Desso Provides Committee Endorsement in Exchange for Deputy County Executive for His Son

Whether it's a Planning Board approval or a job, Lou Desso is always selling something in exchange for a contribution or a job. The latest move was to provide the North Greenbush GOP endorsement to Chris Meyer in exchange for an agreement to give his son, (a former Target "executive") the job of Deputy County Executive.

The son is currently enjoying a $70,000 job as the District Attorney's spokesman after he worked with Lou to put signs up during the DA's campaign. The job was created and funded but now Lou see's more opportunity for the family with the bitter county executive's primary looming.

Is it legal to make such deals, well not exactly but the FEDS have been busy in Brunswick as documented by the Times Union thanks in part to a tip from a GOP operative in the county legislature. Perhaps the DA would investigate Desso's deal as a violation of law but don't hold your breath on that one.

Soon the County Republican Committee will meet at the American Legion in Wynantskill where the weighted vote will be tallied up. Steve McLaughlin looks to be the stronger candidate in a primary given the fact he has a solid GOP constituency while his opponent has never been elected anywhere. As things tighten, County Executive Jimino her deputy Chris Meyer and Meyer's attorney met with the County GOP Chairman and told him they would take legal action if he tried to fill vacancies on the committee before the upcoming meeting and vote.

But congrats to Lou for a super job getting something for his town committee's endorsement. We have to wonder if Lou will get the Independence Party endorsement from Tom Connolly who has to be miffed that Lou is working against his candidate Steve McLaughlin.

Desso Plays with County Fire

Running all over the place at yesterday's news conference in which a GOP candidate for county executive, Chris Meyer, announced his intention to run was our own Lou Desso.


Surely he charged the time from his undeserved full time county job as a Deputy Commissioner, but that aside, his endorsement in the the GOP primary battle rolls the dice with his county job.

The other announced candidate Assemblyman Steve McLoughlin is a better than even bet to win the nod and he has the endorsement of Tom Connolly who issues Wilson Pakula waivers for the Independence Party.

Oh my, what happens to Lou's job in the county if McLoughlin wins the GOP primary? And how angry is Connolly going to be over Lou's picking of the candidate Connolly did not endorse.

Stay tuned!

Bob Ashe getting Political Blackmail from GOP and Tom Connolly

Bob Ashe is trying to gain some leverage with the GOP as a Conservative candidate for Sheriff. But the powers that be want him out of the way and so they have let it be known that his sister will not receive a Wilson Pakula waiver for the Independence line in her City Council race in Troy unless Ashe bows out of his bid for Sheriff.

Blackmail pure and simple and something that deserves a prosecution but not with Joel Abelove as District Attorney.  He looks the other way when his political allies get entangled and is probably popping a few Tylenols as he is squeezed by the press about whether he will recuse from the prosecution of the Conservative Party Chairman recently arrested in North Greenbush for DWI. Can't wait to see how they get the waivers for all of Rensselaer County by pulling him out of rehab.

After all Joel got that critical Wilson Pakula waiver from the Chairman last year giving him the Conservative line for DA, without which he would be doing something other that making a mess out of the DA's office.
But this DA takes care of his political friends. Just ask Martin Reid and Richard Crist.

So we await the drama unfolding in North Greenbush. Read about it here.

Upsetting the Tangled Political Web

It's no secret that the North Greenbush GOP has long had its candidates selected for the fall election and that Democrats are still looking to fill a slate. A familiar face, Jann Liberty, is considering another run for Town Clerk against incumbent Republican Kathryn Connolly.  Connolly is a registered Democrat who enjoys the unique distinction of being the only Democrat in the county who consistently receives a Wilson-Pakula waiver from the Independence Party with a guarantee of sorts that no opponent will ever receive such an endorsement for a Primary challenge.

That's because her brother, Thomas Connolly is a party Vice Chair in the Independence Party and can issue the Wilson-Pakula waivers allowing non members of his party to have their name on the ballot in any Independence Party primary. Any non party member who wants to challenge for that Primary line is forced to wage a write in effort while the recipient of the Wilson-Pakula gets the big advantage of having their name on the ballot.

Tom Connolly has managed to use his party position to get a tidy $80,000 a year job on the GOP State Senate payroll overseen by one Senator Dean Skelos.Does that name ring a bell? It should as he has been charged with corruption by the fearless U.S.Attorney from the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara. . In addition to the job for Connolly, Skelos also has his wife Gail on the Senate GOP payroll making over $100,000 a year.


Mr. Skelos and his caucus like Wilson Pakula waivers as much as our Town Clerk and the dozens of local GOP endorsed candidates who get these waivers every election cycle. Rare is the example of a local Democrat given such a waiver. That power and the advantage it gives Republicans who curry favor with Thomas Connolly with a State Senate job may enter the tangled political web involving Skelos and the charges against him. You see, Federal prosecutors love clear quid pro quos almost as much as the Senate GOP loves Wilson-Pakulas.

U.S. Attorney To Examine Corruption Uncovered by the Moreland Commission

Well it's bad news and good news! After the Governor abolished the corruption investigating commission he set up in an apparent budget deal with the legislature, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara wrote the Commission asking for their voluminous files. You can read about the decision to defund the Commission as part of the State budget deal here and the actions of federal prosecutor's here.

In two letters to the commission, the U.S. Attorney's Office asked the Commission to “preserve all documents that may be under your control” – including emails. They have since been turned over.

“We’re going to look at the documents,” stated Bharara in an interview. “We’re going to see what the facts are, and if there are questions that are appropriate to ask … my office will ask those questions.”

Why might you ask is this connected to North Greenbush? Well because our own Tom Connolly was the subject of scathing criticism from the Moreland Commission. You can read our past posts here and here.

If there was ever a clear and meaningful target for a federal probe the actions documented by the Moreland Commission on Mr. Connolly's escapades cry for examination. Let's hope U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is able to fulfill his pledge to pursue corruption in Albany. This news coming from a determined federal prosecutor can't be comforting to those with something to hide.

Connolly gets another day of coverage

Our own Tom Connolly gets another day of unwanted but deserved attention in today's NY Daily  News.  Read our link here.
http://m.nydailynews.com/opinion/cut-loose-gov-article-1.1540360

Connolly Story Grows With Call for Investigation

Looks like sleepless nights ahead for State Senate employee and Independence Party Operative, Tom Connolly with a call for a long overdue investigation into his activities using his position in the State Independence Party to curry favor with the GOP. You can read the latest AP wire story by Kyle Hughes.

The investigation is being called for by Dick Dadey, the respected executive director of Citizens Union and his echoed by the Pipeline. This call for action will get the attention of prosecutors, perhaps even the US Attorney, who has the resources to thoroughly examine the activities of Connolly's handling of campaign funds.

The article states "Prosecutors should review Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Moreland Commission finding that Senate Republicans improperly gave campaign funds to the Independence Party through Rensselaer County vice chair Thomas Connolly,"  It causes us to ask questions as to whether Connolly himself personally benefited from these funds? Each time we see something like this we properly ask what does he get out of it.  Take his recent actions in Troy and North Greenbush.  Connolly met with Rensselaer County Legislative operative Richard Crist and agreed to give a liberal Democrat on the Troy City Council a Wilson Pakula waiver for the Independence Primary. Aside from the reasons a GOP operative on the County Legislature would ask for it, why would Connolly agree to such a request to assist an opposition party candidate?  As for North Greenbush, we wonder what if any deal occurred to grant the GOP Town Justice candidate the Ind Party line after a tie primary vote allowed Connolly to decide the winner in his party leader capacity. Did he personally benefit from these actions?

We wonder if those on the North Greenbush Town Board who gleefully accepted his endorsements will stand up and echo the calls for an investigation.  Don't hold your breath as Al Spain, Lou Desso and their band of merry men on the 5-0 Connolly endorsed town board are sure to follow the example of the ostrich and hide their heads in the sand when it comes to Connolly.

Connolly's escapade with the GOP State Senate made No. 8 on Wednesday on Citizens Union “Top Ten List of Surprising and Shocking Findings from Moreland Commission Report,”.

We think some of his stuff locally is even more shocking, especially his mindless gift of a stolen bicentennial print from his then employer,  the city of Troy to, who else, a sitting District Attorney! Now who could be that dumb!

Here's a link to that episode and so many others documented here on his hometown blog, the North Greenbush Pipeline. In the meantime, a couple of sedatives may help calm those sleepless nights ahead.

Tom Connolly Getting the Attention He Deserves

North Greenbush resident Tom Connolly is getting a closer look from the media with today's embarrassing expose in the NY Post which you can read here.

Just think folks, his granting to every GOP candidate in N. Greenbush and Rensselaer County, an endorsement, is often the deciding factor at the polls where Dems are forced to run with one lone while the GOP enjoys 4.

We can only imaging how our soon to be town judge feels being covered with Connolly's endorsement after a tie due to 8 GOP carried absentee ballots which allowed Connolly himself to grant her the party's line for the November election.

We have documented Connolly's escapades in this blog repeatedly and you are welcome to do a search on the site to read his colorful history of falsifying his Troy job application to get a job without a required 4 year degree to his theft of pictures from city hall after he got the job.

Today he's collecting your tax dollars with an $81,000 job on the GOP State Senate payroll where his signature gives GOP candidates a line on the ballot they do not deserve.

So just think, it all began here, his career in dirty politics and he's our town's claim to fame and the claim of each and every elected Republican on the Town Board and town offices.

Mr. Desso's Reality

If you received a newspaper reprint from the Troy Record of a letter to the editor Lou Desso is handing out at doors in North Greenbush, you might think he's done a great job. We thought you should have a chance to see again a response to that narrow view of the world of town government that also appeared in the Record penned by a critic of Mr. Desso and a current candidate for Supervisor.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Here is the text of that response which also appeared in the Record on March 12, 2011.

Where is the GOP on Debates?

It's clear the Dems are ready to answer the public's questions in a debate moderated by the League of Women's Voters but so far not a word from the GOP on accepting the invitation.

Here's an article in today's Record that gets the ball rolling but our bet is that the Republicans will spend their time not in debate preparation but in debate avoidance with an "Excuses Seminar".

Trouble for Connolly

This item details the testimony of North Greenbush resident Tom Connolly at a criminal trial in Manhattan involving the misappropriation of a million dollars given to the Independence Party by Mayor Bloomberg. More on the story here in The Record and here in the NY Post..

Connolly's Business Savvy

A decision by a down state NY State Supreme Court Justice contains a sentence that begs the questions of North Greenbush politico Tom Connolly's involvement in a criminal case being prosecuted in NY City involving the apparent procurement of more than 1 million dollars donated by Mayor Mike Bloomberg to the State Independence Party for a poll monitoring operation.

The decision points out that Connolly signed a contract on behalf of the Independence Party for a cool million dollars in services from another political operative John Haggerty who it is alleged, set up a sham company to receive the money and perform the services. The company, Special Elections Operations, LLC was created a month after Connolly signed a contract with Haggerty for the services which the DA alleges were never performed. Yep, Tom signed a contract for a million bucks in service with his party's money with a company that did not yet exist legally.

You can read the judge's decision ordering that the trial go forward here. It details that our ace politico and businessman Connolly, signed a contract on behalf of the State Independence Party on October 15, 2009. Unfortunately the company didn't even exist legally at the time and wasn't officialially created until December 3, 2009, the very same day that Haggerty submitted a bill for services amounting to $750,000. It's also alleged he used the money to help finance a house purchase.

The consulting agreement Connolly signed with Haggerty identified the company's address as 121 State Street in Albany, NY. and provided that Haggerty would receive no more than a 1.1 million dollar fee. Why are we not surprised to learn that Connolly would enter into an agreement with a company that didn't exist, and whose address turned out to be a sham, according to the prosecution. No office could be found there, no mail was delivered there and they could find no one who ever worked there.

Now its only a million bucks so we can understand how Tom Connolly could be so cavalier with his party's money. But what we can't figure out is why he didn't monitor the delivery of the million dollars worth of services he paid for. Further, we can't understand why Connolly wasn't the first person knocking on the door of the District Attorney to complain?

Unless of course getting ripped off for a million bucks didn't bother Connolly because just maybe there's going to be some explanation provided during the trial which begins on June 1st. That explanation is likely to detail what if any role Connolly may have played in facilitating this massive scheme to defraud.

While we await the outcome, one thing is for sure. Tom Connolly has not demonstrated much in the line of business savvy. He was either inept in handling the party's money or perhaps in this one up to his neck.

The money trail is always a tell tale for prosecutors. Anyone who received some of these funds had a legal obligation to report the income to State and Federal tax authorities but that becomes problematic if you weren't supposed to get any legally. So what folks in that situation often do is spend the cash in an effort to leave no trail.

Our suggestion is that the NY DA take a peak at the surveillance video at the high rollers lounge of the Albany OTB Tele-theater which we understand is a favorite hangout of one Independence Party politico who used to also be a full time employee of the NY State Senate working for the recently indicted Senator Carl Krueger. While prosecutors are counting the cash on tape, they can also compare the video time stamp with the time sheets on file in the State Senate. They can also check the card swipe records to see a detailed report of the days and time spent there. That's just in case they need a little more leverage to facilitate cooperation or additional indictments, whichever their strategy requires.

Hey you Rensselaer County folks who are waiting for Connolly to endorse your candidacy for the Independence Party nomination this fall may find that Wilson-Pakula signature of authorization a prize for your opponents to wrap around your political necks.

The trial starts June 1st. Stay tuned!

Closing the Noose

It looks like the noose is tightening around several players in scandals that may impact a couple of politicos with ties to North Greenbush. NY State Senator Carl Krueger is said to be surrendering today to Federal prosecutors in a bribery scandal. Here is a link to the story in the NY Post.

Krueger is a renegade Democrat who traditionally aligned himself with Senate Republicans when Joe Bruno was in charge. He was part of the gang of 4 that threw the Senate in turmoil in an attempted coup that would have shifted control from Democrats to Republicans.

His connection to North Greenbush comes with his long employment of resident Tom Connolly and non resident Deputy Town Attorney Josh Ehrlich. Ehrlich remains on the Senate payroll on Krueger's staff while Connolly was recently terminated with the shift of control of the Senate back to the GOP.

Connolly has other troubles as his name or position in the Independence Party continues to circulate in a 1.1million dollar money scandal. He is the Vice Chair of the State Party and is under the scrutiny of a grand jury in NY City for his knowledge of the missing party money donated by Mayor Bloomberg. A State Judge mentions the Vice Chairman in Court as detailed in this article in the NY Times.

Town Board Meeting


Tonight at 7pm, the show continues as Desso and company continue to keep the public in the dark with agendas that do not disclose who they intend to appoint to the Planning Board and its now vacant chairmanship. Open government, Desso style!

We are posting the agenda here because no one bothers to put it on the expensive town web site. (It's amazing what a little prodding can do as the agenda was finally posted on the town web page on this, the very day of the meeting.)

Manhattan DA Eyes Connolly

You have to wonder whether North Greenbush politicos will seek or accept the endorsement of town resident Tom Connolly when they seek re-election this year to the town board. Connolly is head of the County Independence Party, and is under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney.

Today's NY Post drops a new bombshell including charges of cover-up, back dating a contract and the usual stuff that is an integral part of Connolly's background here in our county. You can read the latest article here. A search of this blog details many of the past capers involving Connolly who was recently terminated from the payroll of a Democratic State Senator from a $100,000 a year job. The joke is how he got the job in the first place, through the largess of Joe Bruno, when he was head of the Senate Republicans. While on the "Democratic " payroll, he worked with the GOP, especially here in Rensselaer County, where he endorsed GOP candidates carte-blanche, except for one, his sister, North Greenbush Clerk Katie Connolly, who remains a registered Democrat like Al Spain.

Both, however, continue to align themselves with the Republican Party, with Connolly accepting the GOP endorsement in the last town election and Spain, likely to do so this time around. The only real question is whether they will be branded with the endorsement of the scandal ridden Tom Connolly by accepting his Wilson Pakula endorsement waiver to run on the Independence Party line which Tom Connolly still chairs.

Again, we invite our readers to do a search on this blog of Tom Connolly. You'll find a treasure trove of past indiscretions from a falsified Troy City Hall job application in which he falsely stated he had graduated from Manhattan College, to his stolen bicentennial prints gifted to his mother and a sitting district attorney. Hey Senate Republicans, planning to rehire him any time soon?

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!

Union Approves "Desso's Deal"

The town hall union which first came into being thanks to a resolution recognizing the bargaining unit passed by the former board majority of Paul Tazbir and Robert Ashe in the final month of their reign has unanimously approved the latest version of a contract that has been at best a fleecing of taxpayers. Yes Mr. Desso, your former running mate let the mouse in the door as a final gotcha before he left office in 2005. He even tied up a room in town hall so they union could meet.

Democrats have been slamming the union for some time after it was learned, post passage by the successive town board which quickly divided into two factions of Evers and Kern verses Fennelly, Mihalko and Michaels, that it contained absurd insurance buyouts. Evers led the negotiations with the union and on the night the contract was finally approved, refused to allow the public to see or hear its contents before forcing a vote. As a result no one knows to this day if what was approved was actually the document Evers signed and bound the town to. Many former council members believe the document in front of them is not the one Evers signed which contained the absurd health insurance buy out provisions that have cost the town $40,000 a year. Evers was sucking up to the employees in town hall at the time of the vote before they too ditched him, like the current Democratic Party did soon after he was elected. Desso, incidentally ran with Evers as his running mate when he ran for the board in 2007 with Republicans running the so called Democratic Party in town which endorsed the GOP slate. That history aside, there is no excuse for this contract ever being approved anymore than there is an excuse for the resolution which recognized the union in the first place.

Now Lou Desso claims to be the new Henry Kissinger of North Greenbush. He somehow took the place of the Supervisor in negotiating a new contract which the union, after screwing the town with another round of buyout payments in June without a whimper from the town board, approved unanimously. It's pretty obviously they voted down the contract before June because they wanted to screw the town out of the next scheduled round of buyouts and yep, they did just that! No worry about a financial crisis with these folks.

We can't wait to read the fruit of Desso's negotiating skills done behind the back of the Supervisor and with one of the folks in town hall whom he just voted to approve an extra 10 grand in overtime the town can't afford in a time of fiscal crisis. Desso says he had no tools to force the union into relinquishing the buy out provisions. He apparently has not heard of the threat of job eliminations as a negotiating tool, but then again, many of these folks are his political allies and we presume the deficit will just have to grow as a result of maintaining a Building Department staff that is overblown and bloated.

For a contract to be successful, a number of things need to be included. First the buy out provisions need to be amended, reduced in size of the maximum payment permitted and amending the ability to qualify for the payments. No one should be allowed eligibility without first being in the insurance program as an eligible recipient. No one should be allowed to double dip, that is folks like Bill Miller and John Harkin should not be eligible for a buy out when they already receive full public funded health insurance from other employers.

Second, a time clock must be utilized in town hall. The notion of a staff coming and going as they please without supervision or some type of control is bad business and hopefully this will be corrected.

Also, we believe that managers should not be part of the bargaining unit. That means the Assessor and head of the Building Department should not be allowed in this union, the same union whose members they are supposed to supervise day to day.

Hopefully we we see some of these issues addressed in the new contract which is likely to be on the agenda this Thursday night for board consideration.

Tom Connolly receives a Broadside from his Party

You have to read this great analysis of Tom Connolly by Independence Party official Frank Morano. He quit the party in disgust this week but not before framing the $100,000 a year NY Senate employee to a tee. You can read the story here from 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"
We couldn't have said it better.

Germano jumps ship in petition fight

Yesterday we reported that the leader of the Republican backed insurgents attempting to primary and take control of the town Democratic Committee, jumped ship and signed a declination of his primary office of Committeeman in ED 5. Germano was none to happy at the Board of Elections casting aspersions on his Democratic adversaries and claiming, falsely, they were after his family.

With the captain of the ship in the first lifeboat, the rest of the crew is being left to answer charges of petition fraud on their own. The matter is likely to head to court where many will be subpoenaed to answer charges contained in sworn affidavits to be filed at the Board of Elections later this week. It should be quite a show.

Payback Time Coming

When Lou Desso and Al Spain hatched their plan to fire Youth Director Jerry Sickles, it was rumored they intended to use some of the money to give extra cash to Conservative Party Committeeman and Building Inspector Mike Miner. The rumor was $10,000 would go to Miner, paid in of all things OVERTIME, which in his case would be a whopping $47.00 an hour.

Miner is the highest paid employee in town hall at $64,000 a year. Paying him time and a half to do some of Sickle's job is at best financially irresponsible and at worst, mismanagement of the highest order.

First you have to consider that Miner is a FULL TIME employee who is supposed to work the regular business hours of 9 to 5. Overtime, which has been strictly eliminated because of the $171,000 deficit, requires the approval of the Supervisor in advance, and would have to take place after regular work hours. Trouble is, any critical responsibilities that might need to be filled by Sickles firing would take place during the same business hours which Miner already works as a Building Inspector. The most critical part of the Youth Director's summer responsibilities involved his presence at the summer camp. Further, why would you think of paying the highest paid employee in town hall time and a half for overtime to do this work when you could either keep Sickles part time or hire someone for regular pay at a rate considerably lower than Miner's overtime rate? The reason seems clear. It's a corrupt political bargain.So stay tuned for this one as the great payoff is attempted.

Incidentally, Conservative Committee persons are supposed to be out getting designating petition signatures for Lou Desso town board run. We're sure Miner is not circulating a petition for himself to run as he did with former Supervisor Mark Evers, beating him in the primary and costing him the election. And were "sure" this little bone they are trying to throw his way has nothing to do with keeping a Miner designating petition for town board from hitting the streets in addition to the Desso one. Really, we're sure of it!

Special Board Meeting Friday at 4PM

The financial problems and the like may be the topic of the special meeting of the town board set for Friday at 4PM June 18th. We'll see if the cuts were personal as expected or whether the majority is capable of eliminating the jobs in town hall that should have been erased months before Jerry Sickles.

Tom Connolly Rides again!

We knew when word of the Manhattan District Attorney's investigation into the State Independence Party broke, that Party Vice Chair Tom Connolly's name would surface. Well it did. Here's a link to the NY Post story. Tom managed to get at least $5,000 of Mayor Bloomberg's money as "expenses". Gee, what a surprise! We bet there's more to come and a Grand Jury Subpoena into banking records to see if any big checks were cashed by those involved. Looks like it's time for Andrew Cuomo to reject the endorsement of the Independence Party for Governor. The last thing a great candidate needs is the endorsement of people up to their necks in a criminal investigation who run around singing his praises. Cuomo can and will win without such endorsements. He's that good a candidate.

Incidentally Andrew Cuomo's campaign might like to see some of the background of Mr. Connolly which is posted on this blog here. Oh, and there's plenty more to read. Just do a blog search of Tom Connolly on our home page and see if his endorsement is something to covet.

Update:11AM

Lou Desso has recorded a robocall which is running today, apparently in response to a call which opponents ran exposing his status as a convicted felon. Stay tuned, this could get interesting!

Mama To the Rescue  6AM

When your campaign is out of gas, faltering against a surging effort by an opponent who striped you of your party line and forced you to take a life jacket from the opposition party which despises you, who you gonna call? Why Mama of course!

That's exactly what Kathryn Connolly has done with a last minute Hail Mary mailing  and robo call from her mother, a long ago disgraced Democratic County Clerk and Party Chairman who defied the County Ethics Law to run for Party Chairman.  Never mind that as County Legislator, she co sponsored the law that prevented elected county officials, such as herself, from holding a party chairman's post. Never mind that her campaign for county clerk against Tom Cholakis, who was the Republican Chairman at the time, promised to keep "Politics out of the county clerk's office", referring to , we presume, her opponent's status. Doreen Connolly forgot all about the law and her promises to keep politics out of the County Clerk's Office and ran for County Democratic  Chairman, winning in a close vote.

Once there, she was taken to court by fellow Democrats and just nine months into her Chairmanship, resigned  just before a court decision would have stripped her of the paying job as county clerk for her blatant violation of the County Ethics Law.

Now mom is infuriated, throwing accusations about her daughter's opponent, that she made false accusations about the town clerk's sterling reputation and record. Sorry Doreen, no matter what you contrive in the eleventh hour, town Democrats understand that your daughter lost her party nomination at a caucus, just like she lost an election for a party committee seat a year before. She has no one to blame but herself that before she lost the nomination, she accepted the Republican endorsement.  She did this knowing that her own mother, had voted with the entire Democratic Committee, not to endorse any one who accepted the Republican line.

That action was to prevent another Jeff Spain style assault on the party's integrity and purpose as a counterbalance to the GOP and a party which must offer a choice to voters at the polls rather than attempt to seize election day as a meaningless exercise where the same candidates are endorsed by all the political parties, leaving voters with no choice at the polls.

Doreen and her daughter were part of that sad demise of the Democratic Committee in 2007. She and her daughter participated with Jeff Spain in a trial of Democrats who opposed their edicts demanding total loyalty to their policies and tolerating no dissent. Ironically, today, you will find the Connollys and the Spains, including the so called former town chairman  Jeff Spain, displaying Republican signs on their lawns. Now that's party loyalty for you. Their party opponents, however, are not responding by holding a trial of these so called Democrats for "disloyalty". Instead, they respond with facts about the record and actions of the candidates. That record of facts was nicely documented by Democratic Chairman Dan Ashley in a timely ad placed in this week's Advertiser which countered mom's letter perfectly.

Tomorrow,  Connolly and her GOP running mates face a test in which VOTERS, not the party bosses or her mother, make the decision. That may not be the way the Connolly's want to see an election conducted, after all they did try again to deny voters a choice by running and loosing in the Democratic Caucus after taking the GOP line, but that's the way it is and should be.

The "Confusion Party"

We had to laugh at the GOP's effort to cannibalize the Greenbush Party's language as a truly independent group of people whose signature base represents all areas of town and all political parties.  They are calling themselves a "Fusion Party". The slate of endorsed candidates consists of Conservatives, the Conservatives rejected, Democrats, the Democrats rejected and Republicans scratching their heads wondering who their running mates are? Are they running with Mark Evers, a Conservative rejected by Democrats and taken by Republicans thanks to his vote for their judicial candidate, or are they running with Conservative Water Contractor candidate Mike Miner, the endorsed candidate of the Conservative Party which is chaired by the town's water contractor. That's why Democrats refer to the GOP not as a "fusion party" but as the "Confusion Party". No, you can't find them on Row C for Confusion or on Row E where the real fusion party has a ballot line. Rather, you'll find confusion if you're a Republican trying to figure out which candidates are Republican backed and which are Conservative backed.  Let's put it this way, if you're confused, the higher standards are on Row A.

Did I Forget to Mention I'm Running as a Republican Too?

We loved this letter sent by the town clerk to registered Democrats asking for their support in Thursday night's caucus almost as much as the Certificate of Acceptance Connolly signed to be the Republican Party's candidate for town clerk. Yep, it's been torn in half by an angry Democratic voter who later provided it to the Pipeline asking how she could ask for Democratic support after accepting the Republican nomination?


Of course, no where does Connolly mention to Democrats that she is the Republican candidate for town clerk, that she does not support the Democratic Party Platform, that she is part of the Republican sponsored Comprehensive Plan Committee's attempt to hijack development in the town for developers. Gee, you don't want to mention that to Democrats before they vote in their caucus so she didn't.

Democrats across Rensselaer County have paid a high price for Connolly's GOP endorsement. Her brother Tom is the Independence Party Chairman and he gave the GOP candidates across the county and at every town, his party's endorsement against the Democrats except one, his sister. She is the only registered Democrat to receive his coveted Wilson Pakula waiver to receive the Independence Party Line in the general election.

Politics in Rensselaer County is said to be a blood sport and here in North Greenbush, Democrats find themselves scratching themselves on the head as so called Democrat Al Spain stands with Republicans, endorses them, donates to them and acts like a reckless developer as Chairman of the Comprehensive Plan Committee and "Democrat" Kathryn Connolly asks Democrats for their support and fails to tell them she is the Republican candidate for the office of town clerk.

Elections are about choice and these folks don't want voters to have it. They want power and a job and they'll do anything to get it. So Democrats, read Ms. Connolly's request for your vote and when you arrive at the caucus you'll see her acceptance certificate as the Republican candidate for Town Clerk. Should be quite a night.

Lillian Calls "CB"

It had to be a slip in the medication. Lillian Parsons, a Republican who can't resist meddling in the Democratic Party and its politics, called Democratic Party stalwart CB Smith last night and read a canned script asking him to vote for non Democrats in Thursday night's caucus.

Her choices included Michael Miner for Supervisor, sorry Mark, and Ernie Kern for Council, sorry Kelly and Joe.

Don't worry though, her call did nothing to affect the voting habits of Democrats either at the Smith house or anywhere else in North Greenbush. Her script sounded like a set of bad brakes and had as much polish as a can of sardines. She appeared unaware of who she was calling, making the call all the more bizarre.

We have it from an unimpeachable source that Smith will be voting for Democrats in the Democratic Caucus and that Lillian's dime was foolishly expended.

Connolly Says She Should Be Unnopposed

Today's Troy Record has an article regarding Town Clerk Connolly's decision to accept the endorsement of the Republican Party. In so doing she has run into significant opposition from the Democratic Committee which voted unanimously, including Connolly's own mother, Doreen, not to endorse anyone who accepted the Republican line.You can read all the comments in the Record here.

Connolly's argument is that the office is a-political and therefore she should be able to have the endorsements of all political parties. But that argument disallows voter choice in an election, something the town clerk helped engineer in the last town election when she helped now former Chairman Jeff Spain turn the party over to the GOP. No one should be allowed to run unopposed simply because it runs contrary to the purpose of a democracy.

But lets not forget the real reason the Republicans are endorsing her. Her brother Tom is Chair of the County Independence Party and gave GOP candidates at the town and county levels the party's endorsement and a slew of Wilson Pakula waivers to go with it. It had nothing to do with Greg DiJulio's comments about serving both parties as town clerk. DiJulio once told her to get off his property as she campaigned door to door so it is not as if he's a fan. His former Board Majority under Paul Tazbir tried to remove Connolly from office after they had the former comptroller sneak into her office and copy the oath book page which showed she failed to sign her own oath of office. Mr. DiJulio was not asking Tazbir and his majority to leave Connolly alone then.

The fact is Connolly was given a clear choice when she came before the Democratic Committee. Run as a Republican or run as a Democrat but you will not receive the Democratic endorsement if you want to run with Evers and his GOP gang. You have to stand for something in this world or you'll fall for anything. If Connolly runs with Evers, she supports his years of mismanagement and incompetence. The party caucus should end the argument. But beyond the argument that an election is about voter choice and not the desire of a candidate to be given a free ticket and ride to a pay check, Connolly left the Democratic Committee with another big question when she claimed she was "totally disabled". Many in the room that night were stunned by the comment which appeared to be spoken as a bizarre justification for continued political support. It implied she can't get a real job and the town's clerk's position was the only way she could support herself.

If she is disabled, then the obvious question is why is she running? You might recall we may have provided the answer to that question back in our October 2008 edition. Read it here as you hold on to your wallets.

The GOP Lifeline

As Republicans get ready to meet Saturday to endorse Democrat Katie Connolly, the Pipeline thought they might enjoy reading a letter we obtained from town Democrats pledging her loyalty and love of all things Democratic. Feel free to print it out and take it with you to the nomination speeches Saturday morning. Feel free to take a copy to Republican doors as you get signatures on petitions. And feel free to read it over and over and ask yourselves what in the world her brother Tom Connolly could be giving the GOP that is so valuable that you must sell your souls and any claim to standing for something as you endorse someone with her pedigree.

"It is with great pride that I seek this nomination" that's the Democratic nomination boys and girls. We wonder what word she uses as she describes her quest for the GOP nomination. Perhaps it goes like this: "It is with great desperation that I seek this nomination". "I have been involved with the North Greenbush Democratic Party for over 30 years and am grateful and proud for the last 18 years to represent the North Greenbush Democratic Party in every election for Town Clerk that I have run in." The GOP translation: "I need a job so bad I am willing to let you turkeys take me to the dance so I can get two more years and free health insurance for life at taxpayer expense". Incidentally, she told the Democrats she's "totally disabled" making them wonder how and why she is running for office again? And from the time she has taken off from work these last two years, you'd almost believe her.

Remember Republican Committee members, it's a breakfast meeting so you'll have to bring your own medicine before you take the plunge. The bar opens at noon.

Connolly Turns To GOP Oppressors

It's hard to frame the incredible ironies presented by politics in North Greenbush. It was just a few short years ago that the GOP controlled Town Board was trying to remove life long Democrat Katie Connolly from her office as Town Clerk for failing to sign her oath of office more than a year into her term. This Saturday morning, the Republican County Committee is set to endorse her as their candidate for Town Clerk in exchange for a few pieces of political silver known as Wilson Pakula waivers from her brother Tom Connolly, who is still Chairman of the Rensselaer County Independence Party.

Well, the GOP is used to bartering for Wilson Pakula waivers, especially in North Greenbush where they bought themselves a few Conservative votes on the Town Board to place their candidate for Town Justice on the bench. Those votes were gathered in exchange for GOP Wilson Pakula waivers which would allow two of the town board Conservatives to run as Republicans this November. So giving another one out to Democrat Connolly as her lifeline in November should not come as a complete surprise especially since Connolly played a key role in turning over the Democratic endorsements to the GOP in last year's town board races for Supervisor and one Council seat.

Connolly's fall from the Democratic ranks comes after she joined a group of so called "reformers" in an effort to wrestle control of the party leadership from her longtime supporter Dan Ashley. She challenged Ashely in two party committee contests, the last one of which saw her defeated for a committee seat by Ashley who was then elected party chairman once again.

With that victory came a lot of explaining for Connolly, who sat in a sort of trial of Ashley for alleged disloyalty and voting to remove him from his County Committee seat, a power neither she or her fellow committee members had under election law.

With her adversaries back in charge of the Democratic Party, it was sure to be a little uncomfortable coming to the Democrats and asking for their endorsement and forgiveness. Apparently, it's easier to knock on Republican doors asking folks to sign the petition of their longtime Democratic nemesis whose mother was once the enchilada of local Democrats as the Rensselaer County Democratic Committee Chairman.

Town Democrats had informed Connolly and all candidates seeking their endorsement that they would not endorse anyone who had accepted the Republican line in order to ensure a competitive election in November and to prevent another attempt by Republicans to subvert the electoral process as they did last year in a cross endorsement deal that placed their candidates on all four party lines in November.

So Republicans in North Greenbush, get ready for a surprise visitor at your doors beginning June 9th as Democrat Katie Connolly, notary in tow, asks you to sign her designating petition. No, she can't get the signatures herself because she is not a notary or a Republican, nor can she even sign her own petition. That's up to you, the Republican voters of North Greenbush.

As for the meeting on Saturday, well surprise guest Paul Tazbir will do the nominating speech, refreshed from his efforts to have former Comptroller Tyler Sawyer sneak into the Clerk's Office and copy the oath book. Bob Ashe will drive in from Poestenkill to draw straws with Joe Styczynski, (did we spell that right Joe?) for the honor of seconding the nomination and GOP Town Chairman Greg "Get off my property" DeJulio will sign the first petition. Hey Greg, we have to ask, how long before she puts you on trial for "disloyalty"?