WHO WANTS DALTON ???

 

Robin Dalton, the current Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety has no ‘home’.  Ms. Dalton, whose job performance has been terrible since being sworn into office last year has been a dismal failure.  OK, we’ll give her a bit of slack for it being a COVID 19 year but some things have been very lax in her job duties.  However, she sure does like getting interviewed.

Last year when the City had whatever you want to call those protests which caused major problems and counter protests against a march backing the police and BLM troublemakers laying in the road at 10 at night, Dalton didn’t back up her department at all and for a few of the protests was even out of State on vacation, yes during a time we were all told not to travel

However, this doesn’t address anything about losing her ‘home’.  In 2019 Dalton ran as a Republican and won the race defeating Kendell Hicks.  She then bypassed any Republican who wanted the Deputy’s position and instead gave the job to one of the top Democrats in Saratoga Springs.  Also, it is worth noting that the Republican Dalton ran as a trifecta along with Democrats Kelly and Madigan.

In the 2021 election Kelly and Madigan have announced they will not run for election but I don’t trust Madigan not to run for another position as an Independent.

Dalton has announced she is running as an Independent saying she has nothing in common with Republicans and hasn’t for years.  The truth is the Republicans were likely to primary her and the Democrat Party won’t touch her so if she wants to run it has to be as an Independent.

So, the question is will the lack of Party support and a dismal job performance be enough to win with Independent (No Party) designation?   The fastest growing political affiliation of registered voters in the City and the County is the Independent or No Party line.

The other question is, will she even run for Public Safety or is she waiting for her fans to talk her into running for Mayor?

 

As your Captain, I say throw her overboard.

JUMPING THE GUN TOO SOON?

Feeling better after health problems and treatments gives me the opportunity to get back at this time and we’ll start up again.

Well the pandemic is still around but to many Saratogians they say what the hell.  The situation is that masks should be worn anytime you are in a setting where you will be close to people.  I see people in grocery stores going in not wearing a mask and asked to leave, people try to get in the Post Office trying to get into the lobby without a mask and are asked to leave, people standing in line without the 6 foot separation (marked by lines) and don’t seem to care, groups of kids and adults in Congress Park.  DPW workers cannot pick up plastic barrels or the paper lawn debris bags because they may catch something but ride 4 in a pickup truck and 2 in the truck that the leaves etc. are dumped in all not wearing masks why can’t they pick up and empty barrels or bags? 3 of the guys got out of the pickup truck to watch the scooper pick up the branches and leaves without masks and when asked why they aren’t wearing masks they laugh and say they are essential workers!  What a joke.  Where Public Safety Commissioner Dalton and her squad, should they be letting this happen?  You may ask, shouldn’t Skippy be checking his people but the Skipster doesn’t know there is a pandemic yet, I guess Madigan hasn’t told him.  The City wants to open up fast and we know what that means, we will be bombarded with people from areas that aren’t open and will put the people who live here in jeopardy. However, Madigan & Shimkus will be smiling again because of the clinking of money being spent. 

The Mayor and the DBA want to open before the region is supposed to open. The Mayor, Commissioner of Public Safety, the DBA are petitioning our local State representatives and the Governor to run the Saratoga meet with full crowds in total disregard of most our local residents health and safety.

Hell you say, this won’t happen, if you believe this then you are in Skippy, Kelly, Madigan and Dalton’s  world.  There was a couple from Queens that drove to Albany on a sunny warm day to order take out from a Thai restaurant in Albany, ate in the parking lot then returned home.  When asked why they said they had to take a ride to break up the monotony.  I do believe we will get overrun with out of area people and that will be unfortunate.

We’ll have some more to come.

ARE THESE REALLY SURPRISES?

Well, the ‘new’ Council has started its reign of terror already, normally after the election and until after the swearing in of the new Council on January 1^st not much happens in City politics.  Yes, they may finish up some small items but there aren’t many meetings left in the year so with 3 big Holidays coming up and the chance that many people won’t be paying much attention or have enough time to keep track of what is going on it is usually… ease along into the new year. 

However with this Council everything is different.  This Council likes to make major decisions when citizens are at their busiest.  The major decision this Council had to make was, will they or won’t they allow Saratoga Hospital to destroy area housing developments and several neighborhoods in giving them a green light to build an unnecessary expansion.  Well, true to their cowardly actions of the past, Monday night, calling a ‘special meeting’ they voted 4-1 approving the hospital to plow ahead to the next step, Commissioner Franck was the lone dissenter.  This Council has already made up their minds to let the hospital have its way and most know the reason why.

What is it not surprising about the ‘special meeting’ that these cowards, 2 days before Christmas is summed up by the Saratogian reporter that wrote the article “ The brief special meeting of the Saratoga Springs City Council held during the Jewish holidays and two days before Christmas drew few residents impacted by the City Council’s 4 to 1 vote last night in favor of the zoning map amendments”, then this gem spewed by our renowned City Attorney DeLeonardis.

   “City Attorney Vince DeLeonardis reading the long litany of “no negative impact” found declarations in reference to the zoning changes up for a vote before the Saratoga Spriings City Council at Monday night’s special meeting of the Saratoga Springs City Council.”  I gather DeLeonardis forgot about all the residents in the area in his decision of ‘no negative impact’.

This was truly a Christmas gift to the hospital and a payback for gifts given to those politicians running in November.

Another major (big surprise) announcement was that Robin Dalton has appointed fellow Democrat Eileen Finneran as her Deputy.  It seems Finneran needed the money and Dalton obliged.  Finneran has experience and will help the blank Dalton run the department.  There are many who believe that those running for Commissioner should announce who their Deputy will be so voters know who will be running the departments.  However that would be too good information for voters to know so why do it?

Well, it is not even New Year’s Day yet and already the Council has divided the City with major announcements made in secret, so begins 2020 and with this Council we are screwed already.

The attorney for the area residents being ‘negatively affected’ are filing a section 78 against the Council’s decision, as with any litigation it takes money to go to court and the City and the Hospital have unlimited money at their disposal.  We would like to ask you if you are so inclined to donate to the Save Morgan Street group to help with the costs involved.

  https://savemorganstreet.com/  

COMMISSIONERS SCIROCCO AND MADIGAN AT IT AGAIN

Well you can tell it is an election year in Saratoga Springs.  We’ll start with Scirocco, has your lawn debris been picked up weekly since summer?  Have you seen articles in the paper about all the projects large and small that Scirocco takes credit for? If you answer yes to these 2 questions then you have to know election time is this November.

Scirocco can’t really take credit for much as he contracts out quite a lot of what DPW does.  He hires more outside contractors and engineers as much as the City hires outside attorneys.

The rest of the 1 1/2 years the City looks like crap, ripped up roads all over the City and City property looking terrible, overgrown grass is common place, Congress Park is a mess and Broadway doesn’t look any better until 6 months before an election and it has been this way since he has been in office, he bit off more than he could chew when he took office.

The lawsuits that he has had against himself and the City have been numerous.  Among the ones out there involves the City Engineer he suspended earlier this year because he supports Dillon Moran and the water hookup fee which I don’t think is wrapped up yet.

Remember that his son who works for him in DPW was arrested on 4 counts of DWI and allowed to stay on the job.  Skip had another fellow who worked for the water Dept. drive him to the job sites.  He also cries he doesn’t have enough help but I am told by someone in the Finance Dept. that he turns money back every year to his darling Michelle to make her look good.

Skip was also involved in voting to give Hot Dog Eddy Miller and his girlfriend a contract to do business with the City through their business.  Yes, Skip hired the Hot Dog to work for him in Public Works (he gets the Independence endorsements that way and a nice campaign donation).

This November you must vote for Saratoga native Dillon Moran.

ONTO COMM.MADIGAN

Well you can tell it is an election year in Saratoga Springs.  Commissioner Madigan who has lost the Democrat line on the ballot due to losing the Democrat primary has broken off on being a Democrat.  She is running on the Independence line and that Party is run by none other than DPW employee Hot Dog Eddy Miller and his girlfriend.  This Party has never ran a candidate but once that I can remember but just endorses friends of theirs.  Commissioner Madigan is as thick as a heavy burgundy with Hot Dog’s girlfriend and also voted to give Hot Dog Eddy Miller and his girlfriend Joanne Foresta a contract to do business with the City through their business, both Scirocco and Madigan received the endorsement and a nice campaign donation from the Independence Party run by an employee of Scirocco and Commissioner Madigan’s best friend.  This information was taken to the Ethics Board but since that board is run by biased men and a woman they decided that nothing wrong happened, WOW.

Commissioner Madigan has had a few of her own problems I am sure you know about.  The 30 year deal with the fiber optics company that will cost Saratoga Springs a fortune and believe it or not this Company is the only entity that can run cables through our sewer lines.

This week she announced a 0.05% tax cut for City taxpayers even though expenses have risen. Madigan’s plan, an increase of $1.1 million over the adopted 2019 budget. Contractual wage increases, additional funding for information technology, increased commodity costs, and health insurance accounts for much of the year-over-year change. Personnel and benefits are up 1.9% and 2.5% in 2020, respectively.”  By the way there is a story going around the City of a very unknown and non transparent present the Commissioner will receive if elected this Fall and that will be an all expense paid (by taxpayers) top of the line health care policy all complete for life, yes life.  Should elected officials get lifetime benefits for life?  What happened to serve the people? Now, back to the tax decrease.  The Commissioner plans on paying the rising expenses with the budget surplus which she has been draining every year since she has been in office to pay for these increases which has given her the magic of not raising taxes over the last 8 years.  This is not a sound practice to run a City.  Well there will be more as election time draws near.

We must vote Morrison for Commissioner of Finance to not only save the large expense of for life health insurance benefits but also not leaving the City with much of a surplus.

This November you must vote for Patty Morrison.

THE PREDICTIONS:

Mayor – Tim Holmes

Commissioner of Finance – Patty Morrison

Commissioner of DPW – Dillon Moran

Commissioner of PS – Robin Dalton

Supervisors : 2

Matt Vietch

Steve Mittler

PRIMARY WINNER PATTY MORRISON CAUGHT IN A DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE FRACTURE.

Well, the Primary and the incumbent Commissioner Madigan lost.  Madigan will not be on the Democratic line on the ballot but instead will be down near the bottom because she received the nod from 2 endorsement Party’s.  She should step down and let the Democrats run their choice if she is really a Democrat.  The Democratic Committee should now pull their endorsement of Madigan and give it to Morrison along with a $1,000.00 donation as they did for Madigan, anything short of this is political gamesmanship and further shows that along with Committee Chairman Courtney DeLeonardis as the lead instigator is further dividing the Dems.  Also having your husband  as the City Attorney (Vincent J. DeLeonardis)

 who just received his second large raise in salary she may owe Madigan for her vote. I guess in Saratoga a Democrat is not really a Democrat unless you have a friend as leader of the Party in the City to protect a loser.  Maybe, with all the large Republican donations Madigan received there appears what was talked about months ago that Madigan, Mayor Kelly and candidate for Public Safety Robin Dalton (which will be a discussion in the future)  met with the County Republican Chairman to run as a team with promises to benefit the 3 candidates.  This could be the collusion the Democrats have been talking about.  Also watching Tuesday’s Council meeting Madigan looked like a deer in front of headlights along with Super Skippy , that is dazed and confused most likely from her stinging loss but Skip did what he does best and tried to complete a few sentences.  He stated after 23 uh’s and uhm’s that he has been in politics for a long time and has never, never seen a board get along so well together (um, it looks like he truly is in bed with Madigan).

The Democratic Party should do the right thing and support the winner of the Primary so she can carry the Democratic line to victory.

Now, moving on to another topic.  The City Hall renovations are spiraling out of control with the City’s insurance company paying much less than expected.  Madigan, in her zeal of not raising taxes over her time in office which is not a good thing and spending down the reserve fund to keep homeowners from not having a tax increase may see in the bad results of this in a large tax increase in this year’s budget or certainly next year’s no matter who win the election for that position.  Madigan has duped taxpayer’s in Saratoga for years and that should be a good reason to vote for Morrison.