Wiltshire and Zalewski are not backing down

WILTSHIRE

ZALEWSKI

As one prominent Troy Democrat said: “Hey, if we don’t have any decent Republicans to fight … we may as well fight with each other.”

And there is no doubt a fight brewing within the Democratic ranks.

Chairman Tom Wade is looking to oust Council President Rodney, his wife Jolene and Councilman Ken Zalewski, D-District 5 from the Democratic Party Committee. He strongly hinted that if they don’t walk away from the seats quietly, and instead challenge his picks by waging primaries, he would look to have them removed from the party for disloyalty.

Safe to say, the three are not going quietly.

“As a proud registrant and committeeman of the Democratic Party, I have consistently proven my loyalty to the party leadership, elected Democratic officials, voters and constituents,” said Wiltshire, a former president of the Rensselaer County Young Democrats, in a statement. “If the chairman wishes to proceed down this path I, along with my attorney Kathleen O’Keefe, will pursue this in court.

WADE

“I am a Democrat through and through. I have never supported nor given money to a non-Democratically endorsed candidate. I take these allegations seriously and I am prepared to take this as far as it needs to go.”

O’Keefe worked for Sen. Cecelia Tkazyk in her nail-bitter recount win over Assemblyman George Amadore and has long been counsel to the state Assembly majority. In other words, she knows Election Law and if Wade does try to bounce the three from the party it could ultimately end up in court.

The disloyalty, Wade claims, started when Wiltshire accepted the Independence Party endorsement in exchange for giving the Republicans committee chairs and other appointments. Zalewski’s disloyalty, according to Wade, was when he backed incumbent Republican Councilman Dean Bodnar over his Democratic challenger Michelle DeLair during the District 5 race last year.

KOPKA

Both sides are coy about their strategy too. The way it works is a committee representative can run in any Election District within the Assembly District where they reside. So few signatures are needed to get on the ballot that they can wait until the last minute to show their hands and disclose who is running where. In other words, we likely won't know who is running where and against who until petitions are filed next month. It really doesn't get more down and dirty than a good committee fight.

The brewing battle became public when Wade handed out committee petitions for the “solid” committee members. I say “solid” because there are 30 Election Districts in the city, and with each having two committee members it’s not easy to fill the entire slate and there are always vacancies. There are those party loyalists, however, who have served for years and who run without question every two years. The Wiltshires and Zalewski were once considered “solid” committee members.

ROSAMIlIA

That started to change when Wiltshire accepted the Independence Party line, which helped him knock Lynn Kopka, D-At Large, out of the presidency she held for two years. Kokpa is a tried and true Wade loyalist.  

Add that to the ongoing investigation the Council is conducting into two controversial demolition projects headed up – or ordered by – members of the administration of Mayor Lou Rosamilia, another Wade loyalist, and Wiltshire’s well known ambitions for higher office and … well … we have a war. 

The winner of the war, should the two sides continue with the game of chicken and actually bang heads when petitions are due next month, will likely have control of not only the Democratic nod for mayor but the Rensselaer County Democratic Party.  

   

 

 

More on the Democratic Party Committee battle



WADE (Times Union photo)

It’s not a complete house cleaning but Rensselaer County Democratic Party Chairman Tom Wade is getting rid of “dead weight” and those deemed “disloyal” to the party.

 

As reported, when the petitions forms for committee members were handed out last week, they did not include the names of Council President Rodney Wiltshire, his wife Jolene or Councilman Ken Zalewski, D-District 5.

They also didn’t include three family members of Brian Premo - a long time attorney and Democrat who also has had his differences with Wade - for their committee seats in Brunswick.

The Wiltshires and Zalewski, however, will not be “bullied by the chairman," according to their camp, and are preparing to wage primaries. While Wade did not say he would follow through, he does have the option of assigning a committee to hold hearings to determine if they should permanently get thrown out of the party for disloyalty.

WILTSHIRE

The way it works, though, is that a committeeman can run in any Election District located within the Assembly District in which they live so it’s kind of difficult to see who will run against who until the petition process is complete.

Anyway, disloyalty, according to Wade, includes Zalewski’s support of Republican Councilman Dean Bodnar, R-District 3, over Democrat Michelle DeLair in last year’s election and Wiltshire’s acceptance of the Independence Party line - which helped him oust Councilwoman Lynn Kopka,a party loyalist, as president. Since the Independence Party is controlled at the local level by the GOP, Wade claims Wiltshire made a deal and gave Republicans appointments in return for the party’s nod.

The “dead weight” claim stems from Wade’s contention that the Premos do not show up to committee meetings and do little or no work for the party.  

ZALEWSKI

Also, two years ago, Wiltshire, Zalewski and Premo worked for Robert “Rabbit” Riley in an unsuccessful effort to oust Wade as chairman.

The way it works, according to Wade, is that the town chairs throughout the county and council district leaders in Troy recommend names of those party members they would like to see serve on their respective committees. Wade maintains he is only following those recommendations.

Control of the committee is important in that the committee picks the chairman and ultimately has control who the party endorses. Zalewski is term limited out, but Wiltshire does have political ambitions past the Troy Council and one option is obviously mayor.

If Wade is not supporting Wiltshire for committee, it stands to reason Wiltshire is not his top pick for mayor should Mayor Lou Rosamilia opt not to run for another term. Actually, it would be difficult to see Wade supporting him for another run at Council.

Wade said the party is also shaking up committees in Grafton, East Greenbush and Hoosick but denied there is an all-out house cleaning in Troy as evidenced by the party carrying petitions for former Troy Councilman Mike LoPorto and operative Tom Aldrich in Troy, Charles “CB” Smith in North Greenbush and Phil Malone in East Greenbush. All of whom have had their differences with Wade.

In other words, the war is on and it should be a good one. Wade has been through them before and is not without his support on the committee and Wiltshire and Zalewski are two proven vote getters and popular in the city.  

Given the discord within the Democrats, though, its most powerful weapon remains the complete lack of a Republican Party in the City of Troy.

Sully is no dummy; councilwoman's change of heart is telling

SULLIVAN-TETA

Councilwoman Erin Sullivan-Teta peeled away from her two Democratic colleagues on Monday’s vote to issue subpoenas in the investigation into controversial demolition projects in the city.

I’ve never met Sullivan-Teta, but a week ago she stood by Councilwoman Lynn Kopka, D-At Large, and Councilman Gary Galuski, D-District 6, as Mayor Lou Rosamilia decried the investigation as a “witch hunt.”

Her change of heart is telling.

For starters, it reinforces what everyone involved Capital Region politics already knows – her brother, Mike Sullivan, is no dummy.

WILTSHIRE

Sullivan worked for former U.S. Rep. Mike McNulty for years and is now across the river working for Gov. Andrew Cuomo somewhere. He is a behind the scenes kind of guy but he knows the game as well as anyone – he learned from one of the best, Tom Matthews, after all - and I’ll be my house his consult was one reason his sister changed her mind.

Since Mike Sullivan, known as Sully, is no dummy, he must see the writing on the wall when it comes to Rosamilia. By that I mean the mayor is in such a weak spot on so many different levels that there is no way he runs again.

And if it’s not the mayor, then who from the camp of Chairman Tom Wade is left?

KOPKA

Kopka considered running when the nod went to Clement “Chappy” Campana more than two years ago and she is the next logical choice. But, she isn’t doing herself any favors by opposing the Council investigation into what is widely seen as a couple pretty big screw ups by members of the administration.

Then there is President Rodney Wiltshire. It’s no secret he has political ambitions and is thus far looking pretty good in what is a dicey situation. Thing is, he alienated the Wade crew by taking the Independence Party line from the Republicans and that helped knock Kopka, a Wade loyalist, out of the presidency last year.

ROSAMILIA

So long as Wade is around, I don’t see Wiltshire getting the nod without a primary and he’s said he won’t primary Rosamilia. That was a while ago and things could change. If it comes down to a primary between Kopka and Wiltshire, the early money is on Wiltshire. Obstructing a Council investigation into what has been the most ineffective borderline corrupt administration in nearly two decades is not something to put on a palm card.

And then what happens to Wade?

I guess there are other Democrats who would made decent candidates like Legislator Peter Grimm, Legislator Cindy Doran, a registered Conservative, or even someone from a while ago like former Deputy Mayor Jim Conroy.

WADE

But, Troy voters, the majority of which are Democrats, have proven they will toss entire slates of either party if they don’t like what’s going on and I don’t see how anyone could like what’s going on right now. There are no less than three federal agencies and a state agency snooping around the Collar City.  

At this point he only thing the Democrats have going for them is the Republican Party. They have nobody, and there are some who would just as soon cross endorse Wiltshire instead of taking a pounding at the polls in November 2015.

Anyway, the vote to issue subpoenas passed by a 7-2 count and the method of issuing them passed 6-3 with Councilman Bob Doherty, D-District 4, voting against. Doherty may have a point in that a document signed by the majority of Council members as opposed to a formal public vote might not hold up to legal scrutiny. I honestly don’t know, and I don’t think anyone does until a judge rules, or if it will even goes that far. While I applaud Wiltshire for doing what he is doing, he is making it more complicated than it has to be. That said, he is plugging along.

Who gets a subpoena will come later (DOCUMENTS)

WILTSHIRE

The Council will vote to issue subpoenas at tonight’s special meeting but it doesn’t give who it wants to subpoena.

The names will come at a meeting where the Council will address “a subsequent ordinance, specifically identifying and approving the individual or entity to be subpoenas and directing the appearance at subsequent public hearing to provide testimony and documents related to the questions and activities referenced in this ordinance.”

That’s according to the ordinance the Council will address tonight (which can be seen below) which authorizes the Council to investigate “city activities and processes concerning the following; demolition in and around the King Fuels site, demolition in and around the King Street site oversight and direction of the Code Department.”

Obvious names of people in city employment include Planning Commissioner Bill Dunne, Assistant Planner Andrew Kreshick, Fire Chief Tom Garrett, Deputy Mayor Pete Ryan and possibly even Mayor Lou Rosamilia.

ROSAMILIA

The ordinance also gives the Council the authority to subpoena “private individuals.” Obvious names that come to mind are attorney Don Boyajian and contractor J.R. Casale.

I will go into what each could bring to the table, and possibly add more names in a later post.

It seems to me this ordinance should have been passed weeks ago when the Council first questioned former City Engineer Russ Reeves and his assistant Barbara Tozzi. But, they testified voluntarily at the first public hearing so it’s no big deal. The second hearing also featured testimony from those there voluntarily.

Now, though, as the Council gets into the nitty-gritty, it can expect opposition so President Rodney Wiltshire - who has thus far, outside of one misstep, handled the entire thing with a unique mix of professionalism and political savvy - is going by the book.

KOPKA

I say there will be opposition based on the dog and pony show put on by Rosamilia and three members of the Council who are opposed to the inbestigation – Lynn Kopka, D-At Large, Gary Galuski, D-District 6, and Erin Sullivan Teta, I-At Large.

Rosamilia called it a “witch hunt,” which is akin to telling the Council to sit down and rubber stamp my administration instead of doing your job and being a check and balance.

Kopka said Wiltshire has not listened to the entire Council regarding who to subpoena. Galuski said he didn’t try to participate but he wasn’t asked to either.

My guess is, once the ordinance passes tonight, Wiltshire will ask his eight colleagues for a list of people they would like to question.

Why not? The more the merrier and it certainly trumps the “he didn’t include me” argument.

In addition to the Council probe, according to the Times Union, there are no less than three federal agencies and a state agency looking into the projects.

Ordinance 1

Council heads to Round II without legislation

WIlTSHIRE

The Council did not address any legislation at its regularly monthly meeting Thursday about the issuance of subpoenas for next Thursday’s public hearing centering on two controversial demolition projects.

In fact, it never voted to conduct any investigation, which started earlier this week with the testimony of former City Engineer Russ Reeves and his assistant Barbara Tozzi. In the past 36 years, both similar investigations were kicked off by the Council first passing legislation approving a probe.

According to the City Charter:

“This Council may make investigations into the affairs of the City and the conduct of any City department, office, or agency and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of evidence. Any person who fails or refuses to obey a lawful order issued in the exercise of these powers by the Council shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.”

DUNNE

I’m not trying to interpret the Charter, I’m just going by past practice and the guy who wrote the initial clause, which was updated in 2003, told me that’s what it means.

No, the Council didn’t pass legislation before issuing subpoenas to Reeves and Tozzi, but they were willing participants. Something tells me members of the Executive Branch will be less so.

By not passing formal legislation, the Council gives the next round of witnesses – which could include Planning Commissioner Bill Dunne, Fire Chief Tom Garrett, Deputy Mayor Pete Ryan or even Mayor Lou Rosamilia – an easy out.

In fact, I think Councilwoman Lynn Kopka, D-At Large, who is tight with Rosamilia, set the stage for the procedural fight when she mentioned the Council should have passed legislation before issuing subpoenas to Reeves and Tozzi.

ROSAMILIA

Council President Rodney Wiltshire took note of Kopka’s objection and, based on what he said was advice from counsel, went ahead with the hearing anyway.

The only thing I can think of is that Wiltshire didn’t propose legislation - which would guarantee avoiding a hitch in what has so far been an enlightening inquiry  - is that he is daring members of the administration to say “we aren’t coming because …” That would not look good at all. In other words, Wiltshire – who is proving himself a pretty savvy politician – could be giving them just a little more rope. Wiltshire certainly has the votes if he chose to go the other route.

GARRETT

Regardless of his game plan or his end game, you have to give Wiltshire credit because, so far, the inquiry has been, as I said, enlightening. And, so far, has been handled with dignity and decorum. We’ll have to see how round two goes and/or if the FBI steps it up a notch.  

 And before you ask, the Council does not have the authority to call attorney Don Boyajian, who owns the King Street buildings, anyone from M. Cristo Construction, the company that tore the buildings down, or J.R. Casale, who tore the buildings down at the King Fuels site. Casale spoke at the first hearing but it was voluntary and, more than likely, ill advised. The Council’s authority only extends to city employees and city departments, so I’m told.  

Committee on Open Government: Give Mantello access to ballots (DOCUMENTS)

MANTELLO

In an five-page opinion, the state Committee on Open Government said former Troy Council candidate Carmella Mantello can look at the 2013 election results secured at the Rensselaer County Board of Elections.

Mantello had questioned the razor-thin results of her At Large bid last year but the third and final spot went to Lynn Kopka by 65 votes out of nearly 7,000 cast after the absentee ballots were counted and a judge denied Mantello’s request for a recount.

Since, Mantello has maintained there were abnormalities in some Election Districts and wanted to conduct a manual recount herself but was, inexplicitly, denied access to the ballots by Rensselaer County Commissioners Ed McDonough, a Democrat, and his Republican counterpart Larry Bugbee.

She did request the ballots under the state Freedom of Information Law but it too was denied. The Committee on Open Government, however, said access to ballots did fall under the FOIL statute and while it’s only an opinion, said she should have access.

 “In sum, based on the preceding analysis, I agree with your contention that “the electronic ballot images and cast vote records created by the ballot scanners used to conduct our elections” are accessible to the public pursuant to FOIL and in accordance with subdivisions (1) and (3) of the Election Law,” said the letter written by Bob Freeman, executive director of the Committee on Open Government and the state’s well-respected FOIL guru.

The committee’s decision and Mantello’s statement can be read below.

There are the facts as they stand now. Here are some questions and observations that immediately come to mind:

-While I don’t agree keeping any ballots from public inspection, especially from candidates who ran for office, I can see why McDonough would deny her access since he is a Democrat and Mantello is a Republican.

-But, why would Bugbee, a Republican, sign off on not granting her access? Here’s why: Some in the GOP don’t like Mantello. Plain and simple. And Bugbee takes his marching orders from those same operatives. It’s one thing not to like a candidate but part of Bugbee’s job, in addition to ensuring elections run fairly and properly, is to help Republican candidates and protect their interests whoever they are. McDonough does the same thing for Democrats – that’s why there is one commissioner of each party.

-Regardless of the public – and at least one time physical – confrontation between Bugbee and former commissioner Tom Wade, who is now the Rensselaer County Democratic Party chairman, they at least kept an eye on each other. Bugbee and Wade have too cozy a relationship in that they can easily turn a blind eye towards each other’s activities – like minor party ballots – or turn go so far as back each other up in the Mantello case. (Notice I didn’t mention voter fraud because Bugbee told other operatives about the inordinate number of Working Families Party absentee ballots that came in at the last minute but if they trickled in as they have in years past the two commissioners would likely have let each other’s party get away with whatever they wanted to get away with.)

-What happens now is anyone’s guess. If Mantello does get her hands on the ballots and has evidence she did win it’s too late to do anything about it but it would justify any attempted run at future office.

-And it means that people are watching the BOE and the commissioners, who ultimately work for the them and not the political parties.

-Despite all the political inside baseball, not giving a candidate, or anyone else, unfettered access to ballots is shameful. It’s just another scar on an already tainted BOE.

-Bugbee did not immediately return phone calls for comment.     
 

Committee Decision

Statement Regarding NYS Committee on Open Government Opinion by jfranco17410