something like this:

-----Original Message-----

From: Sweeney for Congress [mailto:sweeneyforcongress@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 7:01 PM
To: Legislature - Minority
Subject: Congreshman Sweeney Update: Congreshman Shweeney(hic!) Parties at Area Frat Housh (hic!)

We're sure that Sweeney updates are positively riveting reads. Still, he shouldn't be using public property to campaign and raise money. Please, stop abusing our property, Congressman Sweeney. You should not be campaigning via our computer system. For a guy who writes laws you sure have trouble following them.

Will the County call on Sweeney to stop sending e-mails or will the abuse continue?

* probably should read 'receives' not 'recieves'.

MORE COMPUTER ABUSE

Corporation Counsel David B. Mitchell has been asked to investigate another instance of computer abuse. His own. Fortunately, though he's abused his computer, he hasn't sprouted hair on his palms or gone blind.

Last week, Mitchell e-mailed a City Councilman after the Councilman made a legitimate inquiry of the Comptroller's Office. Mitchell's response fairly bristles with uncontrolled anger:

Councilman Dunne,

"In your eyes,..."

Therein lies the answer to the continued problem within the culture for which you desire to maintain in this City. Rather than focusing your efforts in assisting to make this City a better place to live, work and visit for all, your mindset is centered solely on a world as seen in "your eyes." You are foreclosed to others view points and perspectives.

You are- unfortunately - trapped within a venomous culture of obstruction, controversy and partisanship that has for far too long been part of this climate. I will not participate in that culture and will continue too try to change that mindset in an effort to re-focus your efforts on optimism and a positive future.

I have now know you as a Councilman for almost three years and I know you are committed in what you believe. Unfortunately, your beliefs are flawed and they are counterproductive to making this City a better place to live, work and visit. Great things are happening in this City and you are invited to participate in an era that historians will most certainly regard as significant in the rebirth and renaissance of the City of Troy.

Additionally, I will assume you intended to say "opinion" not "option" and certainly, I would expect you to contact me with any question regarding a legal "opinion" that involves the City of Troy. However, you will contact me with any question regarding the entirety of Law Department, for if you do not, your question will not be answered.

Finally, as a City employee, and given my exemplary performance record as the Corporation Counsel, I expect a modicum of appreciation from you- but once again- you disappoint.

You now have some juicy rhetoric for your website, have fun.
Should you have any further questions, please stop by anytime.

Thank you,

David B. Mitchell
Corporation Counsel
City of Troy

The e-mail was sent on the afternoon of September 21st, from City property. And yes, reading between the lines one does sense a certain Helter-Skelter tone (not unlike Paul's letter to the Corinthians).

Franco did an outstanding job of pimp-slapping Mitchell in last Monday's Talespin. But, lets give credit where credit is due. So, what's wrong with this picture?

Dunne requested information from Comptroller Witkowski. Dunne asked a simple question: Was Thomas Spargo being paid as an employee or consultant? A question most people would consider a payroll/human resources question. Witkowski violated the charter by not responding to Dunne. Instead, she forwarded the request to Mitchell. Why?

Mitchell responded with the answer and then told Dunne to refer all legal questions to him (Mitchell). Then, we have the emotional breakdown, by e-mail, set forth above.

Mr. Mitchell, we would suggest that any exemplary Corporation Counsel should really read the City Charter.

§ C-22. Requests for reports, information or estimates. [Amended by L.L. No. 6-1979, § 1]

Any officer of the City is required to furnish reports, information or estimates to any Councilor of the City of Troy.


§ C-60. Office of City Comptroller.

A. There shall be in the Office of Management and Budget, the office of the City Comptroller. The office of the City Comptroller shall be responsible for the overall financial administration and operations of the City and be organized into such offices and bureaus as determined by the City Comptroller.


B. In addition, the office of the City Comptroller shall:

(9) Prepare and administer the payroll of the City.

Pursuant to the Charter, Witkowski must provide the information to any council member. Mitchell cannot serve as a gatekeeper. That's if you follow the law. We know they don't.

Also, we suggest Mitchell read up on his job description.

§ C-76. Department of Law.


C. Duties of Corporation Counsel. The Corporation Counsel shall act as legal advisor to the City Council and to the Mayor...

Sending warped e-mails to council members is noticeably absent from the job description.

Any exemplary corporation council should be aware of his duties and responsibilitiesties. They should also be aware that there are certain things they cannot legally control. Council members, pursuant to The Charter (the law) have certain privileges that cannot be legally diminished. An exemplary corporation counsel understands this and follows the law.

Mitchell has repeatedly demonstrated contempt for the residents of Troy by failing to abide by the law. He refuses to answer questions posed by council members, he obstructs access to information and he has directed department heads and other officers to do the same. The system cannot work to the advantage of the citizens if the opposition does not have access to information.

Mitchell works for the Council and the Mayor (according to the Charter, in that order). It's time that Council President Bauer stand-up for the Council as a sovereign entity and demand that Mitchell perform his legally assigned role and conduct himself as an employee of the Council. The Mayor should warn Mitchell against using the city's e-mail system for personal attacks against council members.

The Charter exists for a reason. It must be followed. The failure to follow the law leads to lawsuits. You can blame the Plaintiff's for bringing suit against the city, but that doesn't alter the reality: public officials that abuse the law are the one's that cost us money.

Drozd resigned, before being fired, for misusing city property. Another employee was fired for the same offense. They looked at porn. Mitchell represents a greater danger than Drozd ever did. Mitchell obstructs the opposition from it's proper function, that is, acting the part of the watch-dog.

Later this week, we'll look at more abuse of government property and we'll try to figure out where Mr. Mitchell resides.

WHEN THE CIRCUS CAME TO TOWN

Not much time today, so here's a few stories from around the state that should make us all feel proud about our politics, locally and statewide.

Our Comptroller;

The GOP candidate for Attorney General;

This guy wanted to be Governor;

This guy lives in Florida;

This place is insane;

Next week, we'll be focusing on the continued misuse of computers at City Hall and at the County.

DEREK JETER OR JOHNNY JETER?

A few months back, Mayor Tutunjian went into ecstasies about hiring disgraced Judge Tom Spargo as a Deputy Corporation Counsel. Spargo was put on the payroll to the tune of $30,000.

Harry compared hiring the ethically challenged Spargo to, "signing Derek Jeter."

Jeter, a beloved Yankee shortstop, is probably heading to the Hall of Fame. Spargo is lucky that he still has his law license. So, the comparison is spot on.

Spargo, when hired, did not reside in Rensselaer County. He never did and was never going to move here. He's a Berne guy. Harry knew this but still hired him, knowing that Spargo would be violating the residency requirement. Now, we're not accusing Harry of being unethical. We're just saying that he does unethical things. There's a big difference.

Spargo left the employ of the City back in July. The reason given was that he didn't have time to work for Troy and pursue his election law practice. Spargo is now a "consultant' for Troy. Truth is, under pressure from fellow Republicans and the editorial page of The Troy Polloi, Spargo decided Troy wasn't worth it and he moved on to greener pastures. He's still getting money, but now he's a "consultant." Well, according to The Charter, the City Council has to approve money paid to consultants. Has that been done?

Derek Jeter, Harry? For Troy, Tom Spargo was more like Padres outfielder, Johnny Jeter. Johnny amassed just over two-hundred hit in his career, with a lifetime batting average of .244.

Unfortunately, this all comes down to arrogance. It happens with most administrations. These clowns have been arrogant for some time now. The Code and Charter are ignored at will, appointed political hacks think they're more important than elected representatives and laws are selectively used to attack political rivals or those critical of the administration. It's not talked about much in the press yet, but it's out there and it will come back to bite them in the ass. Pattison became arrogant, only he was smart enough to ensure he didn't take the fall, City Council Democrats did that for him. Now, for Mirch, Mitchell and Harry, in his own passive-aggressive way, it is only a matter of time before it happens again.

If we're still using baseball metaphors, Harry, this move makes you look like a Berra: Dale, not Yogi.

Later this week: Did the city suspend Corporation Counsel Dave Mitchell's prescription drug plan?

IT'S WADE

According to unimpeachable sources, Tom Wade has defeated Lynn Mahoney for Democratic Chair of Rensselaer County.

E-mails from people who say they were present indicate that the race was very close and, because of the 'weighted-vote' system, decided by only a few votes.

Here's an excerpt from three e-mails. We can't vouch for their accuracy but find them interesting. The names have been withheld to protect the innocent.

"Towns went mostly for TW while LM's strength was in Troy and Brunswick. NG split and it looked like EG was fairly divided...."

"....Tom Wade won after three two or three recounts..."

"...Mahoney spoke to the group after it was all over. She never mentioned Wade or congratulated him. Not very gracious. No mended fences and I doubt there will be, not that it matters now..."

"...Premo showed up and Tom got to showcase his biggest failure. WTF?..."

According to one e-mail, Mr. DiFiglio did not go to the meeting and did not send a proxy. We have to wonder if this had anything to do with LaPosta's candidacy for City Chair. There were apparently some Troy votes that went to Wade, to the opposition's surprise.

That's a wrap. Congratulations to Mr. Wade. As Mahoney will probably tell you, running the Titanic isn't an easy job, but it sure is a thankless one.

COUNTY MEETING

The Democrats hold their County Committee meeting today at 4:00PM. Up until a few days ago, it looked like Wade had it in the bag.

According to more than a few sources, Mahoney is coming back. More than one member of the committee has stated that the Premo debacle has soured Wade's candidacy.

Any rumors? Any over-under? Any bets? The window closes at 3:55PM.

Having no experience in these things, people tell us that the vote will go by municipality. That is, in alphabetical order. If the towns come in heavy for Wade it will be interesting to see what Troy does. Or, maybe the proxies will decide the whole thing before a vote goes off.

Reports indicate it's getting ugly, with threats of reprisals, nasty literature and people not on the committee, like Brian Premo, sending out literature in support of Wade. It's also been rumored that at least one Wade supporter is telling people that various elected officials are supporting Wade when, in fact, they are not.

On the flip-side, rumor has it that anyone supporting Wade will not be considered for any juicy, patronage jobs in the Spitzer government.

All rumors, of course.

Intra-party street brawls. Gotta love 'em.

BREAKING NEWS.....

PORN TO BE WILD

Workers from the Department of Code Enforcement have removed the Marquee from Troy City Hall and the doors of the well-known adult entertainment landmark have also been padlocked....
Chuck Drozd, City Auditor, resigned yesterday. Drozd allegedly peeked at some porn while at work. Another city employee, from the Engineering Department, is on unpaid suspension (we could not confirm from where he was being suspended but it's probably from a relatively high elevation) for similar allegations and for lying about his place of residence on a job application.

Lying about where he lives? Was Spargo sent to deliver the bad news? Right, Spargo doesn't lie about where he lives he just violates the law. Now, rumor has it that if asked, they'll say Spargo is a paid consultant, not an employee, and therefore, he doesn't have to reside in Troy. If that's the case, they are still violating the law because Spargo has not been approved by the City Council.

So, did Drozd get into hot water because he a) allegedly looked at porn; b) used city property for non-city business or c) a combination of both?

I think we've learned some valuable lessons today:

1) You can violate the law, just don't lie about it.

2) You can be a disgraced shake-down artist and get a job but you can't look at hoo-hoo's or pee-pee's;

3) There are public jobs that pay 50k + and still allow time for internet surfing.

Drozd made his own bed and now must live with the consequences. Viewing porn at work is improper. Viewing such material should be done in the sanctity of the home. It still doesn't explain why Drozd got the 'dog-and-pony show' treatment from the administration. Why did they call channel 10?

Just when City Hall was getting fun it's back to playing Tetrus.

DEMOCRATS ON THE MARCH!

In less exciting news, though obscene in its own way, the County Democrats will meet Sunday to decide who will lead them to defeat in the next election.

Rumor has it that Tom Wade has enough votes to defeat Lynn Mahoney. John Darling has also been talked about as a potential Dark Horse. It is not known if Darling has actually been approached or would even want the job.

There is also a possibility that the Democrats will choose a wholly new form of Chairmanship with each election district having it's own multiple-mini-chairpersonships.

Finally, it looks like Frank LaPosta will be City Chair. We can only hope he brings the same dynamic energy and enthusiasm to the City Committee that he brought to his mayoral campaign.

THIS IS REALLY HOT!

This seems to be the topic of late: according to The Record...

City officials met Monday night in executive session to discuss allegations that an employee hired by the City Council was misusing a work computer. Sources close to City Hall said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the status of City Auditor Charles Drozd, who has been accused of having pornography on his work computer. Police recently went through the employee's work computer, the sources said, but they have not recommended any criminal charges at this point.

There's some interesting things here. Lets discuss.

First, some of our readers, those that consider 7th Grade post-graduate work, will deliberately misconstrue what we are saying. So listen carefully: we are not pro-pornography (unless it's really good pornography). We do not advocate viewing pornography at work (unless it's really, really, really good pornography or unless you work in the porn business and you have to view porn for work purposes).

Also, we do not know if the allegations are true. Lets get that out of the way. These are allegations only.

If an employee is viewing pornography at work (the above examples excepted) then they should be disciplined. The real issue is, what kind of porn? Is it that badly lit stuff, or higher grade porn?

1. Note, Drozd is hired by the City Council. The City Council went into Executive Session because this was a personnel matter. Council President Bauer had 'no comment' for WTEN. How did WTEN find out about the meeting? We guarantee it wasn't from a Council member. It was from someone in the administration. Take a guess.

2. If reviews were done on other computers, lets see what other people were looking at on City time. Is this about porn or about using city property for things unrelated to work? Lets see who's logging into sports sites, gambling sites or .... political blogs.

3. As everyone knows, Drozd is Marjorie DerGurahian's brother-in-law. As everyone knows, the administration had Marge bullet-voted out of the Council Presidency because, in part, she refused to be their puppet on every issue. Is this more about Marge than Drozd? Is this payback? It's low, dirty and despicable, which is certainly their style.*

4. Should Marge recuse herself from any Council action taken on this issue? An intriguing question. In today's climate, we say no. In a world were Justice Scalia goes on hunting trips with Dick Cheney while cases involving Cheney are pending before the Supreme Court, we hardly think Marge needs to recuse herself from any action. Remember also, that recently, a then North Greenbush council member voted a pay raise for his boss's wife. Judge Hummel said there was no conflict. Recusing yourself for ethical conflicts is just so last week.

5. Is this a big deal? Nope. Not when Harry rewards guys like Tom Spargo. Not when they lie about how money was saved. That's obscene.

6. The Council needs to assert it's independence and tell the administration "thanks, we'll take it from here." Or maybe they should buy Drozd a gift. As far as we know, if Drozd did do anything, he didn't break the law. Now, Mirch broke the law. Mirch verbally abused a city employee. Is a traffic ticket a big deal? Of course not. But, Mirch tried to worm his way out of it by using his public position. What did Mirch get for embarrassing the city? A gift from the City Council.



* Caution. We will delete and ban anyone that insults or somehow associates DerGurahian with these allegations. People are not responsible for what their relatives do or do not do. If that were the case, Harry should start explaining LoPorto's tax issues. In short, don't be dicks. It's embarrassing enough for all involved.

THE MOUSE THAT ROARED

....or whined. Of all the Democratic failures in Rensselaer County, the failure to challenge Senator Bruno has to top the list.

If this were any other year, the failure would not be as great. We could view it as 'run-of-the-mill' Democratic incompetence. But not this year.

There exists a very real possibility that statewide, the Democrats will run the table. That means, Spitzer, Clinton, Hevesi and Cuomo victories. The only real fight may be for Attorney General but Pirro has been so incompetent that she should consider moving to Rensselaer County and becoming a Democrat.

The only area where the Democrats might not prevail is the State Senate. They may take control. They may not. They will likely pick-up seats.

It will be a big Democratic year. While Rensselaer County isn't the epicenter of the New York State political world, the Democrats missed a great opportunity to make some noise and add to the Democratic victories this fall.

Here's our thinking, if we're the County Chair(s): It's going to be a big sweep this fall. Spitzer's moving into the Governor's Mansion, Clinton's heading back to Washington. Hevesi will be comptrolling for another four years and Cuomo will be Attorney Generalizing. How does Rensselaer County get in on the action? How do we make some noise?

Here's an idea: find and adequately fund a legitimate opponent to the second most powerful Republican in the state. Maybe you take him down. Maybe he barely wins. Either way, Democrats in Rensselaer County will have been heard. They will have shown some muscle.

Instead, they find a Republican who can't be bothered to register as a Democrat and then they fail to get him on the ballot.

It will hardly be news when Spitzer, Clinton, Hevesi and Cuomo win. If, and it's only an if, the Rensselaer County Democrats had taken out Senator Bruno, that would have been statewide political news.

Now, we'll never know.

RANDOM STUFF

Not much time to write. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

20th Congressional - Update

A recent poll shows incumbent John Sweeney defeating challenger Kirsten Gillibrand 47% to 39%. That's probably the closest Gillibrand has gotten to Sweeney in the polls.

Frankly, we don't buy it. Until polls consistently show Gillibrand within striking distance of Sweeney, we still see this as a comfortable Sweeney victory.

In a way, we hope it is a Sweeney victory. Much like Albany Eye, we're waiting for Sweeney to pull a Wilbur Mills. Perhaps not in the Tidal Basin, but maybe somewhere on the banks of the Hudson with a gal from Grand Street.

No Help from Harry

A group of Hockey Dads went to the city for help. It seems that the Frear Park skating rink is falling down. The kids can't play hockey there and they couldn't get ice time anywhere else in Troy. The closest place was Bethlehem.

The group met with our mayor who basically said he hopes the place falls down. The fathers are now chipping in to try and fix the place up.

You know, if it were the Burgh, Harry's attitude would have been different. He loves to kiss Burgher ass. We'll try and get the details.

This raises an issue that has always bothered us. Citizens banding together to use their time and money to fix parks and other municipal properties. We have nothing against the people willing to do this type of thing. It's selfless and demonstrates a hell of a community spirit. Point is, it's not their responsibility. We pay taxes for just that reason.

Clean Streets?

Does this canard still play? Take a drive through the city. Weeds, potholes, garbage. It looks like Troy in the pre-Pattison days. The Republicans and their allies in the press have repeated this lie for so long everyone repeats it without actually looking around. Talking points are great as long as you close your eyes.

GIVE ME BACK MY BENE'S

When some people leave a job, they get a lunch, perhaps a party. Sometimes the retiree even gets a gold watch (or at least a gold plated watch). And some? Some get free healthcare for life.

By now, everyone is aware that approximately 99 former Troy city employees and/or family members will be losing health benefits on November 1. Here's some background to date. Franco also devoted most of his Thursday column to the issue.

According to the city, the recipients are not actually eligible for the benefits even though some have been receiving benefits for decades.

No one, with a few possible exceptions, likes the idea of cutting people's benefits, especially those for the elderly. The obvious issue however is whether or not people ineligible for benefits have been receiving them. If so, those benefits should stop. Theoretically, a municipality doesn't exist to hand out gifts, be it cell phone ear pieces or healthcare.

The beneficiaries have also been given time to make alternative arrangements. Presumably, many will be eligible for medicade or medicare. This coverage might not be the same as before, but it is not as if they will have no healthcare at all.

The city has also taken pains to give 'everyone' time to secure alternative coverage. Unless you're a Democrat. Despite claims to the contrary, at least one Democrat was told that his coverage will end immediately. As usual, this crowd has to 'play politics' with everything.

Unfortunately, this issue will not be tied up with nice ribbon and bows and easily resolved. Not all of the 99 are in the same boat.

For instance, there are 19 former firefighters included in the 99. They are receiving benefits by way of a Memorandum of Agreement signed by Dworsky (who else?), Richard Caola and Ward Reardon. According to that agreement, effective January 1, 1991 Troy would:

1. Pay one-third of the health care costs of retired firemen in 1991 (if they are not covered by other agreements);

2. Pay two-thirds of the costs in the following year;

3. Pay the full cost in the third and in all subsequent years.

Memorandum of Agreements are enforced throughout the state. This is not the first time this issue has come up and it won't be the last. It will be interesting to see if the firefighters put up a fight. It could be another costly lawsuit.

The questions that immediately spring to mind are:

1) Did Dworsky, as City Manager, have authority to enter into such an agreement?

2) If so, why isn't the city honoring the agreement?

3) How did a recent retiree, with only 6 years on the job, get full benefits? Was he a Republican or Conservative?

4) Did any beneficiaries rely upon the city's coverage to their detriment? Did they give up something for this coverage that they otherwise have been entitled to?

5) Why was at least one former city official given no notice?

6) Did this come to light because people overestimated sales tax revenue and some fancy footwork is needed to balance the impending budget?

The city says these folks are not entitled to benefits. That may very well be the case. However, the people in charge of this city are not the most honorable or decent individuals. It's not a stretch to see this team go after the elderly to make ends meet for the upcoming budget. If we've all learned one thing the past few years it's that you cannot take what this administration says or does at face value. They have a habit of lying. Distrust and verify.

HIJACKED

By Res Ipsa Loquitur

Hijacked!!!!

What is the reason for the Troy Republicans’ dominance at the polls since 2003? Just like the old Nike ads with Michael Jordan and Mars Blackman: Is it their vision for Troy? No Mars! Is it a conservative electorate? No Mars! Is it the hijacking of the minor party lines? You’re damn straight Mars!

That’s right my political junkies and junkettes, the recent Republican dominance at the polls is nothing more than the manifestation of a hijacking operation. But instead of a plane bound for Paris, these terrorists have stolen our democracy and hijacked the minor party lines.

Lets look at the facts shall we? Since the 2003 election, there have been three minor party lines on the ballot, the Conservative Party, the Independence Party, and the Working Families Party. Also, since 2003 only the Working Families Party has endorsed a Democratic Candidate. Furthermore, in 42 city races during this time, not one Democrat has been endorsed by either the Conservative or Independence Party. Now some of you may suggest that this numerical conundrum is merely the result of minor parties hoping to give the citizenry an alternative to two party political system, but alas my faithful friends, you are sorely mistaken. During this time period, all 42 Independence and Conservative candidates were also the Republican nominees! So what gives? What is so special, so incredible about these candidates that they could go a perfect 42 for 42? Much like a 4th Street crack-whore* in the middle of a heat wave, something reeks to high hell in Troy.

Over the next few weeks, I will attempt to explain the phenomena, however, I encourage...no wait, I implore any of our Conservative, Independence or Republican readers to explain the overwhelming success of Republican candidates at obtaining the endorsement from both the Independence and Conservative parties. So, my dear friends and party faithful, the gauntlet has been thrown down and the battle lines drawn. Is there any explanation for the 42 out of 42 or is it just political corruption and opportunism hijacking the electorate and sending our city into the toilet?

* A recent poll found that crack-whore was the most popular simile for Troy, followed closely by armpit, hoo-hoo and Isles of Langerhans.

PRIMARY

Congressman Mike McNulty has his first primary challenge since 1996. His opponent is Tom Raleigh. Here's his website.

Raleigh.....

....is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. His twenty-two years of service as an Infantry Officer, military diplomat and Russian and Eurasian specialist included troop assignments in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East with mechanized, motorized, and airborne Infantry units, and concluded with consecutive diplomatic postings in Moscow as an Assistant Army Attaché, and in Vienna, Austria at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. As a soldier and military diplomat, he has nine years of international experience in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Balkans, Egypt, and Africa.

Frankly, Raleigh's CV seems a bit light. After all, up until he resigned in disgrace, Congressional Republicans were led by an ex-cockroach exterminator. Now that's a useful background for a congressman. So, the big question for Raleigh is, "Why does he hate America?"

Needless to say, Mr. Raleigh has impressive credentials. He's been to places that Sweeney can't locate on a map and the President can't pronounce. Given his background, perhaps we may at least listen to some of the things he has to say on national security issues.

Raleigh is no lightweight. But, why is he challenging an incumbent Democrat? Well, in his own words:

Today we launch the first congressional primary campaign in this district since 1996. Between now and the Democratic Primary on 12 September, we will convince Democrats to convince fellow Democrats--neighbors, family, friends, and co-workers--that it is time for change in Washington. We will convince fellow Democrats that it is time to end the disproportionate importance of money in political campaigns, to end the unhealthy, sometimes sinister, influence of money in legislative decision-making. We will convince Democrats that it is time to send to Washington someone who will put the national interest and the common good above politics when it comes to addressing pressing domestic challenges; it is time to send to Washington someone who will choose cooperation and solutions over blame and gridlock. And during a time when the nation finds itself in the midst of a prolonged, complex, and extended war, we will convince Democrats that it is time to send to the Congress someone who has served in the Armed Forces, someone who has served in the intelligence community, someone who has served in embassies overseas, someone who understands--or at least appreciates--the complexities of the post-911 security environment, the post-Cold War world, and the nature of the threats confronting America and her allies. We will convince Democrats to choose leadership over complacency. We will convince Democrats to vote in the 12 September Democratic Primary and to vote for Tom Raleigh because they want their vote to count.

That's an interesting message. Some think that Raleigh is trying to 'Lamont' Mike McNulty. Only there, Lamont ran against Lieberman by criticizing the Connecticut Senator's lack of partisanship. Here, Raleigh is claiming Mike is too partisan.

We do not take sides in primaries. However, it seems a bit inaccurate to accuse McNulty of being too partisan. McNulty's record is very moderate, which accurately reflects the district. He's not generally known for being a partisan grenade thrower.

McNulty, despite being in the minority, has a proven knack for bringing home the bacon to the Capital Region, whether it's for the Watervliet Arsenal, the Stratton Air Force Base, the Port of Albany or other area projects. And despite what people say, when it comes to Congressional Representatives, it's all about the other white meat. Also, to his credit, he didn't duck a debate with his opponent like some incumbents are wont to do.

It looks like the Democrats in the 21st Congressional District have two good choices. The odds are against Raleigh. If Raleigh does lose, we hope he doesn't abandon seeking office in the future. He's a serious, credible candidate.

Why doesn't a serious Republican primary the doofus we have on this side of the river?

HILLSIDE BLUES

By Politicus Ebonus Abyssus

During the last local campaign cycle, Republican city council candidates touted the drop in the City’s crime rate as a reason for continuing to vote Republican. Indeed, they gushed like school girls over Harry’s exemplary leadership. Unbeknownst to Troy voters, the information presented was problematic. As with most politicians in Troy, it is what they were not telling us that was significant.

First, the crime rates were going down all over New York State, all over the country, and in most metropolitan areas, including New York City. What occurred in Troy, at least in the short term, was no different, and surely was not a result of Harry’s leadership. Secondly, crime in Troy was down in 2004 from 2003 but up from 2000. So what is the truth? At best, the statistics are inconsistent, not indicating a true trend.*

So while we are spoon fed only good news on the City’s crime level, which seems to be misleading at best, the City’s administration has been characteristically quiet about bad crime news, more specifically, a rash of burglaries in the Hillside area of Sycaway.**

Dubbed as the Hillside Burglar, an individual has been breaking into houses for a number of months, stealing purses, wallets, and other small items. While this crime spree has been going on for months, the City administration has done nothing to let the citizen’s of the neighborhood understand the extent of the problem. In fact, a private citizen has been going around the neighborhood posting signs, alerting the residents to the problem.

Good or bad, the citizens have a right to know the truth, Harry. Show leadership rather than cowardice, and do the right think, not what is politically expedient.

Remember, if you see this man:

Contact the police, immediately.

THUMBS UP

This week's thumbs up goes to The Record's own Jim Franco for christening Congressman Sweeney with a new, more appropriate, nickname. Sweeney will probably win but being able to call him Congressman Candy Ass for the next two years kind of makes it all worthwhile.

* In fact, Fred Dicker of the New York Post, hardly a member of the sinister 'liberal' media, has devoted more than one radio show to the fact that violent crime is on the rise, especially Upstate.

**Sycaway is the Japanese word for the Algonquin word for Sycaway.

PREMO REVISITED

A few readers took our Bruno v. Premo election result predictions a bit too seriously. We predicted a huge landslide for Uncle Joe. After all, the man does have his own baseball stadium. When is the last time someone went to The Brian?

The chastisement we received also included a litany of Mr. Premo's prognostication abilities. Apparently, Premo can predict the future. This still leaves unexplained why he couldn't predict the screw-ups that led to the recent court loss. Nor does it explain why he still practices law instead of living off lottery winnings.

Of course, we jest and hope Premo can run against Bruno. After all, this is not just about a candidacy. It is also about sending a representative to the senate. Premo is smart and articulate. We have no doubt he would be a worthy successor to Ucle Joe.

The Bruno folks fought tooth and nail to get Premo off the ballot because Bruno is vulnerable. Premo was (and still may be) a credible candidate and a credible candidate can make life very difficult for the powerful Senator. The GOP is bracing for a Spitzer juggernaut. They know Democrats will flock to the polls this November. Area Republicans also know that Democrats in Rensselaer County are salivating at the thought of all those juicy patronage jobs ripe for the plucking. Turnout will be high and that bodes ill for Bruno.

Of course, Bruno's people claim they had little to do with the election law fight. Like any powerful family, their actions were masked by using 'buffers'. Bruno has a lot of buffers. The Record photo told the story. County chair Tom Wade sat alone while the large GOP contingent looked like carrion waiting to swoop down and gnaw on a carcass.

If the law says that Premo is out then we support that decision. Unlike many in the area, our respect for the legal system doesn't hinge on the political consequences of a judicial decision. However, Joe's decision to use his buffers and eliminate Premo was disappointing. It would have been nice if Joe welcomed the challenge of an opponent; welcomed the debate; welcomed the chance to defend his role in New York's current political cluster@#!*.

Our problem with Premo, if you can call it a problem, is the little issue of party enrollment. Frankly, we're not sure if Premo is a Democrat, Republican or some curious hybrid. Here, however, such chameleon-like qualities are hardly a cardinal sin. In fact, it's more like a rite of passage.

If he can't make the senate run, Premo should set his sights on the DA's race. DeAngelis, if she is able to get the nomination, is as vulnerable as an alter boy at a bishop's convention.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

The Appellate Division has overturned Christine Wilhelm's murder conviction and has ordered a new trial. In 2002, Wilhelm drowned her four year-old son, Luke. The Assistant District Attorney that prosecuted the case was.........Patricia "Second Time's a Charm" DeAngelis. Apparently, she screwed up again. Judge McGrath also erred in his ruling.

The reversal hinged upon the testimony of two Child Protective Services witnesses. The two CPS workers testified to admissions made by Wilhelm during the course of interviews for the CPS investigation. However, the District Attorneys Office failed to give notice pursuant to Criminal Procedure Law 710.30 that they intended to offer the admissions at the time of trial. That's the crux of the problem. There are more complicated issues involved and the decision can be read here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).

Perhaps someone versed in criminal law can tell us whether or not notification of intent to use the admissions (pursuant to CPL 710.30) would have cured the problem. If so, why didn't DA's office do that? Better safe than sorry, after all.

The last paragraph of the decision is interesting. The Court does not reach the issue of (what else?) 'prosecutorial misconduct' but does state that comments made during the prosecutor's summation were within the 'broad latitude' allowed prosecutors when responding to a defense summation. That's not the interesting part.

The interesting part is that while they say they need not address the issue of prosecutorial misconduct because a new trial is ordered on other grounds, they go on to caution the District Attorney. In fact, they provide a laundry list of what a prosecutor is forbidden to do in summation, concluding: "We caution the People to abide by these well-settled principles upon retrial."

We hope this puts the end to anyone's belief that Ms. DeAngelis is a good prosecutor and a good courtroom attorney. That's not to say she's a poor one, either. With a 95% conviction rate, our District Attorneys Office stands toe-to-toe with just about every other DA's office, with the exception of the Bronx and Erie County. Everybody has a high conviction rate. It's just not a big deal. To say that the office has a 95% conviction rate is like a professional ball player bragging about hitting .280. In this day and age, you had better hit .280 just to keep your job.

Mike McDermott prosecuted the Porco case in a calm, cool, systematic manner. He allowed the evidence to be the star of the case, not himself. Passion is well and good but DeAngelis' hysterics have given defendants to many second chances. That's not what got her in the end here but the Appellate Division sure did talk about misconduct even though the issue did not have to be discussed.

Maybe Mike can return to Rensselaer County and take up his old job with the DA's office. They could use someone like him.

Judge Jacon drew a roadmap for anyone that wants to run against DeAngelis in '07. Her opponent would be wise to use that map. Put on the defensive, DeAngelis was thrown off her game and never recovered. That can be done again and the Wilhelm case can now be added to the list of her screw-ups.

GOT NOTHING

Got nothing.

Oh, Premo is out. Now Joe will win by 100% instead of 78%.

Again, we'll presume Hummel, a Republican, followed the law. We like it when judges follow the law. It's neat. We wish Bauer had done that and that Spargo would do that and move to our fair city.

One good thing may come out of all this: the end to the Democratic Co-Chair nonsense. The Democrats decided upon the Co-Chair system (if you can call it that) to save friendships. They should have taken a lesson from the GOP who sacrifice everything, including friendship, family and integrity to win. That's how the game is played here and that's what you have to do to win.

Oh, by the way, there a few new people leaving comments. Keep them clean and try to stay away from personal attacks. If you cannot compose a rational, relevant comment, perhaps it's time to get that GED you've been talking about all these years.

Good luck and God Bless.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG...WENT THE TROLLEY

TROLLEY DAYS

Our long nightmare has ended. We finally have a trolley (courtesy of John Hedley). According to Mayor Tutunjian, the trolley will be used for "tourism." All we can say is, 'it's about time!' The city is just far to crowded during tourist season. We might even get a summer home somewhere else and rent out our place for the season.

It was a nice gesture on Hedley's part. The mayor was right about one thing: Hedley has done a lot for Troy. Maybe Hedley should consider running the city for a few years.

GERMAN FEST

Brunswick had it's German Fest this weekend. Now that was crowded (like Troy, 'in season'). In fact, it was so crowded, the German Fest had to invade and occupy the Polish Fest just to handle the overspill.

BRUNO V PREMO

If you care about this saga, you can read Kate Perry's piece, here. If you really care about this, you can follow Franco's coverage (in chronological order) here, here and here.

Judge Hummel will decide on Tuesday if voters will have an actual choice. Now, we do not know the legal ins-and-outs of this mess. We do know that if the positions were reversed, the Republicans would be screaming that 1) Hummel is a Republican and 2) Hummel is the guy Bruno pushed for the Supreme Court. Conflict anyone?

But, since were not Republicans, will say that Hummel is a judge first and a Republican second and is more than capable of making the fair and right decision.

In fact, Premo may be holding his breath waiting for his candidacy to be derailed, courtesy of Democratic incompetence and in-fighting. That frees Premo up for the race he really wants to undertake, Rensselaer County District Attorney.

City Council President Henry Bauer has also expressed great interest in becoming our next District Attorney. Now that would be interesting. Bauer and Premo share office space and are good friends.

CITY TO HIRE NEW ASSISTANT CORPORATION COUNSEL

According to reports, Harry may be hiring a new, assistant corporation counsel.

ENFORCE THE LAW

A Primer for Harry

What is the job of a chief executive? Well, the job of a chief executive, be it the President, the governor or a mayor, is to enforce the law and make sure campaign contributors get lucrative contracts. Yes, that right. To enforce the law (and hand out those contracts). It's not to make us feel good, it's not to tell us what we want to hear, it's not even going to fires. It's to enforce the law.

This is not to be confused with the job of a legislator. A legislator's primary role is to come out strongly against child molestation and violent crime.

So, how seriously can we take an administration that refuses to enforce the residency laws? Not very. As a matter of fact, we can't take them seriously at all. Selective enforcement of the city's laws is worse than no enforcement because opens of a law to be used as a political weapon.

So, here's the challenge. Harry, please let us know if Tom Spargo is in compliance with the residency requirements. It doesn't matter how Spargo's position (Assistant Corporation Counsel) is classified, at the very least he must reside within Rensselaer County.

How about Corporation Counsel David Mitchell? Why hasn't he been punished by being forced to live in Troy? With an $80,000 salary he can certainly afford our outrageous taxes.We think he lives in Ballston Spa, his old stomping grounds. He hasn't voted in Rensselaer County, which is odd. Also, donations to Harry from Mitchell have been by way of two $1,000 money orders. Why? There's no address on money orders and no address shows up when those contributions are listed in the Tutunjian campaign's financial disclosure statements.

In fact, will Harry make a public statement that every member of his administration, whether public officer or not, is in compliance with the residency requirements?

People get very angry when it comes to police not living in Troy. The theory being: if they live here, they'll care more about Troy. Maybe we should start at the top.

Perhaps asking the chief executive of Troy to enforce the law is over the line, but we're kind of picky about stuff like that.

McNULTY ENDORSES DEMOCRAT

In a blatant, shameless display of partisan politics, area Congressman Mike McNulty has endorsed Kirsten Gillibrand in her bid to unseat Congressman John Sweeney, (R-20th Cong. District).

What could have motivated Mike, a longtime Democrat, to make such a move?

"Representative McNulty is supporting an opponent of Congressman Sweeney's that would have no ability to bring home any dollars to the 20th, or 21st district, for that matter," she said. "Representative McNulty is on the wrong side of this race, and he owes his constituents an explanation as to why he put politics over their interests. Gillibrand and McNulty will make a great team of not returning any of New York's tax dollars." - Sweeney Campaign Spokesperson, Maureen Donovan.

We realize that politicians and their people get a bit crazy during election season, but Ms. Donovan really needs to stop chasing her Flexeril with Wild Turkey.

Ms. Donovan's boss is one of the most partisan hacks to ever sit in Congress. Who can forget his shameless, infantile antics during the Florida recount (stopping election officials from removing sample ballots from the room)? He's unabashedly supported the most uncompromising and incompetent partisan administration in the history of the nation. For anyone from Sweeney's gang to call anyone else partisan is like Donald Trump calling someone else tacky.

We wish the reporter had asked Ms. Donovan how many Democratic Assembly candidates Sweeney has endorsed? After all, it's the Democratic Assembly members that can "bring home the dollars." That appears to be the rationale for Donovan's criticism of McNulty (so much for the 'small government' GOP).

Republicans always pull this horsesh*t. Whether it's Sweeney or Tutunjian, their pat response to anything a Democrat does is, "they're playing partisan politics." They never actually address the issue raised and they're never called on it by anyone in the media.

That Sweeney's people would even comment on this is telling. While we believe Sweeney is relatively safe, his people are following the trends. Since the beginning of the year, the Democrats chances to take back the House have grown. We still think it more likely than not the GOP maintains control of the House, but there is now a real chance for the Democrats.

Wouldn't that be the irony of ironies for Ms. Donovan? McNulty has been a good congressman, doing his best under a GOP majority and President. If the Democrats do win back the House, Mike will have plenty of seniority (he has to be one of the senior members by now) and will have his pick of chairmanships. A McNulty in the majority would be a major asset to the area and a powerful ally in the fight against the Emperor.

ALL'S QUIET

It's been quiet around town. Not much to write about. Feel free to use this as an open line and rant and rave about anything you want.

Rensselaer County Legislator Martin Reid, who is running for New York State Assembly, now has a website. It even has photographs (but no butt shots).

On his page at the County's website, Reid has this to say:

Both my parents helped teach me the importance of listening and being ready to serve their neighbors when needed. I have tried to follow those lessons during my service in the Legislature, said Reid.

We'd like to ask Mr. Reid the following:

Did you vote yes on the $5,000 pay hike for County Legislators? (We know he did)

Why?

Did you inform your constituents that there would be a pay hike vote?

If so, did you listen to them on that issue?

Will you sponsor a repeal of the $5,000 pay hike?

Why no butt shots on the website?

We'd like those questions answered, especially the last one. Reid doesn't mention the pay hike on his website, although he admits to the far more embarrassing fact that he worked for John Faso. By all accounts, that pay hike is still on the minds of Rensselaer County residents. If you see Marty, ask him about it and don't be satisfied with some political-speak answer. Or, shoot him an e-mail at mreid@rensco.com. Until Reid comes clean on the pay hike, he doesn't deserve to be our Assemblyman.

Next week, we hope to have more information on the Mayor's plan for up to 80 public housing units slated to be built in Lansingburgh.

And Hey! Lets be careful out there.

PAY TO PLAY

Municipal contracts are generally quite lucrative. They're good gigs for private firms. How does one get a municipal gig? Well, a firm needs to be the best in the business to secure such work. Politics rarely enters into it (sarcasm alert).

Well, almost never.

For instance, Goldberger & Kremer, the City's attorneys, have contributed $400.00 to Harry. Not a bad investment for the lucrative retainer they receive every month. Goldberger & Kremer are well-known in the Labor field and were supposedly hired to work on contract negotiations, especially negotiations with the police. Word has it that both the city and the police have dispensed with their respective attorneys and the two sides are negotiating directly. We have no problem with that but do wonder why the city needs Goldberger & Kremer at all.

And how about Creighton Manning Engineering? They just landed a nice job as the consultants on the new project for Congress Street. How much did they give to Harry? Over $900.00. Another great investments, seeing as they look to make over $400,000. They also threw Senator Bruno $3,000. That'll grease the skids for you.

Harry's done a good job at raising money for his re-election bid in '07. He's raised about $90,000 and spent about $40,000. Over 20% of what he has raised has come from contributors outside of Troy, many of them contributing $1,000 or more. We guess those companies know they'll get a good rate of return from City Hall.

We're just over a year out from the '07 elections and Harry has raised enough to scare off any potential Democrat. If this is any indication, he won't need half that amount. Oddly, Trish DeAngelis has raised nothing. Makes you wonder if she's seen the handwriting on the wall.

PLANNING BOARD FUN

Some Planning Board fun to brighten up your Thursday.

By Politicus Ebonus Abyssus

As many of you know, the Troy Planning Board unanimously voted down the proposed Hudson Mohawk Recovery Center on Congress Street. While the Troy Record reported the vote and some of the background of the meeting, it left out the juicier parts of the meeting. Who would have thought? Lucky for you, the Troy Polloi was there. Lucky for us, Spargo and Ryan were part of the meeting and continue to provide us with fodder.

First, the vote. As the paper reported, the Board voted against the proposal. What the Record did not report was the warm, congenial aftermath of the vote. After the vote, the Board members discussed tabling the motion to work with Hudson Mohawk to find a suitable location. People, you cannot table a motion once you have already voted on that motion. This is basic Robert’s Rules of Order. Once a motion is voted on, it’s over.

This then led to the citizens of Troy, who had already voiced their displeasure over the project, to question vehemently what really occurred at the meeting. Once they were calmed and left the meeting, Deputy Corporation Council Tom 'Shake down" Spargo followed them out to the street. He proceeded to yell at them in front of City Hall for their conduct in the meeting and for not making their monthly bribe payments. Tom, Tom, Tom. Before you go yelling at the citizens of Troy for exercising their civic rights, make sure the Polloi isn't around. By the way, did you advise the Board that they could not table a motion once it is voted on? Or were you just going along to get along (to ensure your pension)? Something for you to think about as you drive back to your home in Albany County. Oh well, I digress.

Where is Matt Ryan in all this? He was at the meeting, obviously protecting his interest, or more importantly to Ryan, his $450,000 payday. Also being circulated at the meeting was a list of the properties that Ryan currently owes tens of thousands of dollars in back property taxes to the City on. After the vote to decline the proposal, Ryan was overheard muttering that he is just going to let his properties go to waste and let the city take them over. How redundant! The City was going to sell several of his properties for being in default a few years ago, but agreed to payment plans once Ryan took them to court. After making a few payments, Ryan stopped making payments and again is in default. If nothing else, Ryan is consistent and entertaining.

And so, like sands in an hour glass, these are the Days of Our Lives.

DEMOCRATS MASTER PLAN IN FULL SWING

Democratus is back after a nice, relaxing vacation. After reviewing the comments from last week it looks like everyone stayed on their medication. Bravo!

Jim Franco, of The Record, has been busy writing about the recent moves made by the Democratic Party. However, Franco is missing the big picture.

The Democratic Party has stepped it up and their master plan has now been activated. As best as we can piece things together, the Democratic Party, finally tired of getting it's ass kicked, is lulling the GOP into a false sense of security. By allowing the GOP and it's operatives to take control of the Working Families Party, the Democrats now have the GOP in their sights.

The minor party takeover is merely the penultimate phase of the plan. Ultimately, the Democrats plan on having the GOP take over the Democratic Line. Then, while the GOP is brimming with hubris, the Democrats will strike.

As for the Premo debacle, all this may be the best thing for him. Premo, in all likelihood, really wants the nod to run for District Attorney in '07. If he can't run against Bruno, Premo can't lose. He can't be accused of running a half-hearted campaign. He'll be fresh as a daisy for a run against Trish.

And people say the local Democrats are disorganized, lazy and leaderless.

If you don't believe us, just ask Troy City Chair.....ummm....you know....what's his/her name...just ask them, they'll tell ya'.

One item in last Sunday's TU did catch our attention. According to the Legal Notices for Rensselaer County, John Hedley officially transferred ownership to 433 River St LLC (Hedley Place address is 433 River). The properties included Hedley Place, Flanigan Square and the parking lots associated with them. The purchase price, you ask? Most people might say 5,6 7,8 million......As Bob Barker likes to say..."the price is" $88,470. That's right, 88k for all that property. Not a bad deal! Is it a misprint or is it some complex shell game? For a second, we thought DPW workers might have purchased the property in order to sell it to Father Young.

WHERE'S OUR FAUX LIGHTHOUSE

Tim O'Brien, over at the Times Union, had this to say about all the empty promises we get from our leaders. It's a good piece.

We still like the idea of the faux lighthouse. It's rather emlematic of this entire administration. It's fake, useless and spherical.

Maybe the "in-house" people should be working on something real instead of working on Harry's dreams. Sure, every mayor dreams of lighthouses, unicorns and sweet candies but maybe they can get that 'Hoosick Street as another Wolf Road" thing going. Or perhaps they can make Lansingburgh a 'destination.'

Guys, Troy is like a crackwhore. You don't just throw a fancy dress, heels and pearls on her. You have to clean her up, get her some medical attention, send her to school. Then you can start to get fancy.

No one has a true, cohesive vision for Troy. No one wants to do the necessary job of rebuilding our tired infrastructure before slapping all that finery on the crackwhore . Everyone wants to skip to lighthouses and unicorns.

We need to start rejecting politicians that have risen through the ranks of the local politicial parties and bring in some new blood. We need people who can set forth a vision of what Troy should be in the 21st Century.

CARIGNAN, AGAIN

It's day 9 of Carignanpalooza. We haven't yet explored any possible procurement policy violations. That's mainly due to watching the Yankees sweep Chicago (and the Playboy Channel). But Hestia Republicus is on the case.

PROCUREMENT POLICIES FOR DUMMIES
By Politicus Ebonus Abyssus

Issues around the Carignan insurance bid continues to dominant this blog, although I would have loved to have seen the Gary Coleman interview. One issue that has been discussed though not in depth is to what extent did the City followed its own procurement policies in issuing the insurance contract. In short, the City is required to follow certain procedures in procuring services or commodities, in this case insurance.

Based on the level of the contract, the insurance bid process required competitive sealed bidding (Section 3-101.F of the City’s procurement law). While I don’t want to bore readers with the entire content of the procurement law, competitive sealed bids require a purchase description and all contractual terms and conditions (section 3-102.b), must be opened in a public place at a time and place designated in the invitation for bid (section 3-102.g), and that the invitation for bid must include the criteria under which all submitted all bids will be evaluated (section 3-102.h).

Listen to the drum roll as the suspense heightens. The City’s insurance bid violated at least these sections of the procurement policy. The City sent a two-page bid for quotes to seven different insurance companies, rather than a request for bid. While we could debate the semantics of quote versus bid, requests for bids generally have much more detail than the City provided. The request for quote also did not list the time and place for the bid opening and did not include the evaluation criteria as required for by procurement law. The bid for quote, however, did allow potential bidders to send in a letter if they could not provide quotations on the coverage.

As has been discussed, Carignan sent in a bid and Nicoll & MacChesney sent in a letter stating that they could not respond to the request for bid but could match Carignan’s bid. This begs a major question. If bids were sealed, how did Nicoll & MacChesney know they could match the Carignan bid? Oh well, that is a question for the lawyers.

Once the contract is approved by the City council, the mayor then issues a Broker of Record letter which is sent to all parties recognizing who the agent representing the city in insurance matters is. And as we know, the City Council did not vote on the contract at all and a Broker of Record letter was issued indicating that Nicoll & MacChesney held the City’s insurance.

Responses to this blog and comments from the City administration have rationalized the process by stating that it saved the City $65,000. But as we now know, the savings was less then $10,000. Talking about savings is a red herring, however. In the bid for quote, the City gave potential bidders multiple options (four for liability, three for self insured retention, and three for city buildings) to develop quotes for. Based on these options, there are 36 possible combinations. The only way to determine any savings would be to match the specific combination from the two different insurance companies. After reading Harry’s sworn testimony, I doubt that level of analysis was undertaken. And even if it was, Harry’s poor grasp of detail make it highly unlikely he would have understood the differences or been able to articulate them.

This is how the administration works. And now it is costing taxpayers more money because of the time and cost of defending the lawsuit. I wonder how that stacks up with whatever savings actually occurred?

* A ritual blood sacrifice and specific Druidic Incantations are also required

METROLAND GOING DOWNHILL

Metroland, the region's alternative newspaper, has sunk to new lows.

They recently named The Troy Polloi....

Best Blog on Local Politics

Troy Polloi

The Troy Polloi is exactly what you want from a blog about local politics: A place where rumors are swapped, dirt is dished and a small but dedicated readership leaves regular comments. Although this routinely updated blog often trends toward the cheesy, with its Photoshopped swipes at officials and ham-fisted humor, we have to give it its props. Democratus, the blog’s author, has demonstrated a doggedness with certain issues that can only be called admirable. Plus, we think the Gillibrand banner ad is just plain funny.

I hope that all the teachers that told me being a smartass wouldn't payoff could see me now. This is also my option year. Now I'll be able to up my asking price.

So, while we here thank Metroland we do have a bone to pick. We don't appreciate the description of our artwork as cheesy or our humor as ham-fisted. Our professional photographers work hard on those photos and pride themselves on producing shitty photos, not cheesy photos.

I'd like to thank Albany Eye and Democracy in Albany for alerting us to our selection. We never would have known about this honor without them.

Finally, I'd like to thank my former wives for allowing me the time to write.

Because things are slow, very slow, we'll be taking some time off next week to shut down and perform maintenance on the presses. We may post once or twice. Maybe not. We will be back the week of July 29th.

Be safe and have fun.

FROM THE X-FILES

By F. Mulder

Democratus took the day off to testify in front of a Grand Jury. I'm filling in until he returns. If he returns.

According to sources at the Capital, the Budget Bill contains a tasty, little morsel for building contractor U.W. Marx. Marx will not have to pay any taxes on their City of Rensselaer project. Marx is building the city a new school and will then be acquiring the old school, located on prime, Hudson River front land. It's not known who introduced the provision. Alien involvement is suspected.

In a completely unrelated matter, does anyone know who built Ken Bruno's estate?

H&V Collision Center in Troy had a grand re-opening recently. Senator Bruno was there. Coincidentally, so was the Action Team, cleaning and scrubbing the street prior to the arrival of the VIP's. The Action Team's uncanny ability to scrub down the precise area where Senator Bruno will be arriving is well documented in literature. The coincidence is spooky.

Finally, has anyone ever seen Mary Donohue and Kathy Jimino in the same room together? I didn't think so.

MORE FROM THE TRANSCRIPTS

The Carignan issue has struck a nerve. Visits are skyrocketing. Therefore, we've cancelled the Gary Coleman interview in order to bring you more of the Administration's Greatest Hits from the Carignan lawsuit.




We've already delved into the fleshy, meaty part of the case. Now we'll focus on a few side issues, just for kicks. Or maybe they're not side issues. Who knows.

For instance, who knew how the $64,000 in question would be saved? Where did that number come from? In the State of the City, Harry said $100,000, in the press release it was 64 G's. How many stories does the Administration have about the savings?

Anyway, without further ado:

Mayor Tutunjian

Q. And did you suggest to the administration
any particular way in which to get the best
cost for the coverage?

A. Any way that they could to get more --
different prices from different agents, if need be.

Q. And it would do that by approaching many
different agents and asking for really the
best offer they could get for the City?

A. Correct.

Q. And do you know approximately how many
different insurance agencies were
approached and asked to provide quotations
for the City to provide coverage for the
City for 2005?

A. No.

Q. And do you know how many agents responded
to the Request For Quotations that provided
quotations to the City?

A. Not exactly, no.

Q. Do you know approximately how many?

A. No. A handful, I'm guessing. I don't
know.

So, Mayor Tutunjian puts the word out: Get more quotes from more agents. Get the best price possible. So far, makes sense.

Witkowski:*

Q. So how many responses did the City receive
to its Requests For Quotations?

A. Responses like this?

Q. How many quotes -- how many agents
submitted any quotes in response to the
RFQ?

A. The only thing that I know was that
Carignan submitted quotes and that Nicoll &
MacChesney wrote -- it wasn't a quote, but
wrote a letter, I guess, stating that -- I
don't know -- my recollection of what it
states is that there would be -- they would
be able to use the same insurance companies
at lesser amounts or something to that effect.

So, Carignan secures the insurance and N&M writes a letter. But, does the letter guarentee a $64,000 savings?

Q. Is there anything in Exhibit 12 that
indicates that Nicoll & MacChesney would
save the City $64,000 below the quotes that
were submitted by R. J. Carignan?

A. Not in the letter, but there was a meeting
by which they came to -- there was actually
two meetings, one where Carignan came and
kind of ran through their quotes, Dave
Mitchell who is one of the City attorneys
and myself, Matt was there, and somebody
else from his organization, I can't
remember who it was --

A. And then there was another
meeting, myself, Dave Mitchell, and again
unfortunately, I can't remember -- I know
Marty Keary was there and there might have
been one or two other gentlemen from Nicoll
& MacChesney or Marshall & Sterling, and at
that meeting, they verbally agreed that
they could save the City at least -- I
don't remember if it was $64,000, but it
was at least in the sixty-something
thousand dollars range.

Q. And was Nicoll & MacChesney provided an
opportunity to give the City a written
quotation in response to the RFQ like R. J.
Carignan did?

A. Yes.

Q. And were they able to provide a written
quotation?

A. I don't know if they were able to or not.

Q. Did they provide a written quotation?

A. They didn't provide it, no, except for this
letter.

So, we go from a letter, to a verbal promise. And who's at both meetings? Dave Mitchell. Who failed to show for his deposition? Three guesses. Here's a clue: his initials are David Mitchell. Witkowski goes on to state that there was a big saving but that saving was because of the new policy (the one secured by Carignan).

Will bring you more later this week. In the meantime, if you have any questions about this, just ask. After all, we seem to know more about it than the mayor.


*Keep in mind, we are in no way poking fun at Ms. Witkowski. In fact, we feel she's probably the only credible source the city has in this case. She is just not an insurance expert and cannot be expected to know all the nuances of that world.

SUMMER HOURS

Summer is here. Things are quiet and posting will be reduced.

It does look like the Carignan issue is gaining traction. We received a response to our hissy fit and would like to thank the editor for, at the very least, exploring the issues we've set forth. We don't expect that the paper in question will run the story. We hope it does. We do appreciate that someone is at least willing to make an informed decision on whether to cover the issue.

It also looks as if the Administration is making some desperate counter-attacks. They're worried now. You can see it whenever this issue comes up. They drop their usual 'no-comment' and begin to rant and rave. It's very humorous.

The administration has even threatened legal action against the three Democratic councilmen who want an investigation into possible violations of the city's procurement policies. That's right, some type of suit against people acting in their capacity as elected representative on an issue of public concern. Our legal analyst described the very idea of suing the councilmen as "the zenith of Mongoloid thought."

It is also suspected that the have reached out to area papers for a favorable story on the issue. We love good fiction, so a story like that would be fun.

What's on tap for next week?

1) We'll explore the possible procurement policy violations involved in the Carignan matter;
2) More highlights from the deposition transcripts;
3) Sit down for a heart-to-heart interview with former child star Gary Coleman;

LAMONT, YOU BIG DUMMY

Fred and his son Lamont just made a bundle by selling their junkyard to the City of Troy for $400,000. But don't worry, it's not actual money. It's 'taxpayer money.'

The city plans to build a municipal park on the 3 acre plot and the Cinema Art marquee will be incorporated into the park entrance. The city plans to use the park for special events including, The Crack Whore regatta and the Level Three Sex Offender Jamboree.

The park will be situated along the Hudson River, at 25 President Street. Just one more piece of real estate off the tax rolls. The lesson? Be a sloppy land owner and a thorn in the side of the city and you'll get paid off.

One can only hope that Cox will fail to clean the site up so at least we'll take it for free.

"Lamont, you big dummy. I just made$400,000.

PLEA TO THE MEDIA

PRETTY PLEASE!

We perused the areas two papers Sunday morning to find stories on:

1) Library satisfaction (we sincerely hope you're not stuck in a loveless library relationship):

2) Exit 12 (Northway) construction ahead of schedule;

3) Albany's salt-readiness for the upcoming winter.

These are all worthwhile stories and we're not criticizing the reporters. There are good reporters in this area even if they do not always focus on what we might want them to focus on. Puff-pieces in newspapers and on television news are part and parcel of today's media (and, if you look at old editions of newspapers, you discover that puff-pieces are hardly new).

What we cannot understand is the lack of coverage on the Carignan lawsuit. One would think that a reporter, or an editor, might find the time and space to publish a few columns on the issue.

It's a good story just waiting to be told to a wider audience. Why is it good:

1) Two sides tell two different stories;

2) The actual facts are verifiable;

3) It's a matter of public concern.

Did a mayor lie (wittingly or unwittingly) when he told the taxpayers how thier money was saved? This story will write itself. Both sides have made statements and both sides have been deposed. It's now more than just a 'he said/he said' type story.

It doesn't matter where you come down on this and we don't expect a journalist to take sides. What we do expect is that some responsible reporter will look into this issue with a critical eye. It's a story and if the local media can't or won't investigate a possible lie concerning the fiscal matters of an area city, exactly what are they doing?

Please, cover this story. Hell, we've set forth the issues in numerous posts. Copy them, use them, whatever. We'll e-mail you the transcripts from the depositions. The story may just be a bit more important that youngsters and seniors taking a boat trip on the canal.

PORCO

The trial of Christopher Porco resumes today. Since we're not on the jury, we are free to voice our opinion on this matter. Yes, Porco is innocent until proven guilty and a jury will make that determination. Others are free to speculate.

If the prosecution's evidence is as damning in the courtroom as it sounds in the Times Union coverage, this guy is going away for a very long time. Of course, the defense hasn't even started so things may change but we'd lay down good money that a) He's guilty and b) He'll be convicted.

Kindlon's line about the murders being a "mob hit" just screams "Hail Mary" pass to us.

MAYOR CRANKYPANTS

With the pressure mounting, Mayor Harry has turned into a regular Mr. Crankypants.

The Democratic City Council minority submitted a resolution calling for an investigation into the city's procurement practices. Typically, the City will respond with a "we can't talk about pending litigation."

Not this time.

"The resolution is riddled with errors. That's what happens when you rely on rumor and innuendo," he said. "As always, we welcome any questions. I only wish these three people had taken time to ask the questions before taking this foolish step." The statement fairly bristles with panic.


Mayor Crankypants



He sounds pissed. But, lets look at what he actually said.

1- Riddled with errors. What errors? Aren't resolutions submitted to Corporation Counsel first to work on any "errors". After all, the three Council members are not attorneys.

2- Rumor and innuendo? Actually, the minority was relying upon Harry's deposition transcript as well as Witkowski's. Then again, using Harry's own words may in fact be relying upon rumor and innuendo as he was "out of the loop" on just about everything. Must have been a fire that day. We guess his pledge to personally review procurements for more than $500 has fallen by the wayside.

3- Ask questions? Harry, read your own transcript. The only thing you could answer was a question about your favorite color (it's plaid).

Buell must be on vacation because they let Harry off the leash and, as usual, his statements were nonsensical. Unfortunately, reporters, on both the national and local scene, never follow-up after they get nonsense answers. Why is that?

But it gets better. The resolution was kept off the agenda last Thursday night and not addressed. The procedure has always been to submit the proposed resolution for inclusion on the agenda. The Democrats did that. Why wasn't the resolution put on the agenda? After all, they "welcome any questions."

Then, Harry, safely ensconced in his office, calls Dunne, Ryan and Campana ( a real class move seeing as Camapana's brother died that day) cowards for not raising the issue. If they had, Mr. Mitchell would have assuredly told them that the item was not on the agenda.

Mayor Harry's feeling the heat and he's really not the kind of guy you want in a pressure situation.

If the administration truly has nothing to hide, they'll make copies of the transcripts from the Carignan depositions and make them available to the citizens of Troy. If, they have nothing to hide. Looks like Fredo is in charge of The Family.

Now, to the opposite extreme. A genuine hero from nearby Catskill has passed away.

And, if you're interested in the Porco Saga, this is the blog for you.