Highway Babe II

When we reported yesterday that county GOP operatives Richard Crist and Robert Mirch had shown their willingness to meddle in North Greenbush elections once again, (the first time it was a 2005 absentee ballot scam involving Lou Desso, Leon Fiacca and Robert Ashe), our email account started to boil.

This time, the Victory lane duo decided to put a 19 year old in as their Working Families Party candidates for Highway Superintendent. They apparently gave no thought or concern to running a candidate so lacking in critically needed experience as to demonstrate their reckless disregard for the safety of town residents should such a candidate ever win.

Politics is first with this pair and politics may just bring them to a grand jury investigating their conduct in running a private company for personal profit using county and city resources. As for their 19 year old Highway Superintendent candidate, he works pumping gas at a local full service gas station here in North Greenbush. Since he signed his own petition, it is obvious, short of not reading what he was signing, that he is aware they were using him to run as a candidate.

Those of us who live here know how dangerous operating trucks weighing in at up to 40,000 ponds can be. We remember the horrific accident on Rt 43 involving a truck carrying hot asphalt which overturned, spilling it’s hot payload on top of a car with an open sun roof, critically burning the driver who ultimately perished. Mirch and Crist obviously don’t care about such things when they put up a kid barely old enough to shave to run for an office requiring experience and qualifications.

Upon examining the petition they created, it was odd to find a committee to fill vacancies consisting of three Troy residents, all of whom are Mirch’s candidates for Troy Mayor and City Council on the WF line. Christopher Consuello is a candidate for Troy Mayor, was a candidate for the Assembly forcing Ronald Canestrari to decline the WF endorsement and was again a candidate for Mayor of Troy on the WF line.

So it appears that North Greenbush is just a pawn to these political players who care only about power and nothing about the safety of our residents whom they would have served as town Highway Superintendent by a 19 year old gas station attendant who can’t legally drive a loaded town truck.

Tom Connolly Manipulates Conservative Candidate

Some Conservatives in North Greenbush nominated Florence Alberelli of Snyder's Lake to serve on the town board believing she would make an outstanding councilperson. Those nominating her considered her a friend and someone who would do a good job if elected. Trouble is Alberelli was not around when petitions had to hit the streets. Efforts to contact her were to no avail so the group continued to circulate the petition in the hope she would accept the designation upon her return home.

Before anyone could inform her of her option to accept or decline, Independence Chairman Tom Connolly, a relative by marriage, apparently got hold of her and twisted the facts to get Alberelli angry. He implied fraud was committed against her and he could take care of it. Connolly showed up at her door with a self serving statement that Alberili signed accusing her allies of fraud. Trouble is, Connolly knows no fraud occurred. No one signed a false name on the petitions and there is no fraud in nominating someone to run for office without their permission. The election law provides for a declination period in which candidates nominated can decline the nomination. This is what Alberelli did but she also signed Tom Connolly's missive not realizing his real purpose for writing the passage; to smear his political opponents. Nice work Tom and you can thank your boasting to friends for this tip to the Pipeline. Incidentally, even after the miscommunictaion, Alberelli's allies still believe she was the best candidte they could have nominated and stand by her ability to serve on the town council. They praised her in an email to the Pipeline.

Late Financial Disclosure Count:


Today is Day 10 for the North Greenbush Democratic and Conservative Committee violations of State Election Law requiring the filing of a Financial Disclosure Report due July 15, 2007. Laws apparently don’t apply to the “reformed” democrats under Jeff Spain and his Treasurer, Tax Collector Kyran Devery. Nor under Michael Casale and his Treasurer, J. David Wos.