Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Troy Council appointments are shaping up


WILTSHIRE
KOPKA
Not to say that all is hunky dory between Council President-elect Rodney Wiltshire and company and Lynn Kopka, the current council president who will give up the seat on Jan. 1, but his projected appointments do not indicate an all-out war.

According to sources, Clerk Karla Guererri is out of her $54,800 job, which is no surprise. The new city clerk will be the current deputy clerk, Cheryl Christiansen, Councilman Gary Galuski’s sister-in-law.

Lou Schneider, the assistant deputy clerk who toyed with the idea of running for Council earlier this year, will get bumped up to deputy clerk at a salary of $40,000. Who will take his place is not yet determined, according to sources.

The auditor, Mary Beth Quinn, will keep her $59,600 a year job, according to sources. It’s kind of surprising in that Wiltshire could use it to reward a campaign worker but not really in that her husband, Larry Quinn, back in the day, was a loyalist to Mayor Mark Pattison and active in the Democratic Party.

There are currently no plans to change the $10,000 position of Council secretary currently held by Lucy Larner but it’s not been solidified yet, according to sources.

The position of bingo inspector is also up in the air. It’s such an insignificant job, really, that I don’t know who holds it now and could not figure out how much the position pays since it comes out of a pot of temporary salaries.

Also, the Council will appoint, or re-appoint, some of the city marshals but it depends on whose terms expire next year. You remember last year the Council, behind Councilman Kevin McGrath, went nose-to-nose with Wade over re-appointing Rick Mason to his marshal post. The pay depends on how many eviction notices and other legal documents the marshals chose to deliver, but who gets the job can be a way to throw political muscle around a bit.

While the way the appointments are shaking out aren’t the nuclear bomb they could have been, the one that is a least a quarter stick of dynamite is naming Christianson clerk. Not only is it a message to Kopka, reminding her she is no longer in charge – and an indirect message to Wade that Wiltshire, Councilman Ken Zalewski and company will not bow down to the chairman’s feet – it’s also a way to buy off Galuski (pictured left).

I wrote before that every indication is there is a distinct split in the Council and until this appointment Galuski was considered squarely in the Kopka/Wade corner. But, that was before his sister-in-law will not only stay employed but will get a nearly $15,000 raise to boot.

Pretty savvy strategy by Wiltshire and company.

However, Galuski also has a job at the Board of Elections, which is still controlled by Wade so, in short, I would not want to be Galuski the next time both sides want his vote on something.

   

18 comments:

  1. Bingo inspector was made civil service by Mark Pattison. It'd be interesting to see how they make that move.

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  2. Wade will take Galuski out in the BOE and then he will get Mcdonough.

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    1. All Guluski really wants is to be is Parks Director. He'd be a perfect choice being he couldn't even pass a CS test for a recreational aide position..

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    2. Guluski as parks director? Really?

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    3. Galumpski and the term Director don't seem to coincide. I'm not saying he isn't smart but

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  3. Heard the working families people are boycotting LoPorto's. They have had enough of Michael and his brother.

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  4. Good news the FBI visited the Troy Police Dept today and I'm told stories are changing quickly.

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  5. My money was on Tom Aldrich for Clerk. He's a hard party worker, and knows how to bend the truth a bit on the witness stand. Put the S in Shine over at LoPorto's too! Deliar ought to get Shnieder's position, just on her people's skills alone.

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  6. Franco you are all wet. Lou Schneider is a Wade guy thru and thru. Why would Rodney want a Wade spy in his office. Might as well leave the current clerk in there she could use the job.

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    1. Spy's??? I thought we were all supposed to be working towards a common goal --the betterment of this city. This is what's really wrong with this city-- all political idiots and wannabe big shots

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    2. I couldn't agree more! Troy's politics are ugly, ugly, ugly! Its like digging in sand, we get absolutely nowhere!

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  7. The most interesting man in the world hangs at LaPorto's. Who needs the WFP?

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  8. And the doughnut queen thinks he's dreamy!

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  9. It's his girlfriend not daugter

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  10. The most interesting man in the world is a big Obama supporter. He actually lives and votes in Troy. Well, its his summer home. He winters in Vermont. He was with Mike to read interesting articles in the Times Union.
    "I don't usually vote by absentee ballot, but when I do I do it at LoPorto's

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  11. BINGO: the position is a Civil Service one--made so when mark pattison wanted to can donny cunningham -- donny passed the CS test and was appointed -- makes about $12,000 per year and Donny has no intention of giving this position up to the Demorats

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    1. Bingo inspector? what the hell is that, and why are we paying for it? If it's a mandated position, maybe one of these useless self serving councilmen could maybe get our senator's & assemblymen, to get the state to get someone to inspect the damn bingo parlors. They pass legislation decrying human trafficking, and the SAFE Act --now how about getting rid of these bullshit positions --something that actually effects people living in Troy

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