WATER COOLER CHIT CHAT

‘Twas a few weeks before Christmas and all through City Hall

Everyone was ready to say bye, bye to Scott Johnson’s snow balls.

The word was spreading about Shauna anew’

That the Deputy spot was hers at the DPW.

The whispers are saying how can this be?

When she can’t even repair a water main “T”.

It was heard that Joe O’Neil would lead the workers outside,

While Shauna will take care of the office inside.

This is odd they say as Skip and Shauna don’t get along’

But when an order from the top comes, you must be strong.

The next bit of news from the County does come,

That at the beginning of the year Judge Scarano will be done.

It’s too bad about the judge because he’s still in his prime.

But the ballot didn’t pass to give him more time.

Jim Murphy will leap into his seat with the gavel and robe

While the DA post it’s said will go to Dave Harper.

So we’ll wait until New Years Day to see if they are right

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

THE STORY OF SMALL BUSSINESSMAN VS. THE MIGHTY COUNCIL & BONACIO

It seems like the small businessman gets the shaft again when a big contractor like Sonny Bonacio wants the City to quash him.

The small businessman is the owner of the Fortunate Cup building, who for over a year has been trying to get his permanent CO for his building.  Unfortunately for him the City only grants him temporary CO’s.  He gave a reading of how the City has been treating him.

The City demanded that he plant a buffer of hedges and then gave him a credit line (a regular City practice) of $20,000.00.  The building owner wants to purchase the empty lot next door for a parking lot and will make the lot ascetically pleasing.  The City and Planning Board members beholding to Johnson & Bonacio- Cliff Van Wagner, Tom Lewis & Howard Pinsley say no way to the purchase and in fact the owner must remove 16 parking from the existing lot.  Now the kicker, who lives in the back of the empty lot?  Why, none other than Sonny Bonacio’s mother.  Also the City has recalled the credit line (something that has not been done in the last 20 years at least).

 Business in the building creates sales tax money for the City, so there must be a reason for the hard ball game.  The main players, the Planning Board members and Johnson & Sutton-Dowd cannot risk upsetting Bonacio.

CITY HAS A NEW INDOOR SWIMMING POOL

As of today, Saratoga Springs has a new indoor swimming pool and it has been named the Scirocco Victorian Pool.  We are so glad that the Commissioner put in new water filters at the water treatment plant so the pool has crystal clear water.  The left side of the pool is 6’ deep and slopes to 8’ on the opposite side.  It seems that when the tanks were being filled no one bothered to shut off the valve and the inside flooded.  This may be a bright spot for Scirocco, he wanted to add a new position but the budget wouldn’t allow for it and even after debate, when it came time to vote on the budget, Skip voted for it saying ‘this is a good budget’.  So he is looking for ways to make some new revenue.  The Rec. Center will lose more money than it did last year (thanks Scott & Shauna).  However, the Commissioner ever the opportunist will fill the pool with kiddy blow up tubes and rent them out ala the Carousal.   Too bad he didn’t get that new position, he could use a life guard at the new pool. Good luck Skip.

News Flash:  After promising that the houses on the East side by Saratoga Lake that he would not use the lake as a drinking source by Skip and the Republican opposition, they will now be supplied with water from the County pipeline and will add to their area by glowing at night, hopefully they will shine in different colors so they can form a Christmas wreath led by none other than Wilma Koss.

Well, some news just in.   Chris Mathiesen has just won election to his current DPS post.  This means that the only post that Shauna can have is Deputy Commish of Public Works.  This should not be a stretch for her because by learning to dig graves she would be a natural to work with the men putting new sewer lines in, as long as Donna says it’s ok.  It is said that John Harringbone (I know) is pushing Skip to get her in the trenches.

The City has a potential problem.   Following an alleged violent dispute, city police say they tracked the suspect to his home and, upon their arrival, were greeted by a man waving a meat cleaver at them. He was subsequently hit with a Taser and arrested.
Police say they arrived at the Saratoga Casino and Raceway at around 11 p.m. Saturday in response to an incident involving a man who left the premises following the dispute. The alleged head banger is accused of twice slamming a woman into a wall, pinning her in a door way so she could not move and threatening to “smash her face in” the next time he saw her.
 Upon entering his house, the officers had contact with the slammer who they described in a press release as uncooperative. He allegedly retreated into the back of the home and returned “brandishing a large cleaver above his head, waving it in a threatening manner and screamed at officers to get out of the house.”

After a few moments, the Tasee tossed aside the cleaver, struggled briefly with the cops, was hit with a Taser and taken into custody.  The problem now is the accused wants an independent investigation, it seems as he was shaking all over from the electric jolt he was alleged to have mumbled that all he was doing with the meat cleaver was cutting up a side of beef.

ELECTION NIGHT REFLECTIONS

Right now it looks like the Council table will have 4 Democrats and 1 Republican.  Congratulations to everyone that ran.  It has been rumored for some time now that if a Republican won, Shauna Sutton would be their Deputy, all of City Hall is shuddering if this comes to pass however, her role will be severely diminished and she will most likely have to do the paving and leaf pick up, among other physical jobs.

Shauna needs 2 more terms in office to qualify for lifetime health insurance paid for by the citizens of Saratoga Springs.

Also, there has been a rumor floating around that the reason that Scott Johnson did not run was because he wants to challenge Paul Tonko for Tonko’s Congress seat.  Good luck with that Scott.  Tonko is as popular among both parties as is Jim Tedisco.  Scott will never make it to Congress, but don’t tell Shauna who had a slip of the tongue election night when she said “In a few years, Scott, you and I might be working together again.” *Saratogian*.   Let’s hope Johnson goes and parks himself in Florida to work on his lobster tan and Shauna either works for Skip (where she will be 5^th fiddle) on a Council of 4 Democrats.
The race where the absentee ballots might change the outcome is the race for DPS.  The spread right now is about 121 votes for the incumbent, and if the number of the ballots that have arrived already it looks like Mathiesen will take the seat.

In closing, we say adios to Scott Johnson, it was nice knowing you, but we’re glad you are going.  Shauna, we are just super glad you’re going and hope it’s not true about Skip hiring you.

FAST & FURIOUS

With the election 1 day away it feels like the 7^th game of the World Series.  Information is flying faster than a fly over by Superman.

In startling news, if you haven’t heard it already, The Housing Authority last week hired an Asst. Director for the Housing Authority.  The announcement will be made after Election Day and the new hire is from Schenectady.  The word going around is that he is a good friend of the current Director, when asked by various people Board member Ken Ivins responded that he could make no comment.  It is very interesting that our local newspaper looks like it  hasn’t checked into the story yet  (remember, they did endorse Ivins), which is another secret the Saratogian looks like they want to keep quiet about because of the good old boy’s network.  We will read about this in the newspaper days after the election.

Let’s remember transparency is the key for good government and it looks like Ivins is already showing what he will do.

SHAUNA SUTTON-DOWD'S ENDORSEMENT

 In the Saratogian today Sutton-Dowd has received the paper's endorsement for the office of mayor, this one should come as no surprise.  The paper gives kudos to both candidates and could have gone either way, but it follows the Mayoral picks of the past.  When some of your biggest advertisers are Adirondack Trust, Roohan Realty and Allerdice who not only as I said are big advertisers but also top Republican old timers what can one expect?  In the papers reasoning, the editorial staff gives reasons like negotiating union contracts bringing all but one to completion, when in fact it was one that was signed and the rest have been working without a contract.  The editorial staff also uses the Rec Center as a huge plus for Sutton-Dowd.  The Center may have come in under budget but we know the reasons, (a) inferior materials used, (b) The was not up to code, which cost a building inspector who was fired by Sutton-Dowd after the inspector refused her request to pass the inspection anyway. (c) Sutton-Dowd had promised that after the first year the Center would make a profit, which in fact every year the Center gains a bigger loss than the year before, (d) Sutton-Dowd in her role as top overseer of the Center had it built without any parking or showers needed for the out of town players. This is a great resume to be Mayor of Saratoga and the probable threat of pulling ads from the newspaper by Adirondack Trust, Roohan Realty and Allerdice and others might have been the tipping point for the paper.

TIMES UNION ENDORSEMENT 11-1-2013

Follow the link for the TU endorsement http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Editorial-Yepsen-for-Saratoga-Springs-4944682.php

FOLLOW THE MONEY

I got this information in the mail and thought it was pretty funny, so I thought I’d tinker with it a little.  Remember, Shauna Sutton-Dowd holds 2 FULL time jobs of at least 40 hours a week per job.  Yes, that’s 80 hours a week.  What kind of job can she do without overlapping one with the other?   Shauna also has been making noise about Yepsen taking money from unions.  I checked her donations on line and she has taken big money from large contractors, plumbers (who are union people), a local lumber company and the City’s outside attorney firm that Johnson and Sutton chose to represent the City in its lawsuits or other dealings.  Sutton will have to work with these donors so she is playing the blame game, when she herself could be accused of going the deed also.  Yes, that is Shauna smoking a pipe, working nights in a costume.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

$120,000.00 & BENEFITS

CITY HALL - $60,000.00 &

GRAVE DIGGING - $60,000.00

ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTION

As we near Election Day and the removal of those darn signs, we were discussing the choices this year.  It’s not that one Party is better than the other although each Party will say they are, but it’s all about the candidates.  This year it happens that the Democrats have the better candidates running for office.

You can’t top Joanne Yepsen, she was our rep on the County Board of Supervisors and throughout her tenure did a very good job and was an excellent partner along with Republican Matt Veitch.

Shauna Sutton on the other hand has a record that is mostly bad.  Why?  Well for starters she is not well liked by those who work with her in City Hall (there has to be a few exceptions), she is not liked by many people she meets and even quite a few Republicans won’t be flying with her.  One of the things she said in the paper and at the debate is that she saved the City $32 million dollars with settlement of contracts this year, heck our whole budget is $38 million dollars.  She was part of the biggest cover up in Saratoga’s recent history.  Hiding public information when the City built the Woodlawn Parking Garage and then you had to FOIL any public information that you, a citizen, had the right to have.  Playing games with 2 or 3 building inspectors when they wouldn’t name her tune, that’s right games.   Hiring a City Planner that was dismissed from Wilton (could she be a friend)?  Spewing along with the Mayor that the money for the Garage was a combination of public and private money when the lot was owned by the City, the City financed the garage along with the downtown merchants.  The downtown merchant’s money came from the business district taxes which in fact is public money.  Where is the private money?

Sutton is also anti small business, ask the small businesses on the West side that Sutton is trying to close.  It seems if your name is not Bonacio, Roohan or Julie Bonacio you can forget about getting a building permit in the City or cooperation or a CO, which by the way the Rec operated for quite a while without a CO and that was just dandy with Johnson and the wannabe Mayor.  It seems that some builders can get fast tracked and also the Planning Board rules have changed to facilitate these large contractors, just look at who is contributing to Sutton’s campaign.  It is the right of the Mayor along with his Deputy (Sutton) to mould very important Committees but during their tenure every Democrat was replaced by a Republican, so much for equal representation,

Nobody knows John Arpie, so not too much can be said about him except he doesn’t know squat about paint (inside joke John).

We know the job that John Franck does and he does it well.  He does not play political games in his capacity as Commissioner and has even started programs during his tenure to help citizens understand how to go about lowering their assessments if the committee sees a reason to do so.

Skip Scirocco just doesn’t get it.  The City looks a mess.  Broadway is always dirty, Congress Park is a disgrace and the final straw was the back room deal he made to sell water to Wilton when we do not have enough water for Saratoga.  What happens when the Weibel Ave. project is done and Sonny buys more property out there and they start sucking water?  When you go by our reservoir on 50 take a look at how many inches the water level is down.  Skip keeps telling us that we have all the wells we need but where’s the water?  We need a change.

Dick Wirth had his chance and didn’t get anything done.  If he did he never spoke about it at a Council meeting.  Tony Izzo spoke more in a month than Wirth did in 2 years. Mathiesen ran on a platform and won; he also has carried out his promises and has gone above and beyond expectations.

The Supervisor race should be an easy one to pick.  Veitch has the experience and the know how to get things done.  The race will be between Martin and Ivins.  Martin is far and away the better candidate.  He has worked with the Supervisors in his capacity as County Clerk and can solve and articulate the problems not only as a representative of Saratoga Springs but as a County rep as well.  We also feel that having two smart and well spoken Supervisors one a Democrat and a Republican on the Board will represent all of Saratoga Springs

CHECKING THE IP ADDRESS

The problem for the local blogger seems to be getting worse.  The information heard on the street is that the IP addresses of his posters will be checked and that may spell trouble for the Mayor’s office if they sent him any confidential information or information discussed in executive session.  If this is did happen (there are many people trying to find out now how and when and by who he received information from City Hall) more charges could be pending not only for him but anyone who divulged confidential information.  This will be a wait and see and most likely a protracted experience for Tighe.

A MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE

In shocking news, Saratoga Wire has reported that Officers with the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Computer Crimes Unit raided the homes of blogger John Tighe and 2 others yesterday.  John Tighe, who operates the website Saratoga in Decline, which has been shut down by State officials and had all computers removed from all 3 individuals along with computer-related documents, (so beware to those who had commented on his decline site about NXIVM).

The raids come after an 18-month investigation. A State spokesperson says an initial complaint was filed in April of 2012 by NXIVM, an organization based near Albany, involving unauthorized access to NXIVM computers. “The complaint itself was the subject of larceny of computer related information,” said spokesperson. The investigation, he says, is on-going, and despite earlier rumours that the FBI was involved with the raid, the spokesperson says it was a state police operation only. 

 The case will most likely go to the Fed’s if it hasn’t already not only because NXIVM owns homes in other states and possibly other countries, but the alleged crime is one of todays most serious of computer acts.  This is speculation however.

It was also rumoured that the Mayor’s office was closed today as the Republicans were running around in panic as they have lost their conduit for untrue attacks against Democratic candidates and allegedly from someone leaking information not only from their Committee meetings but feeding him with information from within City Hall.

There will be much more coming, as the news and case progresses. 

IS IT OVER YET? OR THINGS OUR LEADERS MIGHT SAY

We all know that Shauna Sutton-Dowd is famous for being the Director of Greenridge Cemetery.   One day Shauna went over to the house of a husband and wife to seal the deal on a cemetery plot as the husband was dying.    However, John can smell his favorite chocolate nut brownies cooking downstairs.  John summons all the strength that he has left, he flops out of bed and crawls downstairs.  He sees the brownies cooling on the counter and staggers over to them.  As John reaches for one, Shauna’s wrinkled old hand reaches out, smacks his and she yells:
'No John, you can't have those!  They're for the funeral!'

‘In her younger days Shauna worked for the Dept. of Social Services until she sent this letter out to a client:
Your food stamps will be stopped effective march 1990 because we received notice that you passed away.  May God bless you.
You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances.
Shauna posted this note after she and the Mayor put up the office wall.
“As of tomorrow. employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards.  Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks”
See, Shauna is more fun in the cemetery than she is in City Hall.

Can Skip win re-election? Could Tid-Bits Skip could be using

‘What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter’

‘This project is so important; we can’t let things that are more important interfere with it’

‘Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule’

One morning a City highway department crew reaches their job site and realize they have forgotten all their shovels.  The crew’s foreman radios the office and tells the Commissioner the situation.  The Commissioner radio’s back and says ‘don’t worry, we’ll send some shovels… just lean on each other until they arrive.

‘Skip is on the stand and the Judge asks, so Mr. Scirocco, was it you who moved a supervisor (Betty French” from a supervisor post to a clerical post and keep her supervisor pay grade’?  Skip answers the judge, who’s Betty French’?

Remember, if elected Dick Wirth’s Deputy will be Al Calucci!

IT’S GETTING TO BE TOO MUCH!

Is it me, or is it the closer we get to the election, the Republican candidates are starting to get a little squirrely? 

In the Saratogian the other day Shauna Sutton-Dowd was given the praise of “Shauna Sutton was part of the team that increased parking in downtown Saratoga, saved millions of taxpayer dollars through contract negotiations, completed the Spring Run Trail and opened the Saratoga Lake Waterfront Park to name just a few of her accomplishments.”  The writer first says she was part of a team the closed with the list of HER accomplishments.  This seems to be the crux of this tag-team duo administration, The Mayor and Shauna take credit of everything good but not any of the crazy stuff and there has been plenty of that.

Do you remember when you used to walk into the Mayor’s office and be able to speak to the secretary and ask to see the Mayor or just ask a question?  Well the first thing this duo did was build a wall.  It seems they wanted people to know who the top dogs were and keep their employers (taxpayers) out. 

Remember when the Rec Center was being built and inferior building products were being used and a certain building inspector would not pass that portion of the job?  It was said at the time that the Deputy hired this engineer but had something over him.  She waived that piece of information and told him to pass it and when he said no, he was gone.  The administration then wanted to hire an engineer from Albany to pass the work but she declined (I wonder why).  Also, why did they never think about putting showers in a gym, or outdoor parking for that matter?

Next, it was another case of the disappearing building inspector, when a job at the Woodlawn Parking garage could not get approval because of a problem, the City Engineer vanished and a new inspector was hired; remember the architect who designed the garage was operating under building requirements of the State of Ma., all of these capers were reportedly approved by the Mayor in Wanting, (yes, I know wanting) who seemingly looked like she couldn’t get her way and pushed people out rather than deal with the problems.

Then things in the City got real bad for Sutton's department.  Building permits were not being issued for City projects, and people wanted to find out if the information they were hearing about all these wonderful things were true.  As a taxpayer of the City you can go to City Hall and ask to see a myriad of public records, well that’s how it is supposed to work in America, but not in Saratoga.  A ban was put in place by the duo (Mayor Johnson and Deputy Sutton-Dowd), that to see any information that you have a right to see, you had to file a FOIL request using a certain form filling it out and it had to be sent in our  City Attorney to see if what you want was justified for you to view, 99 ½% of the time it was and there was only a weeks delay in getting information but this was a tactic used by the Duo chatting they have an OPEN GOVERNMENT.

Now, we have a person in John Arpei who thinks he is running for Commissioner of Finance but in reality he is running for Commissioner of Accounts.  There has not been much talk from Mr. Arpei or about Mr. Arpei but when he does speak it’s always about the Finance Dept. and not the Accounts Department.  I wish he would stay on course and find out which office he is running for.

It was said to be overheard in Sperry’s one night that Shauna Sutton-Dowd is in favor of Casino gambling in our community, something very unsettling about that tid bit.  Now let's see her change her mind.

Remember that Al Calucci is in line for Wirth's Deputy.  That's scary for even me, your Captain.Al

WHAT THE HECK?

After some cajoling and hearing around town that some want me back, I'll start again sometime next week. Have a fun weekend.

I AM NOT PAT KANE, BUT I WISH I WAS

Well folks, in the interest of Pat Kane, the Captain will suspend activities for a while.  As I said in an earlier post, supporters of another blog and even the blogger has not mentioned a name that is a correct one, but I do this out of respect of Pat.  The posters of this other blog and most of them are the blogger’s own posts have tried to drag Pat down to their level.  Friends of mine who know Pat have nothing but the highest praise for him.  He stands behind his convictions and never wavers.  The lowest of posters probably don’t even know Kane and that is a shame.  So, since the other blogger has some sense of closure that I am not Pat Kane,  we will take a break and come back only if and when my posters feel it’s time to.

To Pat Kane, I’m sorry you and the names of other people have been bandied around as being Captain America, but no one will ever guess the real person, so keep up your good service work for the City.

ONE OF THE GOOD GUY’S, MIKE BENSON

Politics today is nasty business.  There are many good people serving our City and some who put themselves first, truthfully, one would have to be crazy to run for City politics today.  Let’s just stick with City politics, the babble that is spread around with no facts hurts candidates and even family members, some bloggers even go so far as to have minions follow families of candidates and  the candidates themselves then report what the perceive to be facts while they are only looking through binoculars and taking pictures.

This article however is about one of the good guys, who as far as I know wasn’t involved in politics, although if he was, it would be with the class and dignity which I heard is the way he lived his life.  The article is in today’s Saratogian, if you want to read it.

I never knew the man personally but those who did had high praise for him both as a teacher and coach.  He ended his coaching career from complications due to ALS and coached right up until the end.  He coached golf at Saratoga Catholic whose teams are nicknamed the Saints and it sure seems to me that Mike Benson will have a long term as one of God’s coaches.

FIND THE MONEY

Anyone that would like to, can see what a candidate has received in donations by following this link,  http://www.elections.ny.gov/recipientstext.html  and putting in the last name.  I did this and was quite surprised at some of the filings.  While we all know the Republican Committee, both City and County have more money than the respective Democratic Committees (there was never a real representative Democrat Party in Saratoga until about 12 years ago), you can tell who is dropping the G bombs on their candidates.  If you look and check it out, the Republican Committee has infused Sutton’s campaign with more than $6,000.00.  Also, the majority of Sutton’s donations are $1,000.00 or more and she has many family members donating quite a bit of cash (which is no surprise), her family has big money and there is nothing wrong in helping out family.  I do however notice the businesses that have been courting her and it does throw a red flag up.

Yepsen’s donations looks like they have been coming in from more people donating smaller amounts ($50.00 to $75.00) range, not that she hasn’t gotten some larger donations but not nearly as much as Sutton and I don’t think Yepsen has had any $500.00 - $1,000.00 per plate dinners as we know Sutton has had a few.

Looking up Bill McTygue’s donations, he also has donations from family members, but probably 1/10^th of Sutton's, as a comparison.

I was very surprised to see that Skip Scirocco has quite a number of donations from contractors, plumbing firms, engineering firms, etc.  Surprising because it sends a message even if not true that Scirocco is being given donations from either businesses that did work and want to keep doing business with DPW or that they want to work with DPW.  I would think that businesses would either donate to both candidates or to none at all, but Holy Joker, that’s just what I think.

Franck’s donations have been coming in mostly at $100.00 per.

Arpei’s donations aren’t looking good; it seems that the bulk of the money is coming from family, the Republican Committee and the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority.

Well adios for now and remember if you see Bonita Sellers coming down the Street, Al Calucci (Dick Wirth’s choice for Deputy Commissioner) can’t be far behind.

Follow the link and look at the info for yourselves, you can look up anyone in NY State.

ERROR, ERROR

In past posts, I have alluded that Shauna Sutton, Director of the Greenridge Cemetery, that she (Sutton of the North) had hired her husband to work at the cemetery.  I would like to apologize, it is not her husband, it is her BROTHER.  The current Deputy Mayor has never taken or used her married last name of Dowd.  It is said that she tried to have her husband take her last name.  I find this quite comical, not that she would want to give  up her last name but woman usually use a hyphen between maiden and married names,  could it be that Sutton has never been married or is it because her husband is a car salesman and doesn't  fit her ‘station’ in life?

Also, why is the Republican team putting election signs on City properties?  Who the heck enforces these laws? Oh wait, it’s part of the Republican election team, now that makes sense.

One question everyone is asking themselves is : Who is John Arpei and why is he putting signs up?  It will be interesting to see how many votes he will get when no one knows who he is.

I hope that we finally have a small tax increase in this year’s budget. A City should never have a 0% budget.  Costs, wages, equipment replacement, benefits etc. rise every year and a tiny increase could add 2 or 3 jobs to the Fire and Police Departments, keeping the budget surplus there to tap when we need it.

Well, I must get ready to go to the meeting tonight, I heard there will be a ring of humanity (tonight it will be 4-5 people) protesting Super Fly who fell from the scaffolding and blamed the Police for brutality.  I heard that he broke a few laws being out that time of night and he was heard humming Johnny Cash’s “Walk the Line”.

More after the meeting tonight, that will probably go on into Wed. afternoon.

Let’s end with Curtis Mayfield’s Song Superfly, or as 

Darryl Mount likes to say, it me theme song

“Darkest of night
With the moon shining bright
There's a set goin' strong
Lotta things goin' on
The man of the hour
Has an air of great power
The dudes have envied him for so long

Oh, superfly
You're gonna make your fortune by and by
But if you lose, don't ask no questions why
The only game you know is do or die”

PROMISES, PROMISES!

First of all, I must tell you that this information was given to me from a friend of one of the Republican candidates. It is said that if Shauna Sutton loses the election bid for Mayor and any Republican holds their office or wins an office that Sutton will be appointed to the Deputy’s position. I know what you’re thinking, why would she take another Deputy’s position? Well there are a few things that do sound right about this tactic. 1. She makes approximately $80,000.00 now and has been for 6 years. She only needs 2 more years to be vested in the City’s benefit for life plan. Right now if she loses, it is assumed that her salary would be $20,000.00 from the Greenridge Cemetery and the income of her husband who she hired to work at the Cemetery. The Mayor’s position only pays $14,500.00 a drop of about $65,000.00 but the position would still insure the benefit package although losing $130,000.00 would be a heck of a drop. The other piece of information floating around is that if Commissioner Scirocco is re-elected that he will either appoint her as his Deputy or as Director of Public Works. This $90,000.00 yearly position was eliminated from the budget during the Keehn administration but was funded and put back into the DPW budget by the Commissioner (just something to think about). Also, the rumor is gathering steam that none other than Al Calucci currently a Board member of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority is in line to be Dick Wirth’s Deputy Commissioner if Wirth is elected. Imagine that office, a Commissioner that doesn’t say 2 words and a Deputy that can talk all day. That may keep Big Al out of the Finance Dept. for a few days at least. These pieces of information are written here not because I received first hand information from the candidates but from people who are supposedly ‘in the know’. Has anyone heard of any Deputy’s to be appointed? Bill McTygue has said that no member of his family would be appointed as Deputy. In 2011, out of the 18,200 registered voters in Saratoga Springs, only 6,373 residents voted in the elections. Do the 11,000+ really care about Saratoga politics (go to about 3 Council meetings and see who is there, the same 7 or 8 people, even if there is something very important on the agenda)? There is the thinking in Saratoga that the 11,000+ non-voters are happy if the have running water and their lawn clippings and leaves are picked up, which may be a reason they don’t vote and don’t really care what is happening on the political front. Ask most people and they can’t tell you who a Deputy Commissioner is let alone what department they work in. This is apathy, and it abounds in our City, however quite a few of the over 11,000+ who do not vote, will complain when (a). They don’t attend a Council meeting to give the Council heck if they don’t like the way the Council is doing business or (b). They just want to give them a free ride to do what they want. This election season will be one to watch, for sure.

PRIMARY NIGHT

Congratulations to John Franck and Joanne Yepsen for their Primary wins on the Independence Line. Good wishes also go out to Shauna Sutton & John Arpei for making it a competition. It’s good to have a race in a Primary, it makes even a Primary exciting.

SIGNS, ELECTIONS AND DEFECTIONS

Well, all the candidates’ political signs are planted, joining the 4 who are running for the Independence line in the Primary this coming Tuesday, September 10th. As I stated before, I believe this will give us a hint of how the election might look like. However, Primary’s do not usually draw the number of voters that the election will. Let’s look at this Primary for instance. This will be for the Independence Party line on the ballot in November. It is reported and checked out at the BOE that a large number (50 – 60) of Republicans changed their affiliation to the Independence Party last year before the election, thereby qualifying them to vote in this Primary and we will see that number all out to vote. It is said that it took Shauna Sutton and John Arpei only 2 hours to collect the needed numbers on petitions to qualify and force the Primary, which is pretty much unheard of. There are still a very large number of Independence voters and I think you will see a larger number turn out than in past Primary’s. The campaigns will start in earnest now that the tourists have gone and everyone is home and settled. Were you invited to the fundraiser at Scott Johnson’s home to benefit Shauna’s campaign? Heard that the minimum plate charge started at $500.00 but the price was encouraged to be more generous. This, along with the anticipated Palacio de Riggi fundraiser also heard the price to be starting at $500.00 per plate, show it is good to rub noses with the rich and famous. Well, let’s see what Tuesday brings and go from there.

I CAN TALK TOO!

Hello Bat fans.  The run for the money has started in earnest.  Looks like Sutton will have her (2) $500.00 per plate dinner fundraisers compliments of Scott Johnson and reportedly by residents of Palacio de Riggi.  The Mayor didn’t need the fundraisers as past Republicans did but Sutton’s lack of funds needed to win (about $75,000.00) will be made up by the fundraisers and by Johnson and his out of town attorney groups.

The NYS Funeral Association convention is being held this week in Saratoga and the guest speaker will be none other than our very own Mayor Scott Johnson, it seems that a group of happy funeral home directors were walking downtown one night and passed by Mayor Johnson as he came out of Sperry’s and thought he looked like someone from the Walking Dead, so they just had to have him on the agenda to see if he indeed talks.

The Police of Saratoga Springs, handicapped by former Commissioner Wirth’s layoffs are doing an incredible job in keeping the City in fine shape, is Saratoga Springs without crime?, No.  Take a look at national averages though and our crime rates are on the low side of cities throughout the country. 

According to the Saratogian:

“Saratoga Springs does have more arrests from reported burglaries than the national average.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation collects crime data from thousands of police agencies across the country, including Saratoga Springs. The national clearance rate for burglaries is 12.7 percent, which is the percentage of arrests made from reported burglaries. The city’s clearance rate for the last decade is 16.4 percent.”

 I would call that pretty good;  as for those of you who want instant up to the minute information on what the Police are up to, one word of advice would be to join the force, why is it that in today’s world we have to know everything that is going on as it happens?

The capital budget has been set and it seems that the Mayor and his aide Shauna Sutton have told residents on the Eastern Plateau that EMS and Fire protection should not be a priority for them.  Something has to be done and if it takes a change of leadership in the Mayor’s chair to do it then the Eastern Plateau residents should tuck this info in their mind for Election Day.

City Deputy Public Works Commissioner Tim Cogan said there are intake valves at the water plant that date back to 1871 and need to be replaced.  Please, if you could wait just 8 more years, we could have another year of Saratoga 150 festivities for those intake valves.

Remember that the primary’s are coming up soon and it should be a gauge on what the election will bring, so stay tuned and please attend one of those $500.00 a plate fundraisers, I know I will.

CUT ANOTHER TREE

Have you started to receive political paper at your house yet?  Door hangers and political ads have started to be dumped by Republican candidates, so you can expect the Democrats to follow suit soon. 

The DROP seems to be starting a little early this year, but then again there are a couple of primaries in September.  PLEASE don’t throw your junk pieces away, give them back to the candidates so they can save on printing more junk pieces.

Has anyone else noticed that whenever the Mayor has been at any event lately that makes the newspaper accompanied by a picture, Shauna Sutton is somewhere in there, like a Where’s Waldo picture?

Well a new book store opens and the best Italian restaurant in the area burns down, happy and sad in the same day, however, Broadway will be that much better for having Northshire Books and Ballston Spa and our whole area will be glad when Augie’s is back up and running.  Augie’s is having a fundraiser for their staff, you can go here http://bit.ly/16YsPyx

to make a donation, starting at $25.00, businesses, area restaurants, customers and those touched by the effort of Augie have been supporting the fund.  On the website he says this:

“Augie's Family Style Italian Restaurant had a fire. The entire place was condemned. The most important headline of the day is that no one was hurt. Things can be replaced - and we will rebuild. However, while we rebuild, our faithful and amazing staff will be temporarily out of work. As per the nature of being service staff, supporting them is difficult when much of their money comes in as tips for their superb and amazing service.
We are making a fund for those who have experienced the service from Augie's to help hold over our employees while we rebuild. We hope we have the community reach out and help the staff. Nothing is more important to us than our dedicated and friendly service staff. Without them, there wouldn't be an Augie's.

Where the money goes:

The money raised will go towards the service staff's hold-over budget - split as we normally do with tips and money raised with normal business at Augie's. We will use the funds to assist our employees while they are out of work during rebuilding. Any remainder of the funds (in case we rebuild faster than estimated) will go towards local homeless shelters in the 518.
Those who assist will receive a one-time coupon good for a percentage discount off of their bill upon reopening - applicable for in-house dining. We will also have a page built on our website showing who loves and supports the Augie's staff. “
Augie, a classy guy and a businesses man dedicated to the well being of his employees.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

Yes, we are having fun on our vacation.  We are staying overnight and I have a chance to read the home town paper and was I surprised by an article or two.

First of all, I spoke with a friend who knows such things and it seemed that a large group of Republicans switched Party’s for this election and joined the Independence Party, thereby giving Sutton and Arpei the number required to force a primary in September.

I still think that this primary will be a good litmus test for the general election.  The primary vote will indicate how many votes the 2 candidates get then deduct at least the 58 of the Republican who switched to guarantee they got the ballot (as they would have voted Republican anyway).

Now comes the money part.  According to the Saratogian, Yepsen after expenses leaves her with $17,724 balance, “Most of Yepsen’s contributions come in $100 or $200 increments. She reported 106 contributions Monday and said the number was doubled after Friday’s fundraiser.”

Sutton on the other hand has not had a fundraiser to date and it is starting to look like another big money campaign money matter, as in the momentous misstep during the 2005 campaign that led to a Democratic sweep. The Republican candidate was having $500.00 a plate dinner fundraisers and Sutton looks to be doing quite the same thing minus the dinners.  Sutton’s donors and amounts of money given so far are: 

The Republican Party - $2,400.00

Wally Allerdice - $1,000.00

Richard & Bonnie Sellers - $500.00

Marcia Mac Donald - $1,000.00

Kathleen Smith - $1,000.00

Amy Smith - $500.00

Sheila Sperling - $500.00

Ann Hiller from Ga. - $500.00

Scott Johnson - $1,000.00

Carusone & Carusone - $1,000.00

http://www.elections.ny.gov:8080/reports/rwservlet?cmdkey=efs_sch_report+p_filer_id=C00635+p_e_year=2013+p_freport_id=K+p_transaction_code=A

 So, Sutton has 10 donors plus the Party’s money giving her $9,400.00.  Think of a few donors giving thousands of dollars against many donors giving smaller amounts and you may say to yourself who is for the people over big money?

There is no campaign filing page for Arpei yet.

Saratoga’s general elections are by rule, won by a few hundred votes and the Independence Party plays a role in the elections and again with the Republican move to the Independence Party they would vote Sutton anyway. .  The election will also boil down to how many cross over votes a candidate can muster.  The City’s declining Republican registrations along with an increase of Democrat and Independent (or, no Party), may end the Republican domination that has existed since Saratoga Springs became a City.

CANADA, HERE WE COME!

Well, off to the train ride from Montreal to Toronto to Alberta for a 14 day Trans Canadian Rail Tour.  Peace and better weather to all.

WHY, WHY, SHAUNA, WHY, WHY?

If the stories from Shauna Sutton’s friends are true, look out for a blast of negative suppositions spewing out in July.  This will be a nasty campaign as we mentioned before as evidenced by Suttons role as the hit lady of Johnson’s last run for office.  However, the tactic may back fire this cycle as many voters were very turned off by the Johnson camp false and very negative sprint to the finish, some even say that that tactic Sutton took in the last week of the campaign actually helped Brent Wilkes, Johnson’s opponent.  Wilkes as you remember, lost by a thin margin for being a relatively unknown in local politics.

Much of what was said by Sutton against Wilkes at the time was proved to be lies and really in poor taste by Capital District newspapers, something we can look forward to in this election campaign against Yepsen also.

Rumor also has it that big news will be coming in September, when everyone is back from vacation or from renting their homes out to track visitors, regarding Sutton and Arpei.  The news if it can be proved (and it looks like it will be) is so bad regarding Sutton she may, like so many of our State representatives be looked at for possible theft of services by taking money from the City in a no show job, while spending more time playing with graves.  There is supposed to be video from an unnamed source, who followed Sutton for 1 month, it is said the film has date and times, which will be easy to check with FOILED time cards.  Sutton also never went back to City Hall at night as she claimed when this came out in early Spring, when it was brought out about the time she MUST spend in City Hall and the time she said she made up nights to compensate for the days she worked at the cemetery. More news on this as the facts come in, but this could deliver a serious blow to Sutton and those who are playing the role of advisor’s to her campaign, as it could cast a shadow on them also, (guilt by association).

 Also, what will she do as Mayor as far as nepotism when it comes to her family and friends?  She hired her brother to a cemetery position of “head plumber”.  Here is an interesting fact:  cemeteries are not charged for the water they use.  Greenridge Cemetery had a water leak from June of last year and it wasn’t fixed by the "head plumber" until June of this year.  How much water was wasted when a 45 minute job took a year to fix?  The question, if she runs the City as she does the Cemetery by this one example, what will it cost us, the taxpayers? (see Rec. Center losses).

John Arpei who is running for Commissioner of Accounts has more baggage than Elizabeth Taylor used to tote around.  This is one of the reasons he has not publicly come out of the closet to say he is running (he is, don’t worry).  I don’t think the Party wants him to answer any questions about the position he is running for or any answers he will have to provide about the jobs he has had, organizations he was involved in etc., until it is absolutely necessary.  Look at late September to hear from him after Sutton or whoever is leading these campaigns runs interference for him.  When the election season rolls around for good, this exposure could be devastating to his run for the roses.  If the Republicans were serous about defeating Franck, the Party should have done a better job vetting him. 

Well Bat Fans, until then.

LET’S ROLL THE DICE

It’s nice to see that Alexis Broz is coming home.  Broz a Schuylerville High graduate last year, made her mark in high school sports where she ran track and holds the state record in the pentathlon and high jump. Biking 13 miles every day from home to Broadway to create the chalk artwork on downtown sidewalks with a substantial amount of supplies on her back she showed her dedication to earn money for her educational wilderness adventure while gracing us with a beautiful and different form of art.

The election season is trying to kick into high gear but can’t seem to find the gas to do so.  The upcoming summer season is one where slings and arrows are kept in hiding most of the time as we really don’t want the tourists to see how some Saratoga politicians play their dirty games in the campaigns. However, wait until the day after Labor Day, things will most likely start to percolate.  The Deputy Mayor is already taking credit for securing the grant to finish the waterfront park on Saratoga Lake, as she states she has been meeting with Bradley Birge (Planning and Economic Development Director) twice a week to get things done.  It has been in this administrations hands for about 7 years to get it finished and there is still much work to do, but don’t let that stop you from taking the credit Deputy Mayor.

Talking about the Casino, do you really think it will be a good thing for Saratoga?  The State takes 25% off the top as a gambling tax (Nevada takes 7%).  The casino owners will have to make large profits, so where does that leave Saratoga and its problems of where to house the low income workers that will be employed there.  The State should make sure that the Casino owners spend some of the big bucks to build low income housing, which shouldn’t be a problem since they will have to pay the State a $54 million dollar franchise fee.  We should also hope that if we do get a token income stream like we do from the Racino, like a 1.5 million dollar stipend, we won’t have to provide the police, fire and DPW services to get the money.  The Casino should either pay for all of its own services including repairing roads annually or contract with the City for providing them.  Also, if we get a Casino there’s no guarantee racing will continue to receive a share of gaming revenue.

Remember the Secret Garden Tour this weekend, no one knows where it is, as it is a secret Tour, but if you’re going, have a good time, I guess.

MEN IN TIGHT’S, EVERYBODY’S IN BUT ANDY

The Republican Party has delayed the handing in of their petitions for 2 weeks and it looks like they may delay a few more days.  The best guess is early next week when they introduce Andy Jarosh as a candidate for Commissioner of Finance, opposing Michele Madigan, which will fill their ticket, Andy is probably away on vacation, hence the wait.  I have been told the first delay was because they couldn’t find any one to oppose Franck.  After getting turned down 22 times according to my source, the Party finally talked John Arpei into contesting Franck for his seat.  It looks like the same scenario for someone to accept a chance to run against Madigan.  Republican sources have said that the same number (in the 20’s) had turned down the call to run for Mayor, Accounts and Finance, it seems Supervisor and DPS were easy to fill, especially  since Dick Wirth promised to Primary any Republican candidate for DPS unless they chose him.  The Republican’s, of course, want to look united so they gave the nod to him.  Similarly, the position of Mayor was proposed to so many people who declined it, that they finally had to throw their support to Sutton, whom they didn’t really want in that slot.

Supervisors were an easier task.  Matt Veitch is considered a shoo in and rightly so.  Peter Martin enters the race against Ken Ivins, Ivins enters the race carrying so much baggage from his City seat, that after 2 years of $0.00 tax increases he was still soundly defeated by an unknown Madigan, who has done some very good things with the Finance Department, the best of which is updating the department and putting income and expenses of every department and even the sub categories of every dept on line, that’s transparency.

Martin will give Ivins a run for his money especially since Ivin’s theme seems to be that more Republicans should be on the BOS to get more things done.  We would like to remind Ivins that there are 19 Republicans, 3 Democrats and 1 Independence party members seated on the Board now.  How many more Republicans are needed to get things done?  I think a good mix would be a Democrat and Republican representing the City.

Bill McTygue versus Skip Scirocco should be an interesting race also.  Will Saratogian’s say Scirocco’s number is up?  I feel the question will come down to, other than the foolish deed of selling water to Wilton to fulfill the Mayor’s pledge to Dave Harper (the attorney for the developer) that a housing development outside the City will get our water is this:  Is Saratoga Springs a better looking City now than it was before he took over?  Infrastructure cannot be seen, so we should know what has been done to improve that.  One other thing, when a project like building a condo etc. is finished, the developer is supposed to grade the street that they wrecked or cracked and repave it, all at no expense to the City or in other words we the taxpayers, I hope this has been the norm.

WELL PETE MADE ME DO IT

I got back from a short vacation yesterday and some fellow posted that everything that has happened in the last 6 days passed me by, but nothing I feel important has passed by in 6 days worth writing about.  This person (who I have named Pete) insists my name is Ric, so I’ll humor him or her for a while, as I said before; I get a chuckle when I hear names dropped regarding who Captain America is, so far nobody has picked the right combo, but keep those cards and letters coming in.

I do read the paper when I am away either on vacation or business so really it’s the same old hash of Shauna hating non Natives etc.  Ken Ivins did make a funny statement that with a 19-3-1 Republican majority on the Board of Supervisors he thinks he should be elected not for what he can do for Saratoga but by adding another Republican, the Board can get more done.  Where did that come from?  Yes, in the last 6 days Skip Scirocco has gotten a challenge from Bill McTygue, but that isn’t new news, that has been in the loop for 2 weeks.  Maybe now we might be able to remove dandelions off the list as Saratoga’s City flower.

I did see Dick Wirth walking down Broadway to meet with his think tank at Uncommon Grounds and he looked very happy as he was bobbing his head up and down (it reminded me of his days at the Council table). 

Mayor Johnson, voted his conscience (with a no vote) a few times tonight (he must have found it behind the bar at Sperry’s), I find it funny, not that he found his conscience at Sperry’s but that he is still not thinking rationally when voting.  He is showing Shauna how to play the mind games with the opposition.

What do you think?  Should we have last call at 2am year round except between 6/1 – 9/15 when last call is at 4am, or do you think we are the hoot toot tootinist City in the good old US of A?

Have you seen the Mayor’s Secret Service detail blending in behind Stewarts, across from the new 11 screen movie plex?  Have you noticed how his detail has grown since he has been Mayor? 

Last night the Council voted to hire 2 more police officers, good job Council.  I don’t think the Charter stipulates that officer’s live in Saratoga, so look for 2 police officers who may be out of a job but are fully trained and can start immediately, now can we restart the DARE program that Wirth eliminated?  We are now one of the leading Cities in the nation of student binge drinking both in Junior and Senior High Schools, a designation we don’t want.  The only no vote came from Mayor Johnson, whose grasp on reality is starting to worry some people.  I think he knew this was going to be his last term in office (he would have been beaten by Yepsen) so he bowed out.  That with some other personal demons is leaving him look dazed and confused.  He also voted no on the gun issue, and the ambulance proposal.

There was some other good news from last nights meeting but it also comes with a question mark.  The DPW appointment of an arborist position was passed.  This was long overdue.  The position will be provisional for 1 year at which time that employee must take a Civil Service test and place in the top 3.  The thing that bothers me about this is a few months ago the idea was brought forth by Commissioner Madigan that the City had the monies to create a FULL TIME in house Human Resource person as called for in the Charter.  The Mayor eliminated the full time position and contracted with an outside firm to work 20 hours a week at $75,000.00 or more for the person’s service.  First of all, our City staff is large enough for at least a full time HR person.  The Mayor, as an excuse, did not want a provisional employee appointed for the HR position reasoning that the position would have to wait until the next Civil Service test then a person from the top 3 from the list, then last night he voted for a provisional arborist.  Then the Mayor stated,  that since he voted against the City taking over the ambulance service he has to be consistent and vote no on the  EMS Operating Certificate motion,   Why the inconsistencies between personnel and ambulance?

ARE THE SLATES SET YET?

Well, it looks like the Republican slate is set to go.  One inside Republican told me that they had asked no fewer than 20 people to run for Mayor with no takers, so they had to settle on Shauna Sutton.  The only slots the Republicans are having more trouble filling are for Accounts and Finance and it seems that by asking so many candidates for Mayor, one would think they would also ask those people to run for these slots but alas, no takers.  The only worry that Republicans have is the race for Mayor.  Again, the Party did everything it could do, to have someone run for office and they wanted to stay as far away from Sutton as they could.  The City can look forward to one of the dirtiest campaigns ever.  Remember, she ran Johnson’s campaign last time and it got so dirty at the end that even the Mayor lost Republican votes, making the race close.  The rest of the slate looks possible, Vietch will win another term, the other race for Supervisor pits former Commissioner of Finance Ken Ivins against a yet unnamed opponent, however there are 2 names floating around.  Scirocco while a long term incumbent, looks like he will have an opponent this year so his unopposed runs might be over.  The problem to look at with Ivins and Wirth are that both are losers in the election businesses and it may be hard to sweet talk the voters they lost last time.

The Democrats have not yet endorsed candidates yet, although all have had fundraisers so it looks like a given the incumbents will get the official stamp.  The only races they haven’t officially spoken about would be the 2 candidates for Supervisor and the candidate for DPW.  With all the jockeying around it still looks like the Democrats will have a majority on the Council, how large remains to be seen, but rest assured Sutton will be the only Republican who will self destruct, its in her genes, her obnoxious behavior and acidic tongue will be a turn off as soon as she hits the road.  She should bring a pillow with her.

WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD

And if you don’t finish the song in your head, there is something wrong with you.

A tribute to Sutton, she is not even the 2^nd best person running for Mayor.

We’ll we knew for weeks it was going to happen and after asking (as I hear from a committee member)  about 20 people and being declined, Dave Harper chose, yes, another in a long line of Johnsons, sultry Shauna.

I think we all woke up this morning, after the tornado hit and we landed in Oz.  The Wicked Witch of the North was being pronounced candidate to wear the Ruby Slippers.  Funny, the movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’ came out the same year (1939) that Sutton was born.

You would have thought I was pregnant as I had a severe bout of morning sickness after reading Lucian McCarty’s blog announcing The Wicked’s planned fanfare.  Enough of this for now, because there will be so much material for the rest of the year, one has to hold back some.

Aw, gee wiz, ok one more thing.  The best way to beat Sutton is to burn her broom and throw water on her.  It may not melt her but it may improve her conniving face, get it, face.

Honest everyone, this just in, Dick Wirth will name (either before, or if he wins, after the election) that he has tabbed Al ‘The Marlboro Man’ Calucci to be his Deputy; it seems we are turning into Hooterville more and more, every day.

CAN’T CATCH A BREAK

It seems the Republican Party is having a hard time getting candidates to run for office.  They have backed 2 losers in Ken Ivins and Dick Wirth.  When I say losers, I don’t mean it as a reference to their personal character (although that may be one reference, but not now); I mean to say that they were beaten on their records, so it appears that the R. Party will have to back these 2 announced candidates.

There is also a rumor floating around that Shauna ‘of the dead’ Sutton will have to take the endorsement of Mayor because of a lack of volunteers for the position and that she will do so while being backed by  Johnson money.  If this is going to happen, it will all but guarantee Yepsen a victory as Sutton’s husband and family would not vote for her, I am not one for political advice but Shauna, stay in the cemetery.

The Wirth run is interesting.  He was beaten, not so much from his lack of being at meetings (he was there but his mind was in the female officer’s shower room) and his failure to being anything but a pure puppet of John Herrick and Scott Johnson.  It was embarrassing when the Council had to wake him up so he could vote on a piece of legislation.  I think the only reason the Party endorsed him is (a) they had no one else and (b) he said he would run, with or with out Party support.

Wirth’s opponent, Chris Mathiesen, won the election because of the promise’s he would carry out.  He has carried out those promises and more, maybe a little too verbosely but performed as he promised.  His call to turn back the closing hours of bars failed to garner even a look by our County Board of Supervisors but  resulted in the Mayor of Glens Falls to pitch the same idea to the Warren County BOS, who last week voted to do just that, so now the proposition will go to the State with County approval.

Also, shouldn't it be a prerequisite that a candidate announce his or her Deputy before the election?  How do we know that the Deputy will be qualified for the position and not just a politicaly appointed position, heavens knows we have had enough of patronage attempts at the County level

I was wrong in predicting that Ivins would run against John Franck.  The order from Harper came down that he would not get the backing of the Party if he pursued that avenue.  If Ivins runs on his past record as he said in his announcement, he is in trouble from the get go and his statement that more Republicans are needed on a Board that is comprised of 19 Republicans to 3 Democrats and 1 Independence party members, (nothing against Republicans) are needed to get things done at the County level, must have been said after the cocktail hour.

Let us also not forget Johnson’s, Harper’s and Scirocco’s Watergate.  This will be huge at election time.

So, that leaves rumored Democrat Peter Martin to run for County Supervisor, a candidate who has not been named yet as Sciricco’s opponent, Andrew Jarosh a designated hitter for any position and opponents for Madigan and Franck.

The picture should become clearer by the middle of May.

SARATOGA SPRINGS IS GOING TO THE DOGS

The news on T.V. last night revealed some interesting items about the said ‘First Family’ of Saratoga Springs, The Riggi’s.  I must have been in a coma for a while because I didn’t realize they are the ‘First Family of Saratoga’.  However, that is what was spouted by Greg Floyd last night when he told us that the Riggi’s will have their own  Reality series on the E Channel named Palacio de Riggi, I kid you not.   The things that make the Riggi’s famous is their house, the fact that they have a real English Pub in their palace (you can’t take the waitress out of Michelle from her Cock and Bull waitress days) and the fact that their lawn is heated in the winter so her dogs paws don’t get cold when they practice the doggie ballets they are famous for.  I hope this show won’t be an embarrassment to Saratoga or the Riggi’s like the Kardashian’s do to themselves.

We all know that government costs grow every year, that’s to be expected.  The huge part of the budget increase is payroll, overtime and benefits, which makes up 70% - 75% of the budget.  However, costs could be reduced dramatically if the overtime in the Police and Fire departments didn’t have to be offered by seniority.  Nothing against our Police or Fire Departments, they do a great job, however a starting officer’s pay is what $32,000.00 or so?  These officers should be given 1^st crack at overtime not the $80,000.00 - $90,000.00 ones on that level of pay scale.  Senior officer’s work quite a bit in their last 3 years to boost their retirement checks, but it costs the City more every year.  If this is a contractual issue and the union won’t give it up, the City should perform the Reagan nuclear decision like he did with the air controllers. Let all the Police officers go and contract with the Sherriff’s Dept. to cover the City until such time that the force is back to full strength.  The process will not be a drawn out affair and I’m sure that the deal would be completed in a matter of weeks.  The City could even hire out of work officers to work along with the Sherriff’s department.

The main thrust isn’t that the departments are not doing their jobs; it is because the cost of overtime is killing us and because overtime is based on seniority.

"THE PEEPER" IS RUNNING

Well, we would say its official; Dick ‘Peeper’ Wirth is running for Commissioner of Public Safety.  Tuesday night’s Council meeting was graced with his presence which indicates that when a name of a person is floating out there about running for office and they start showing up at Council meetings, they are running.

One of the most amazing things about Wirth’s appearance was when he spoke at the microphone and gave his approval regarding the cameras to be put up downtown.  The amazing part you may ask?  Wirth said more during that stretch at the microphone than he did in the 2 years he was Commissioner, he did start the head bobble but caught himself.  I didn’t even think he could string that many words together.  We also love the picture in this morning’s newspaper of Al Callucci looking longingly at Wirth up at the microphone.

There is interest in a hotel being erected at the former Weathervane fish restaurant.  Brad Birge did his routine about Planning Boards, Design Review Board etc.  I have a word of advice to the person who wants to put the hotel up, hire Bonacio Construction and you will be able to break ground this May and will have a completed Hotel by summer of 2014, end of story.

Had some friends come up from down State over the weekend and unfortunately had to park in the Woodlawn Ave. parking garage, how soon that became a slum.  We had to park on the 2^nd level which is no problem, when we noticed the elevator was out of order; we then walked down the stairs, all of them littered with cigarette butts, paper, Trojan wrappers and dirt.  The first landing we hit, we noticed that someone relieved themselves and left everything there but the toilet paper, it also looked like that corner of the wall was being used as a urinal, the same down at the next landing.  Hellooooooo, is anyone taking care of this garage???  I thought this was under the jurisdiction of DPW.  I wonder if the Commissioner or his Deputy or any Commissioner (Mayor included) or their Deputies ever park there?  Please get word to Commissioner Scirocco, he hasn’t returned 3 calls from Justice League members, so I don’t know how many people have complained.  I have an idea for the Commissioner, take some of the water we are selling Wilton, start at the top of the Parking Garage and hose the darn thing out, please.  This is a very bad impression to leave for visitors or shoppers of our once pristine City.