A Platform for Albany City candidates


By Tom Paine, Section Diaries
Posted on Fri May 09, 2008 at 07:52:11 AM EST

We've all seen the problems; now it's time time talk about the solutions. City elections for Mayor and Common Council are in the fall of 2009. All together, let's get to work.

I am proposing that this blog initiate the development of a platform for a slate of candidates. This should be a cooperative, iterative process. Participation should be as broad as possible.

I suggest our goal should be to develop this platform, to invite potential candidates to respond (or, even better, participate in its creation) and eventually to publicize this in any way we can. Ideally there would be a slate of DIA candidates in 2009, or perhaps potential other candidates who may not want "endorsement" but who align themselves with elements of the platform.

There will also be candidates we will oppose, if they are opposed to this platform.

We should not use this diary as a place to point out problems (other diaries do that very, very well) but as a place to throw out some ideas, develop them, and then see if anyone agrees.

There are a few Common Council members who are already on the right side of things. Every single one who isn't should have an opponent next year. Make the bad guys defend everywhere. When they defend everywhere they are weaker everywhere.

So let's be positive, let's have fun, but let's be effective.

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A Platform for Albany City candidates | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 hidden)
City Budget (none / 0) (#1)
by Tom Paine on Fri May 09, 2008 at 07:54:07 AM EST
I am just going to throw this spitball out to get us started.

  1. The city budget should be developed at least three months in advance to allow for public comment.

  2. The budget should be posted as a spreadsheet on the city webpage at least three months in advance.

  3. Current expenditure data should be made available on the same page.

  4. Multiple public meetings should be held to respond to questions from the public about the budget.


I'll be chiming in (none / 0) (#2)
by DIA on Fri May 09, 2008 at 10:05:49 AM EST
with my ideas next week when I have time.  I've covered most of the issues many times over already.  Money -  how it is raised, how it is spent, who gets it,  who doesn't (e.g. developers, not neighborhoods)is going to be the biggest issue.   That and having a more open accountable government.

City Spending (none / 0) (#3)
by Tom Paine on Fri May 09, 2008 at 10:15:25 AM EST
Ask the State Comptroller or some other recognized authority on the subject for a set of guidelines on purchasing, bidding and contracting. Publish these on the city website and in the newspaper and follow them rigidly.

Although minor purchases should not be hamstrung by too much bureaucracy, major contracts must be publicly bid in a completely transparent way.

This is OUR money folks.

City Schools (none / 0) (#4)
by Tom Paine on Fri May 09, 2008 at 10:23:22 AM EST
The Albany City Schools are separate from the city government, and with good reason. But there is a 90-year history of the city screwing the schools deliberately. This does terrible harm to the whole city, not just the schools, and has to stop.

Suggest the appointment of a joint committee made up of a Mayor's rep, common council reps, school board reps, and several volunteer outsiders to actively look for synergy in school and city operations. Develop options for cutting costs for both.

Some examples off the top of my head:
a) Could DGS help maintain schools or their grounds at lower cost?
b) Can joint purchase contracts be set up to lower costs for both entities?
c) Can any admin functions be merged? (payroll or others?)

Schools (none / 0) (#5)
by nycowboy on Fri May 09, 2008 at 12:11:01 PM EST
One big change there should be to city schools is to make them comply with state election law. Right now they can engage in many practices that are undemocratic, and unfair.

[ Parent ]
I will stick with the basics.. (none / 0) (#6)
by hawkny on Fri May 09, 2008 at 05:02:01 PM EST
taxes, police (especially safety), fire, garbage pickup, the city dump, the water department and streets. All need fixing to one degree or another.

Oh, and this business about "chauffered" officials, like Betty Barnett, has got to stop!

Pooh pooh on you Betty...

But what specifically? (none / 0) (#7)
by Tom Paine on Sat May 10, 2008 at 08:48:54 PM EST
That's quite a laundry list but what specifically do you want to see done?

What's wrong with the garbage pickup, for example?

I agree there should be NO chauffered staff in a city in debt. Scratch that - even if we weren't in such debt we still don't need chauffers. It smacks of monarchy and we fought a revolution to end that.

[ Parent ]

Make DIA Work (none / 0) (#8)
by Dan Van Riper on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:17:34 PM EST

DIA has proposed doing the same thing, but as we can all see, he is going through a lazy period.

Looks like somebody needs to do it for him in the diaries, or maybe some kind of special arrangement on the site.

Or better yet, how about YOU start a new blog covering the 21st race?

Well?  How about it?

Lazy? this from a guy (none / 0) (#9)
by DIA on Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:57:53 PM EST
who posts a blog entry once every two weeks?  Lazy?   Van Riper, we may need to schedule an arm wrestling competition.

Any person with a working knowledge of albany politics can put together a platform for the candidates.   It would take me two beers time to work up a platform.   And the second beer would just be me looking at the platform and patting myself on the back.

It isn't about the platform.  We all know what is wrong.  It is about the candidates.   Do we have any candidates?   Who don't already work for the state or city and thus can be cut off at the knees if they propose something good for citizens that might endanger a small bit of the pork sausage that Shelly and Joe an the rest suck on.  Democratic candidates who don't have direct ties to Shelly Silver or Jerry jennings?   Who might have some experience in doing something where failure or budget deficits meant being fired?    Who can stand up and speak the truth and not have to think "I'm going to get in trouble if I say this".   That is what we need.   People who can stand on their own and say what they believe.  And do what is right because it is right.  It is simple.

We need good candidates who can do this.    The rest is easy.    I'm still not sure we can get the candidates we need.   We'll see.   Perhaps we should just make Chief Tuffey Mayor for Life and get back to watching TV and paying our taxes.  

[ Parent ]

Wrong approach (none / 0) (#10)
by AlfredMoisiu on Tue May 13, 2008 at 07:34:10 PM EST
The problem is running as a democrat. You'll never get anything past the gauntlet of committees and functionaries and primary battles that would block your path.

Run as republicans... if you had six people in a room, you'd be able to take over the Republican committee and do whatever you want. Even better, you'd get to watch the democratic candidates kill each other in the primary.


[ Parent ]

You Prefer What? (none / 0) (#11)
by Dan Van Riper on Wed May 14, 2008 at 06:08:00 AM EST

Hey AlfredM... the Democrats at least sometimes consult their constituency before they choose their candidates.  When Re-pubs do that, it's a sign that they are in trouble.

The old Albany machine boys chose their candidates in secret and handed down orders... follow me closely here... exactly like Re-pubs.  And you may note that the current boss of the remnants of the machine, His Majesty Jerry, is supports Re-pub candidates and is a Democrat in name only.  

Us folks have been fighting for years to democratize the Democratic Party.  Sure, it's not as efficient as dictatorship. But I'd rather have a chance to participate, thank you very much.

Okay DIA, your lazy period seems to have ended.  I'll wrestle your invisible arm anytime.

[ Parent ]

outside influence (none / 0) (#12)
by albany layman on Wed May 14, 2008 at 06:32:50 AM EST
Absolutely, we need to seek out and support better candidates.

Speaking for myself, I will never be one of those candidates.  (I'm not sure I have all the copies of those compromising photos, and I can't take the chance that they will surface.)

Finding and supporting better candidates, getting them elected, that's only the first step.  After that is being a constant watchdog, and applying pressure from the outside to do what's right for the city and the taxpayers.

We need to get together as a power center, be activist pains in the ass, outside the system.  Pick one goal at a time, get people together on it, take action, then move on to the next goal.

(I am just repeating some things I've read about community organizing, not presenting any original thoughts here.)

We can do this on a ward by ward basis, if one of the goals requires us to go through the yutzes on the Common Council.  Or we can do it on a city basis, if that's what the goal demands.

Picking the goals will be difficult.  Keeping people together will be difficult.  But leaving it up to our long-standing elected critters and the majority of people who don't give a shit isn't really an option.

Some Of Us Have Been (none / 0) (#13)
by Dan Van Riper on Wed May 14, 2008 at 07:15:46 AM EST

Some of us have been doing exactly that on an issue by issue basis.  The early reformers had to fight, literally sometimes.  these days it's a lot easier if you want to get involved.

CANA (Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations) has organized around neighborhoods, but most of their best and most effective initiatives have been around City-wide issues.  

There was one attempt that I know of to organize by ward inside the Democratic Party, that was here in the First ward.  That effort gave us Dominick Calsolaro.  But The Mayor, with help from various Democratic Party bigwigs (most notably Jack McEneny and Ron Canestrari!) managed to destroy the First ward reforms.

As for me, I have been massively involved in a series of issues as an outgrowth of my business.  I found that in trying to buy, renovate and rent out apartments in my neighborhood ran into a whole host of problems, every single one of which could be traced back to mismanagement or corruption by the City government.

So AlfredM, hope to see you at the next public hearing.

[ Parent ]

A Platform for Albany City candidates | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 hidden)
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