Spain Keeps A Pledge to Retire

Al Spain has submitted his retirement papers to the City of Troy, fulfilling a pledge that he made during the campaign after his opponent raised the issue at a city hall news conference. Once completed, he will join the ranks of many double dippers collecting his pension and a salary from the town of North Greenbush.

Once the position is vacated the mayor gets to decide whether the position is abolished or someone else off a list is appointed to the job. Obviously the responsible action would be to abolish the position as it is clearly duplicitous given the fact that Troy has a Civil Service Commission. Troy also is facing budgetary pressures which make the timing of the retirement an opportunity to cut city spending.

The town rumor mill is flush with whispers about the intentions of the Town Board come January with regard to the Supervisor's salary. Some say they plan to increase it to a full time level. We'll have to wait and see.

A Job for Free Legal Work


Another of the rumors about town concern the likely reappointment of an Albany County resident as a town attorney. The new rumors revolve around new legal work submitted by Ehrlich on behalf of Al Spain's brother Jeff who has managed to file more legal papers long after an expired appeal deadline for the civil case that has him repaying the thousands of dollars he misappropriated from the Town's Democratic Committee.

Jeff Spain has apparently never had to pay the attorney for any of the legal work. Instead, the attorney does the work in exchange for continued employment here in the town with the help and support of brother Al Spain.

Should Spain vote to reappoint attorney Joshua Ehrlich at the January Organizational Meeting, it would not be because of his spotless legal record or his residency in the town, but more likely as a highly questionable quid pro quo for the legal favors the attorney continues to perform for brother Jeff. Let's see whether Spain recuses himself this time or invites yet another Ethics Law complaint. (last time we checked, proving such a quid pro quo constitutes unlawful conduct on State and Federal stages.)

Yes, we're back! Stayed tuned.