Friday, November 15, 2013

Wiltshire is Council president because of the GOP


Beginning Jan. 1 Rodney Wiltshire will be the new Troy Council president, much to the chagrin of the one currently serving in that capacity, Lynn Kopka, and many other Democrats.


Tom Wade, Lynn Kopka, Nina Nichols, Rodney
Wiltshire and Mayor Lou Rosamilia. Wiltshire is even
looking left while his Democratic colleagues are
looking right, and it's not because of any
political ideology.
Wiltshire, in his second term, rode the Independence Party to the presidency getting 405 votes on that line alone. Straight up Democrat to Democrat, Wiltshire got 2,797 to Kopka’s 2,788 and second place finisher Erin Sullivan-Teta’s 2,670. I’m not sure how the absentees broke, but take out t 
he Independence Party line and it’s a horserace. I know it’s not an exact science – in that there is no guarantee all 405 Independence Party votes would have followed the line and not voted for Wiltshire anyway – but without it a factor in the race would have been a lot closer.

There is only one reason Wiltshire got permission – known as a Wilson-Pakula - to run an Independence Party primary; and it’s not because of his independent streak that has infuriated the Democratic Party proper. It’s because the Republicans wanted him to have it. The party’s vice chairman is former Democratic operative Tom Connolly and he is now staunchly aligned with the GOP. True, it may be more complex at the state level, but for at least the last decade, the party has almost exclusively backed Republicans in Rensselaer County races.

One reason, I’m told, Wiltshire got the Wilson-Pakula was to block Carmella Mantello from getting the council presidency to use as a stepping stone to another run for mayor. Mantello, despite being a tireless campaigner, is still not accepted by many in the GOP power structure and they would just as soon not have her take a third run at mayor.

Anyway, Mantello did win the Independence Party primary, and 473 voters filled in the bubble (which doesn’t have nearly the pizazz as saying “flipped the switch” but what can you do.) on that line in the general election. Without it, the third At Large seat would not have been close, instead it went to the absentees and Kopka is now the winner by 65 votes with a pending court challenge by Mantello.

The biggest surprise, in my mind, was Sullivan-Teta, who beat Kopka by some 250 votes and only came in second by 200 votes to Wiltshire. The Democrat also had the Independence Party line but it had nothing to do with political shenanigans like Wiltshire’s Wilson-Pakula. Connolly and Sullivan-Teta’s brother, Mike Sullivan, go way back and I’m guessing it was a favor to an old friend. In addition, Sullivan, a long time aid to former Rep. Mike McNulty, knows what he is doing when it comes to political campaigns and I’m sure he helped his sister out. Also, I’ve never met Sullivan-Teta, but I’m, told she only recently started going by Sullivan-Teta; and when I say recently I mean when she announced her campaign. Never let it be said ethnicity doesn’t play a role in local elections.

Kopka didn’t help herself out too much either. More on that later.

Finally, we’ll have to see if Wiltshire can maintain his independent streak. It’s really no secret he is eyeballing a run for mayor and he is in a tricky spot because the way things have been going it’s impossible to win without a bunch of Democratic votes. To that end, we’ll first have to see if Mayor Lou Rosamilia even runs in in 2015. And if he does, we’ll have to see if Wiltshire primaries him. My guess is he primaries anyone the Democrats put up, including Mayor Lou.

 

20 comments:

  1. I am glad to see that you are back writing. I always enjoyed your articles for The Record. Your blog is a little hard to read though with the VERY black background and small white font. The black background I know is a "man thing", but people do need to be able to read easily what a blogger writes without it bothering ones eyes.

    I had no idea that Mantello is challenging the voting results. That is not a good move. It reeks of desperation and being a spoiled sport. One must know how to lose with grace. She did come very close to winning and she should be proud of that.

    I am still confused by the Sullivan-Teta win. I attended candidate night and she did not do well there at all. I don't know her and never saw her until that night, so I can only go by that. Hopefully she will develop better skills while serving.

    I am THRILLED that Rodney will now be Council President. Rodney sticks to what he believes in and does not kiss ass. I hope that he remains that way. Too many people who start out good end up going wayward once in office, or they are not strong enough to not allow themselves to be controlled and coerced into voting in ways that are not honest and for the good of the people. As long as Rodney keeps his decent sense of self, I will be more than happy to vote for him if he decides to run for mayor.

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    1. wow... obviously you didn't see the "flexing on the beach" shots or the psychotic looking photo on this very blog... anyway... I am happy to see the changes on the council... maybe they can stir a little life into our downtrodden little hamlet.

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  2. Thanks for the compliment. I tweaked the font to make it easier to read. Is it better?
    Yes, Carmella wants a re-count. I agree, it does sound like desperation but from what I've heard she may have a case. It is tough to make up 65 votes though.
    I'm kind of interested to see how Rodney does as president too. I agree with what you said about people going wayward once in office, have seen it time and again. We'll have to see how Rodney does.

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  3. Yes, the font and lighter background is 100% better.

    I don't have anything against Carmella, but I hope that she does NOT have a case. The election is OVER and I want the city to move on from it. I would guess that she is probably being encouraged to pursue legal action by one of her GOP cronies. I would like to know when the GOP'ers are going to learn. Nationwide they are slowly destroying their own party with their nonsense. Of course they are going to blame everyone else for that except themselves. Now don't get me wrong. I don't think the democrats are that much better. When it comes to politics all parties are crooked.

    Rodney had quite a bit of support and votes from republicans. He is well liked by most people. There are a few who are clueless, but who cares. He is the incoming Council President and that is all I care about. I like a person who stays true to what they believe in, even if it happens to be different from what I believe in. I think that Rodney is more connected to the people as a neighbor and fellow Trojan as opposed to as a politician. I hope to God that continues to distance himself from the evils of politics.

    Btw, when you start a blog with Blogger, you don't own your own writing. It belongs to Blogger. With WordPress you own every single word you write. As a matter of fact Blogger owns all of your content. So before you write too many more blog posts with this platform, make sure that you want to stay with Blogger. If not owning your own writing bothers you, then now is the time to switch to WordPress before you get too deep in here. I was knee deep in over 200 blog posts and photos when I found out that Blogger owns my content. I was able to switch everything over to WordPress, but because I already had so much content it took me over a week to "fix" everything. This blogger does a great job explaining about blog content and who owns it.

    http://www.aroyaldaughter.com/2013/01/04/blogger-vs-wordpress-content-ownership/

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  4. Jim: Just a couple of points. Sullivan-Teta is an enrolled member of the Independence party so she actually needed a Wilson-Pakula from the Dems to run. I'm also not that surprised she won. She won the IND and WFP primaries coming in so had some momentum. Also, people in Troy are sick of Carmella running every two years to pad her pension, its over, move on (Harry T. can take the same advise). Be interesting to watch in 2 years if Rodney has the Ind line, Sullivan-Teta's brother may be talking to Tom Connolly in the next 2 years about that. By the way, I've worked with him, you're right he does know what he's doing in an election...

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    1. The people want Change so bad that with the Names Like Sullivan & Teta are House hold Names up in the Burgh So these family's have clout up there.
      Harry's Name is Mud up there his Drug rehab rejects will all be long forgotten after a few more Election Cycles
      The Vandenburg name will soon be forgotten too

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    2. I was vary Impressed that This Woman won this post
      I have a good felling she will do good things for Troy

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  5. You know I hesitated when I wrote that about Teta-Sullivan. Had a feeling she was enrolled in the Independence Party. I will double check and correct if I am in fact wrong tomorrow. Thanks for the note.

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  6. Sullivan-Teta gave an abysmal performance at Meet the Candidates night. The woman could not articulate one point about what she stood for or what she hoped to accomplish as a councilwoman. Shuffling frantically through papers to find her key points, 1 minute silences, awful. no one should get too arrogant or discouraged about winning or losing with the percentage of people who actually showed up to vote.

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  7. She should have had brian hollaway do a speech for her or did she burn a bridge there?

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  8. I was there, she was nervous so what? At least she stepped forward to run and try to help Troy. She is not a "politician", that's good we need a little common sense in Troy. Maybe she can just run over and over and over, lose and keep running to pad her pension. I think she'll do just fine. the Holloway story is over, get over it and by the way its really not any of your business.

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  9. It was lack of preparation, lack of regard for those who took the time to find out what she stood for. She received a failing grade for not being responsible enough to the people of Troy. She does not deserve a pass for this. It was not a matter of nervousness. Most people can understand and be tolerant when a speaker is nervous in front of an audience. Common sense dictates that you take time to prepare when you know you have fears of speaking in public. Her behavior was a disgrace.

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  10. Obviously you don't speak for the "people" of Troy because she buried Carmella and the rest of your Republican buddies. Who are you to call a first time obviously very nervous candidate a disgrace? Your one of the reasons why people in Troy have turned against the Republican party. You sit in judgement of everyone but yourself. I've voted for Neil Kelleher, Bob Mirch, Hank Bauer and countless other republicans but I draw the line at this group. Why don't you, Carmella, Harry and the rest get the message. Your done, move on, get a hobby (other than filing frivolous suits with that paragon of virtue John Sweeney as your lawyer).

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  11. No, her PERFORMANCE in front of the audience was a disgrace, her LACK OF PREPARATION. It wasn't a case of nerves that caused her to falter. She bungled and almost everyone in the audience would say as much. People will give someone with a case of nerves a break. If you can't articulate why you are running and what you hope to accomplish in front of an audience, what message does that send to those people who came to hear what you have to say? Many people have stage fright, but you have to take time to ready yourself so that you can speak, even from notes and let people know something about you and what you stand for. Mrs. Sullivan-Teta did not bury anyone on her own merits. However, she has 2 years to show us if she has substance and determination to do the job well.

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  12. Ms Sullivan and I have talked. I will coach her in public speaking and media circus sher did good with the sign game plan I created

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  13. This Teta Sullivan woman is gonna be a real trip a real embarrassment.

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  14. @2:15, you're right. Everyone saw that she Hates Troy and its populace and that's why we didn't elect her. Thanks for setting us straight.

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  15. Wow 359AM your a credit to Troy. why don't you grow up and add something of substance. Jim why would you allow that comment to stand. Its a personal attack that adds nothing to this subject. I'm done commenting for a while you people are clueless and the main reason nobody of any value wants anything to do with Troy politics most of the time.

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  16. Teta Sullivan makes me look like an alter boy

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