Civil Rights Forum – Hotel Utica

Is Townsend Planning on Exploiting Pension Loophole?

The New York Times and Albany Times Union have reported about the flagrant abuse of a loophole in the state law that members of the Assembly and Senate have been taking advantage of. The Times Union reported last year about Assemblyman Jack McEneny taking advantage of this loophole in order to receive his taxpayer-funded $73,020 yearly pension while also receiving his $94,500 salary as a State Legislator.

How’s it work? McEneny was re-elected in November of 2008. However, he formally “resigned” from his Assembly seat on the last day of 2008 in order to collect his taxpayer-funded pension now that he was 65 years old. The kicker is that he then took office on January 1, 2009 – one day later – because he had been “re-elected.”

Before joining the Assembly in 1992, McEneny worked in a number of public-sector jobs for Albany County and city, and as chief of staff to his Assembly predecessor Richard Conners, giving him a total of 44 years of pension credits.

There are several state legislators taking advantage of this loophole, most from downstate. However, an anonymous source says that local Assemblyman Dave Townsend, R-115, is planning a similar move after this year’s election. Presumably he would be re-elected in November, “resign” before the end of the year and then still take office in January. With his years of service in the County Sheriff’s office, and being 65 years old, he would then receive a hefty pension and still collect his large salary as a state Assemblyman.

I wonder if any of these members of the state legislature told their constituents about this while seeking re-election? I also wonder if Assemblyman Townsend would be willing to clarify whether he intends to exploit this loophole while he is seeking re-election this year? Especially considering that the legislature closed the loophole in 1995 but, conveniently for then incumbents, it only exempts those elected after 1995.

Top 4 Party Chairs in OC

There are basically four parties in Oneida County. With all due respect to the Working Families Party, they are more of a leftwing arm of the Democrats and Unions. They’re also largely considered an activist group more than a political party. The name is pretty but the substance is lacking. I’m going to try ranking the top party chairs out of the Democrat, Republican, Independence and Conservative parties. In the particularly vicious context of Oneida County politics, where chaos reigns and nearly everyone seems to have a score to settle, this is asking a lot. So I’ll simply go on my experience dealing with the four parties. I’ve been endorsed by three – Democrat, Independence and Conservative – during both of my election bids. I will, however, try keeping an open mind and be as candid as possible.

1.) Julie Miller, Conservative Party – Julie Miller has really revolutionized the Conservative Party in Oneida County. In 2007 she surprised the GOP by actively promoting candidates that promised to act fiscally conservative on the county legislature. After years of the GOP taking the Conservative Party’s endorsement for granted, Julie has kept them on their toes. She has been vocal on issues important to their party and has held them accountable. Miller implemented the first Legislative Ranking List in 2008 and continued it in 2009. No other party does this. When she speaks on an issue, you know she doesn’t care what party you belong to – only where you stand on the issue. That’s leadership, and considering the Conservative movement across the country, it’s also why she tops my list of party chairs.

2.)  John Dote, Independence Party – I know it’s interesting that the top two come from minor parties, but this signifies the complacency of both major parties that take their enrollment numbers (and party members) for granted. Dote can be an interesting character for sure. He is a self-proclaimed “boss.” However, anyone that knows about the days of real bossism, knows that the real “boss” never showed up at board meetings or even government buildings. They say Rufie Elefante very rarely visited City Hall during the height of his power. Dote is also so far up the GOP’s rear that it causes much of the negative impression put on him. However, the party is run well and has a great mission statement, even if it’s sometimes not followed locally. Furthermore, Dote has proven that he is willing to buck the “powers that be” when needed and that he is beholden to nobody. And from personal experience, John is loyal. If you’re his candidate, there is no doubt that he will support you and defend you to the end. That alone puts him at the second spot.

3.)  George Joseph, Republican Party – This is where is gets tough. As I stated earlier, both major parties have enormous problems. Complacency, apathy, arrogance, power trips, etc. are just a few. Joseph is a decent man. A hardworking businessman with an unbreakable demeanor. Trust me, I’ve tried many times to break him down. The man should have been a professional poker player. However, over the two years getting to really know George as he served on the legislature with me, he had become increasingly megalomaniacal and narcissistic. He can come off as completely out-of-touch and speak quite condescendingly to you. He is definitely a proponent of the status-quo and believes things work just fine the way they are. To his credit, he has done a good job keeping his party in line though. Under the pressure of just a one seat majority last year, he managed to use his laid back demeanor to his advantage and focused on the big picture. That was keeping his troops happy, protecting his incumbents and focusing on a couple, realistically targeted races. In the end, he picked-up three seats (including mine). I think Joseph makes a better candidate than chair, but he hasn’t done a terrible job juggling both.

4.)  William Berry, Democratic Party – Berry should be ranked 5th out of the top four, that’s how bad his leadership, or lack thereof, has been. He’s nonexistent. I have more personal knowledge as a former Democratic Committee member. He hasn’t a clue how to run a meeting and literally takes all marching orders from Dick Emmert, Arcuri and Destito. He showed no interest at all of helping the county legislature candidates, or city candidates for that matter, during the elections. His sole focus is on Arcuri and Destito. The troops of the party are nothing more than pawns in the power game. This is why I resigned from the committee. I’m not sure what else to say about this chair. He even had the nerve to say that his proudest accomplishment as Supervisor of Whitestown was the theft of Utica’s water, or “Water Regionalization” as he put it. His legacy could very well be, by next year, the loss of several legislators (and the best opportunity at taking the majority), the loss of Utica’s mayoral seat and the loss of the first Democratic Congressman is over 40 years.

Voter Privacy Act of 2010

Back to my Reform ideas.  If you really want to stop the lobbyists and high priced political consultants from buying elections and votes, here’s an idea.  Besides making elections non-partisan, as is the case in many major cities including Newark, NJ; how about a Voters Privacy Act?  That’s right, make ALL voting information private.  It’s interesting to see how many people don’t realize how easy and public their voting information is.  Us political geeks know because we use it regularly.

I have a database of every registered voter in Oneida County on my desktop.  I designed the database myself with information publicly available to any citizen through their board of elections.  Of course, high priced consulting firms, and political parties have much more sophisticated systems.  However, within a couple clicks of my mouse, I can target any demographic in the county and by any city, town, ward, district, voting history, sex, age, etc.

As a quick example I have attached a list of everyone that voted in the general election of 2009 here, 21LegGE09.xls , in the 21st county legislative district.  This literally took 30 seconds.  This is also why some people get hammered wityh direct mailers and others never see them.  If you don’t vote (even if you’re registered) no politician will waste money sending you a mailer.  If you live in a “safe” district for a candidate, you likely won’t receive a “persuasion mailer”.  If you are a female living in a high voting district, or a targeted district, you will likely receive many mailers.

This is what the politicians and parties pay the big bucks for.  The information is easy to get, but using it effectively is a science.  That’s also why we don’t see as many grassroots rallies and campaign events as we did in the old days.  They don’t need to do it.  They show-up to the requisite events, keep their loyal base of family and friends in tact, and the rest is bought through fancy mailers and ads all targeted at you without you even knowing it.  Very little of this is substantive or does it give you a good look at where the candidates actually stand.

Imagine if all of this information was completely private.  No one knew if you were a Democrat, Republican, Independent, whether you vote or not, or even where you live unless they actually knock on your door.  That would mean they would have to campaign to the masses, not the select few that are targeted.  They would need to take your concerns as serious as they would a traditionally “targeted” voter’s concerns.  They wouldn’t know the difference.  They wouldn’t know whether there were more Democrats or Republicans.  They would have to speak to everyone.

So, I say make all of this information private and watch as the politicians get scared straight.  I do admit that this will put a lot of people (consultants) out of business, but is that such a bad thing?  Just a thought.

*NOTE:  For the record, in the example list from the 21st county district above, that means only 1041 out of 3609 registered voters actually voted in the ‘09 general election – or 29%.  Maybe with some real campaigning, that number would go up.  Also, this is why it’s so important to vote.  The establishment loves when the turnout is low, that means those that are otherwise unhappy with the system won’t be voting against them, while they make sure to get those that benefit from the status-quo out to the polls.  VOTE!

Obama Destroys GOP

Obama destroyed the GOP in the public question session.  It was a brilliant move to ask that the cameras be allowed in.  Now, to the credit of the GOP, they’re doing what they know best – and what has proven to work.  Despite the “socialist” talking points, Obama is actually pretty moderate.  This is why the left is so upset with him.

Obama’s biggest problem isn’t the GOP though, it’s his own members of Congress that are so scared of losing an election that they stand for nothing.  When Bush was in office, he had about a 30% approval rating and still managed to get his party (and even the Democrats) to go along with his agenda.  As much as I disagree with their policies and fear mongering, at least the GOP stuck to their agenda.  Again, Obama is doing just fine, it’s the Democrats in Congress that are pansies.

Did McNamara Call Me “Sinister”?

District Attorney Scott McNamara was the guest on this morning’s edition of First Look on WIBX. In the last segment, McNamara addressed questions surrounding the “Hendricks Letter.” He continued to proclaim that I “demanded” an investigation into political conspiracy. What was troubling though was his snide remark that my request was “sinister.” He does this even after adamantly proclaiming that there was absolutely no evidence of blackmail. He then went on to claim that the letter was written to harass and annoy Gerry Fiorini. Not me. Mr. McNamara, the only allegation that your office investigated was the blackmail allegation, which you found no evidence of. Your investigator stated that the extra-marital affair and $1 lease with Insight House would not be investigated due to orders form “the powers that be.”

Unfortunately, the only allegation in that letter that was true was the relationship between Fiorini and Vitagliano, and you didn’t mention one word about that. This despite the fact that I just saw the two of them in a truck in the Friendly’s parking lot the other day.  Hendricks went about this the wrong way, however he was right; Fiorini should resign and the board should be ashamed for supporting him.

There are many questions that still need to be answered. Although SC Gov. Mark Sanford had impeachment proceedings brought against him for having an affair, and Sen. Edwards has been destroyed in the national media, in Oneida County everyone is scared to speak the truth about what’s really going on.

There are questions of whether any laws were violated too. Not only with the relationship with Fiorini, but with the gift delivered to Picente. I just read the entire case of The United States of America v. Joseph Bruno. Many of the provisions applied in the Public Officers Law seem to apply here too. For example, “It alleges that he violated his ethical obligations under New York’s Public Officers Law when he (Bruno) failed to disclose material conflicts of interest…used his official position to secure unwarranted privileges, took unauthorized gifts that were intended to influence him, and failed to disclose these conflicts…”

Furthermore, as a non-profit CEO, similar provisions apply to Vitagliano. Read her contract, Mr. McNamara. Could this effect Insight House’s non-profit status, and should it?

Public Officers Law, Article IV, Section 74, (f) “An officer or employee of a state agency, member of the legislature or legislative employee should not by his conduct give reasonable basis for the impression that any person can improperly influence him or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official duties, or that he is affected by the kinship, rank, position or influence of any party or person.”

Scott, you said you have a duty to investigate any requests brought to your office. I’ll let you slide on my past requests that went unanswered. But since you make this claim and want to make disparaging remarks about me on a public show, I’ll be sure to write an official request for you to investigate this matter entirely. The way it should have been done in the first place.

I just don’t understand why you guys continue to attack me. I have nothing to lose, Scott. You have all taken it already.

What did I tell ya?

Another Lie Bites The Dust...

I was on First Look on WIBX the other day discussing the LaBella situation.  I said the PSC position would be an extra $70,000 and the response was that Roefaro said he was not going to fill the Deputy Chief position vacated by Williams.  I said it then that I would believe it when I see it.  Jeff even played a soundbite from Roefaro’s press conference.  He said it!  Now the mayor, or mayor’s little mouth Angelo, is saying the mayor will follow the reccomendation of Williams.

 

 

Roefaro said at a news conference last week that if he promoted Bailey or Williams to chief he would only keep one deputy chief. The mayor was not available late Wednesday, but mayoral aid Angelo Roefaro said the mayor will now follow the recommendation of the chief.

What else is new.  Enough is enough.  This mayor doesn’t have a clue.  He lies like no one I’ve ever seen.  He flip flops everyday.  Sometimes he’ll say 20 different things in less than 24 hours.  Seriously, I beginning to question his mental competency.  Thanks Mike Arcuri and Roann Destito, you gave us this guy.

McNamara’s sister appointed research analyst

The Democratic legislative caucus has chosen Cami Greene to replace Joseph Tosti as Minority Legislative Analyst. Greene is the sister of District Attorney Scott McNamara and also serves as his Campaign Treasurer.

Greene, who is from western Oneida County, first interviewed for the position in 2008 when Tosti was appointed. In an extremely rare circumstance, the caucus voted 6 – 4 against Tosti’s reappointment this year.

I guess the “friends and family” plan is alive and well. When she didn’t get the position last time, I was told by my fellow legislators that they were being pressured by Richard Emmert to vote for her. Emmert is a self-proclaimed party boss. He even wrote an editorial many years ago which was titled as defending “machine politics.” It looks like they got what they wanted.

Furthermore, although the GOP caucus reappointed Brian Miller and Steve Roefaro to their positions as Assistant Majority Leaders, new Minority Leader Patty Hudak has replaced all three Assistant Minority Leaders. She has appointed William Goodman from Whitestown. Goodman has been a rubber stamp for decades. How could he not be? His daughter is a department head at MVCC and his son was appointed as Commissioner of Jurors by a panel which Gerry Fiorini sits on. Talk about bough and paid for. The next is Roseanne Converntino. I’ve never seen a more miserable do-nothing in my life. She’s been in office over 40 years and hasn’t made a single accomplishment besides going to every free dinner. The third is actually troubling, Mike Clancy. Clancy came on the board with me in 2007. He was someone who I enjoyed a lot and had a lot of potential. However, there is no question that something is fishy when, after winning by just 9 votes in a heavy GOP district, he ends up unopposed in 2009. Then the Chairman places him on Ways and Means after removing Hennessy. Now he’s Assistant Minority Leader. I served with Mike. I like Mike. But he has done absolutely nothing of notable distinction. Something stinks.

*UPDATE:  I forgot to mention that after she didn’t get the job last time, she placed a sign in her lawn for Minority Leader Hennessy’s Republican opponent.  Then they wonder why so many of us won’t support them. 

UP NEXT: Did McNamara call me “sinister”?  &  What do Gerry Fiorini, Joe Bruno, Sen. John Edwards and Gov. Mark Sanford have in common?

LaBellagate: Still deflecting and on the defense

After just posting about the great choice Roefaro made by appointing Williams – which is true – LaBellagate continues as they try deflecting from their initial blunder.

“LaBella would not answer questions on the subject, issuing a statement saying he was looking forward to working with Williams and Bailey and serving as public safety commissioner.  The statement echoed earlier ones by both Roefaro and LaBella, who have sought to make a distinction between LaBella’s performance and the civil service issue.”

The “decision was specifically about the hiring process, not ability or competency,” LaBella said.

Come on!  As if the myriad of ethical and possibly legal questions surrounding the circumstances of the taking of the county test, approval by the county and city Civil Service Commissions, and subsequent appointment don’t raise questions of competency or ethics?  It’s awfully condescending to suggest anything else.

This is why the council still has a duty to investigate this entire matter.

Williams New Utica Police Chief

Mayor Roefaro has appointed Mark Williams as the new, permanent Utica Police Chief.  This is an outstanding choice.  Williams has an amazing resume and a long history with the department.  I’ve only had one personal experience with Chief Williams.  I won’t go into details, but after the whole Julian debacle, and while being verbally attacked by a couple officers, it was Williams that came in and treated me like a human being.  He explained the situation and explained that I would have my day in court to prove I was innocent.  Ultimately, I was completely exonerated of all malicious charges and won a civil suit.  I never forgot him and the professionalism he showed that day.  I can honestly say I’m 100% confident in the UPD under his command.

Furthermore, the Mayor made the right decision.  After taking a ton of scrutiny – including from myself – he deserves credit for the decision.  If we continue to bash him, it is us that lose all credibility.