Connolly Booted From Senate Payroll

It was a long time coming but Thomas Connolly has finally been given the axe from the NY State Senate in a job provided for him by Joe Bruno when Bruno was the Majority Leader.

The savings to taxpayers is at least $100,000 a year and the folks at the Central Avenue OTB may feel the job loss even more so. Connolly worked for a renegade Democratic Senator who was part of the power coup last year that sent the Senate and State government into turmoil.

With Republicans recapturing a narrow majority, the Democratic payroll had to be reduced and some 197 people on the payroll of Democratic Senators or central staff were laid off as a result. Yes, Connolly was on a Democratic payroll even though he remained the benefactor of Rensselaer County and Town Republicans as Chair of the county Independence Party.

It will be interesting to see whether Connolly can convince a politician with a payroll that he has some value to them in his role as a Vice Chair of the Independence Party. It was that false perception that kept him on the payroll after Senator Bruno retired. But the new Republican Majority is not likely to see any reason to keep the controversial Connolly on a State payroll especially in the midst of the worst fiscal crisis the State has faced in decades.

To those politicos who might need a refresher course on Connolly's past, a search of this blog will provide enough fodder to fill a dozen resumes. Frank Morano, a former Independence Party officer provided a great analysis of Connolly before he quit the party in disgust recently. Before he left, he framed the now former $100,000 a year NY Senate employee to a tee in the Daily News. His quote, a gem, "but alas the Independence Party has become the Incumbent Dependence Party, a tool for influence peddlers like Tom Connolly to cater to the state’s most powerful leaders."

Help thy self and search before you think about hiring!