Talespin: Welcome to Rensselaer County
Thus far, the one and only blip on his campaign trail has been Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s decision to investigate the antics of Gov. David Paterson and his aides. but, he defused that by appointing former Chief Judge Judith Kaye as special prosecutor.
A large part of his ability to avoid any controversy is because he has not announced if he’s running for another four-year term as AG or governor, the latter everyone thinks is a foregone conclusion.
It’s the smart thing to do. the longer he remains undecided, the longer he can avoid talking about the budget deficit, the ethically challenged culture and everything else that’s wrong with Albany He can remain above the fray and continue getting nothing but good headlines as AG by chasing down bad guys. Compared to being governor, AG is a walk in the park.
That said, we have to presume he regrets coming to Rensselaer County for a fundraiser we hear only raised him a few thousand dollars. by coming across the river, he was hit with a smattering of controversy on two fronts, neither of which are of his doing. It’s just how they play the game over here.
First, the initial co-host of the event, former Deputy Mayor Jim Conroy, was asked not to show up by, according to Cuomo, the event organizers. We’re not sure, but we think being “co-host” means you’re one of the organizers.
If you remember, more than a decade ago, Conroy’s brother got a $27,500 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development while Cuomo headed up the agency. Conroy’s brother used the money to purchase a house from the Conroys late father’s estate, which some say means it was already owned by the Conroy siblings. Making it even stickier, is Conroy oversaw the city’s planning Department through which the money was funneled.
HUD determined that the Conroys didn’t disclose all the potential conflicts of interest and ordered them to give the money back, which was a moot point because they already had.
That was a long time ago and few people care outside of Rensselaer County, but judging by the response from Cuomo’s office, they are not taking anything lightly.
“… Andrew Cuomo was not aware of and played no role in approving the loan,” said Cuomo campaign spokesman Phil Singer. “But the policies he put in place while at HUD were responsible for uncovering the issues surrounding it.”
The city’s Democratic Chairman Frank LaPosta pointed out the second potential embarrassment by calling on all Democrats mentioned in connection with the voter fraud scandal to not show up so as to not tarnish the AG’s reputation. LaPosta may be an enrolled Democrat now and might be the city chair, but there are more Democrats who don’t like him than do for obvious reasons.
Anyway, a routine part of a county fundraiser featuring a big name like Cuomo is for the locals to get their picture snapped with the headliner. It doesn’t hurt a city council or town board candidate to have a palm card featuring a photo with the man who will likely be the next governor.
But, say in the next month or two those same locals find themselves under indictment. Then the photos could be used against Cuomo.
We’re not sure who showed up to the fundraiser since no press was allowed inside, but we hear it was not too well attended.
Chief of Police
Troy Police Chief Nick Kaiser retired after seven years as chief and 35 on the force. We have to say he served the city and the department with honor.
There were a few inevitable bumps in the road but they happen in any department in any city and when they did happen Kaiser handled them as well as he could. Actually most of the bigger bumps became huge bumps only when City Hall stuck its fingers in what should be a non-political department.
Mayor Harry Tutunjian will pick Kaiser’s replacement from the next three in line — Assistant Chiefs John Tedesco and Richard “Buddy McAvoy and Capt. Tony Magnetto — and then the council has to confirm.
Inside word is that Tutunjian favors Tedesco but the Police Benevolent Association likes McAvoy, and because the PBA likes McAvoy there are those on the council who will, too.
While we think all three would make fine chiefs, McAvoy has the upper hand because, unlike Tedesco, he lives in the city.
This week’s Talespin was written by City Editor James V. Franco
Talespin: Welcome to Rensselaer County