Democracy In Albany

Albany Budget - The Joke that keeps giving | 33 comments (33 topical, 0 hidden)

citizens action/WFP (none / 0) (#25)
by DIA on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 12:56:19 PM EST

is the only group that has organized to the point where they can try to run multiple candidates. In 2005 they got Fahey, Ellis and Smith elected. if you think common council meetings are painful now you should've been here when Mike Brown was still on the council.

I imagine they will be trying to run candidates again.

The green party also has now shown they can be competitive so perhaps they will be running candidates.

You have to win the dem primary to win the race due to the nature of albany politics. It ain't gonna happen in a general election.

When looking for good candidates to run you may have to check the mirror.

I was told of one candidate who was going to run this time around. They got a phone call and an offer from the mayor. The offer was better than the potential elected position and thus was accepted and there was no challenge. Nothing illegal about it. But that is how they work.

The most important thing we can do is elect a new independent mayor.

Where we are compared to where we were at this point 4 years ago is night and day. But as Jennings gets more desperate, it will get very very ugly.

cheers

[ Parent ]

That sounds just peachy. (none / 0) (#30)
by ObnoxioTheClown on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 07:21:50 PM EST

So Citizen Action/WFP will ship in a bunch of union mouthbreathers and NYC money to try to get someone elected. Great.

Seems to this clown that these folks have spent alot of time and energy on things like the schools, and haven't exactly come through with some sort of breakthrough.

And while the council consists of a bunch of spineless weasels, you haven't mentioned what the alternatives are.

Probably 2/3s of the city budget is for public safety -- and those costs are all labor. What would Mayor DIA do about that? Both departments are plenty busy, so laying people off is not going to be a popular move.

Cutting back their benefits (which are lavish) just isn't going to happen -- the contract will go into arbitration, and a budget-cutting mayor will lose.

There are a few things that you could do. You could cut back the benefits of administrative staff that aren't in a bargaining unit.

You could close the golf course - big fucking deal... total golf course expenses probably amounts to 1 police pay period.

[ Parent ]

: maybe we could hire a clown (none / 0) (#32)
by DIA on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 10:21:59 PM EST

who would throw up his hands in the air and claim he couldn't do anything and then beg for more state aid...or as we call it, welfare.
What do you say, clown, willing to do that for $135K a year. More than you probably are making these days as a mortgage broker.
Reminds me why i don't hire clowns to do work that doesn't involved entertaining children.

[ Parent ]

Albany Budget - The Joke that keeps giving | 33 comments (33 topical, 0 hidden)

Login

Make a new account

Menu

Login