Losing proposition
For those among the Saratoga Springs populous not thoroughly disenchanted with city politics, there’s Decision 2007 to push you over the edge. With the mayoral candidates not even set in their racing lanes, the two democratic candidates have been relentlessly pummeling one another with the starting blocks. While someone is bound to emerge victorious from this childish pugilism, the energy and public face wasted during this sparring makes the whole thing rather superfluous. First, challenger Gordon Boyd announced his candidacy in eight days after the New Year and a solid 11 months before the election. Supporters of incumbent Valerie Keehn responded three months later by launching a full-out frontal assault on Public Works fixture Tom McTygue, claiming him as the puppeteer pulling Boyd’s strings; Keehn herself needled the commissioner by launching her re-election campaign the same day state Environmental Conservation investigators chose to rifle through his department files.
In response to this very public infighting, the Democratic Party punished Keehn by handing their endorsement to Boyd. The Keehniacs, a minority in the party, countered this move by childishly protesting the meeting. Keehn herself appeared to be taking the high road when she asked the party to not make any decision, even though this was a thinly veiled ploy chucked out to the press as damage control after she realized she didn’t have enough supporters in the party.
And then the endorsements began.
Boyd snapped up the Independence Party nod to secure a spot on the ballot. Then he went on to peculiarly grab the Conservative Party endorsement, a move that left several left-leaning Dems wondering why a progressive candidate would seek support from a group many liberals view as regressive. But even this could be explained simply by the candidate, who has professed from the get-go he can "work across party lines.”
Now here’s the confusing part. Boyd received the endorsement of SUCCES, a grass-roots anti-charter reform group he established. In other words, he’s endorsing himself.
With the city Dems on board, Boyd really didn’t need any endorsement before the September primary. Registered Dems are very frustrated with Keehn’s buggering and seemed ready to give him the go-ahead. With this latest gag, however, Boyd has opened himself up for a well-deserved rabbit-punch from the city Republicans, who have remained quiet up until now.
“I see no reason for this group to continue to exist, let alone endorse candidates in the November elections,” Republican chairman John Herrick told the Times Union this week, while offering his candidate, Scott Johnson, as the knight in shining armor.
Then there’s Keehn’s sole endorsement. After wisely deciding not to get into the fray, the Working Families Party did an about-face and chose the incumbent as their choice. This officially makes the Democratic primary meaningless, as both Keehn and Boyd will be on the ballot anyway. More distressing is that Tom Comanzo, co-chair of the party, made the decision because decided of Keehn’s “strong support for the WFP's issue agenda.”
This agenda must involve back-biting, creating a fetid atmosphere in City Hall and accomplishing absolutely nothing while in office. In fact, if there was one group that has perpetually lost under Keehn, it would be working families, as few there are sparsely few members of the proletariat can afford to live in Saratoga anymore and certainly not in the city proper.
Contrary to the incessant cyber-trash Keehn’s dwindling supporters pollute over the Internet, there is no clear winner in this race. In contrast, there are bound to be some losers. When the ballots are counted in November, there will be roughly 32,000 losers, namely the people who get nothing but a headache from the bickering and dickering between these plutocrats.
posted by Horatio Alger at 9:11 AM
19 Comments:
HO ratio: Try listening to a few voters instead of spending all your time wrting incessant cyber-trash that pollutes the Internet.
Results in November:
Valerie Keehn (D) 50%
$$$cott Johnson (R) 30%
Gordon Boyd (C) 20%
vote for me; via write in.
after all, even an old broken down horse like me would be more effective than the incumbent.
to get warmed up for the racing season, her's somehting fun:
* I'll give 2 to 1 odds than Mrs Mayor does not know what a "furlong' is.
Any takers?
Ah yes. After the first post, I was thinking the tone sounded familiar. Then there was the second post with an off-the-cuff comment about masturbating; it seemed an awful lot like something that was regurgitated elsewhere in cyberspace. And now, the self-proclaimed “SaratogaDem” graces iSaratoga with such witty remarks and prognosticating. Frankly, I’m honored.
Of course, such an esteemed scribe such as you doesn’t need to read, or for that matter, think in coherent terms. So responding to your sophomoric babble isn’t likely to present itself as a good use of my time. However, for argument’s sake, let’s have a go at it, shall we?
Your tried-and-true candidate for mayor narrowly squeaked out a victory against Michael Lenz for three reasons: first, because city residents were fed up with the atmosphere of antagonism that presented itself in city hall. As espoused here among the iSaratoga annals, the Dreyer conflict left voters with a bad taste, which they in turn brought to the polls.
Secondly, Republicans as a whole were cast in a very bad light in the city, state and federal elections. Some of it was spurred by aggravation with the White House; some of it was based in frustration with the Pataki Administration and some of it was from anger over Tom Curley’s handling of the Public Safety commissionership. Simply put, our dear friend Funny Cide could have ran in Keehn’s place and still cruised to victory.
Lastly, and to a lesser extent than the other two reasons, the progressives bought into the lies Keehn preached after watching development run rampant and housing costs sky-rocket across the city. Lenz and his fellow Republicans expected to squash Keehn like a gnat and really didn’t anticipate the turnout of the progressives, a minority within the largely conservative city. So instead of backing Lenz with big money, the party leaders concentrated on the true battle at hand, which was the Sweeney race.
Now the convergence of these three events miraculously handed Keehn the keys to City Hall. No such luck this year, my foul-and-fickle minded poster. If you honestly think Keehn will accrue a whopping 50 percent of the vote in this city, I’ve got some great deals for you. First, let me tell you about this bridge I own. Then maybe we can get you into some junk bonds. Did someone say sub-prime lending? I’ll sign you up immediately. And I know this guy in Nigeria that says he only needs $1,000 from you to split a fortune from some dead prince in his country.
On a more serious note, were I to call the race today, it would go to Scott Johnson. While Keehn and Boyd are ripping the remaining tatters of the city Democrats Party to shreds, Johnson is simply remaining quiet. If 20 percent of the registered Republicans turn out to the polls, he’ll win hands down.
On the other hand, Keehn is a lame duck that’s been pumped full of buckshot. There’s nothing she can do to right the ship at this point, save for pulling orphans out of a burning house on election day. In Boyd’s case, he NEEDS Keehniacs like you on board. He needs every Democratic vote he can get just to fight the Republican majority in this city. And he won’t get it with Keehn on the ballot in November. The nail in the coffin of his campaign was Keehn winning the Working Families Party endorsement; game-set-match.
But feel free to keep espousing your drivel about this silent majority of Keehn supporters who will come out in mass on Election Day. While you’re at it, toss a few quick jabs at the more rational and realistic thinkers among the voting populace. Call them “ho” and what not. That kind of sophomoric nonsense will surely get people to turn the other cheek right?
What has flummoxed me after reading post upon post upon post from you is your blind allegiance to this woman. At first, I had you pegged for a campaign crony or maybe the film maker. But I would think that even they are smart enough to know the detrimental effects of a smear campaign against the very voters they’re looking to attract. So that about limits it down to someone in the dear mayor’s family who is childish enough to religiously post such nonsense; very interesting indeed. Perhaps you would be better off "reading the Saratogian" as you suggest.
HO: Here's a tip from SaratogaDem. If you want your cyber rants to be entertaining or edifying, try adding some context. Your reference to an "off-the-cuff comment about masturbating" just seems delusional without an explanation that you censored a critique of your overly self-absorbed style.
Funny cide asked whether Mayor Keehn knows what a furlong is. That's easy. It's the distance between HO's political analysis and reality.
You think the Mayor has no chance of winning 50% of the vote in the November election. NEWS FLASH: She won 50% of the vote last time, when she was an unknown. This time, she has a record of standing up to the good old boys, which voters actually admire, contrary to the baloney Boyd and Johnson are pushing with their "go along, get along" campaigns.
You say Johnson is wisely remaining quiet while Boyd tries to tear down the Mayor. Wrong. If you paid any attention to what's actually going on, you'd know that Johnson is campaigning in a variety of venues, meeting with senior citizens, writing a column in the Saratogian, etc. His big problem is that the more he campaigns, the more voters can see that he knows nothing and knows nobody. With Boyd outflanking him on the right with the Conservative Party endorsement, Johnson is a loser.
Repeating the myth of "the Republican majority in this city" shows just how out of touch you are. Haven't you noticed that since 2000, Democrats have won election after election in Saratoga Springs? Ever heard of Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, Eliot Spitzer, or Kirsten Gillibrand? All winners in Saratoga Springs. Did you happen to notice that Dems swept all the offices in the 2005 election? Many of the registered Republicans have died, moved away, or gotten into the habit of voting for Dems without bothering to change their party enrollment.
One of the biggest sources of Keehn's support is women over 65. Many of them are registered Republicans, but they can't get enough of Mayor Keehn. They think her willingness to stand up to blowhard McTygue is exactly what the city needs, and they'll show up on Election Day to prove it.
It's easy for you to discount the Mayor's accomplishments. As another commenter pointed out, limousine riders can't see the value of new buses, expanded bus routes and schedules, and special bus stops for senior citizens. But guess what? Senior citizens LOVE those improvements. And guess which age group has the best record of turning out on Election Day? You know the answer.
You say you're "flummoxed" after reading SaratogaDem's comments. That's because you're spending too much time writing cyber drivel. For a change, try listening to some real voters if you want to find out why Mayor Keehn is so popular.
My foul-minded fiend, there need be no context with your off-the-cuff comments. There was a reason the comment was moderated and that was because it was an insult-driven diatribe that had nothing to do with the topic at hand. The point of moderating it was that it didn’t belong in this forum, so do tell why I would bother reposting it? Also, please read a bit more carefully; I’m flummoxed by your blind allegiance to this woman, not your comments.
See, I’m an equal opportunity offender at iSaratoga and someone that is quite used to getting dragged over the coals. Thusly, I’m perfectly willing to post deleterious comments, provided they have a point and are not simply rants that have nothing to do with the post. This blog was intended as a community forum, where people can share ideas and notions on the media, politics and life in the Saratoga region.
Obviously, as the sole writer here, my semi-daily posts set the topic. It has nothing to do with arrogance or self-indulgence; it’s that it’s my fucking blog. And if you had even an inkling of an idea how challenging an operation like this is, you probably wouldn’t take such a snide tone in your prodding.
Now, onto your assertions. You do make some interesting points; the last time I attended a Keehn news conference, the crowd did seem a bit aged to say the least. And you are correct in your assumption about the voting habits of the blue-hair demographic; after all, it’s not too difficult to wander down from the Wesley tower to pull a lever.
But this is where your sparse strands of common sense fray. First, I’ve always disagreed with the assertion that the Democrats took the election in 2005. Both Ron Kim and John Franck were card-carrying Republicans. They switched when it was clear their party had no plans for them in higher office. Matt McCabe is an independent. In truth, the only Dems running that year were Keehn and McTygue, the latter of whom you often refer to as a pseudo-Republican.
Let’s tackle the recent state and federal elections. The Clinton-Spitzer races are a pathetic example of this supposed Democratic takeover of the city, especially if you ever met Johns. Both Fasso and Spencer were hollow candidates the GOP threw up to take the fall. The party knew it would fall to pieces after the Pataki Administration abdicated. Both these candidates offered them a way to appease the ultra-conservatives while allowing them to regroup for elections in other states and on other dates.
Keehn and her carpetbaggers have indeed offered a new voting block to the city rolls. But if you think this city has gone to the mules, then you’re sorely mistaken. This is upstate New York and Saratoga Springs is essentially the capital of a Republican county. And on the right side of the isle, there are some mighty powerful names. Mind you, this is not an endorsement of these fellows, just an acknowledgement that they are there and waiting in the wings.
You, on the other hand, seem to take the ostrich approach to politics. And it’s this type of attitude that will ultimately sweep Keehn and those of her ilk out of office. Just so you know, I am connected with voters; many of them. They’re the working class, the people who cook your meal, the fellows that mend your roof, the clerks in the supermarket; the Proletariat. These are all people that voted for Keehn with trepidation, but because she claimed to support them.
Now, just short of two years later, it’s clear she doesn’t. She can pander to the old folks all she wants, but she won’t have the working class vote, that’s for sure. Maybe she’ll grab the peaceniks and the green sneakers(as one former commenter once referred to me), but she’s lost the working class and certainly won’t sway any elephants into her camp.
In fact, I’m a working class registered voter myself, who would only let death thwart me from the polls. I can assure you this; I will cast my vote for any candidate but Keehn at this point. And aside from her showing up at my doorstep with a bottle of bourbon, a book full of explanations and several hours to get through both, I can’t see my opinion changing any. Hey, you never know. Mayor, this is an open invitation for you to swing on by with some Wild Turkey. Maybe you can make a believer out of me.
One issue you seem to be oblivious to in your self-absorption is that the city's Republicans seriously lack unity between moderates and good ole boy conservatives this time around. If you had attended Skip Scirocco's recent fundraiser, you would have encountered moderate Republicans who enthusiastically support Val Keehn because they share her dedication to open government. But then, you seem to be blind to context, like the fact that new people are moving in to the city and it's not as conservative as it used to be. The Republicans were scrambling to find candidates this time around. Much of the base that Boyd is counting on (very presumptuously) is DPW workers. But they're mad as hell that Pat Design resigned and Tommy's latest girlfriend has been appointed to a cushy job in DPW. Mad enough to lose their fear of Tommy. They can tell he's on his way out, and he has to keep his head down a bit --- deliveries of dead fish are out of fashion.
"Back-biting, creating a fetid atmosphere in City Hall" --- sounds like Tommy and Billy McTygue. Like Tom Curley, the McTygues have cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees since the beginning of 2007. It probably will cost a lot more once the DEC investigation is completed. And these poster boys for incompetence can't come up with an actual budget for the Saratoga Lake water plan, after a decade of trying to promote it. Duh! Can they even come up with a budget?
David Bronner essentially won the legal case little brother Petey McTygue brought against him --- the McTygues couldn't get the judge to keep Bronner away from city council meetings --- or away from Tommy.
We need a new DPW Commissioner --- and we don't need Tommy's hand-picked candidate for mayor (the one with the flashy shades). These guys want to sell the city to their developer friends and waste taxpayer money for their own benefit.
Moderate Republicans “enthusiastically” supporting Keehn? Put down the Bengay and step away from the keyboard. You need a serious reality check if you think any right-leaning voter would support this woman. And how is the government more “open” as you put it?
That reminds me of a promise the good mayor once espoused during her honeymoon period in office. One of her MAIN goals, as she put it, was to bring the City Council meetings to public access television. What happened to that? Yet another Keehn goal left undone.
True, you can listen to them if you’ve got the fortitude. However, there’s often no way of telling exactly who is speaking or what they’re speaking about. How difficult would it be to purchase a video camera, film the meetings and send the footage to Time Warner? It wouldn’t be; thousands of other communities across the region do this as part of their cable franchise agreement. But Keehn’s too busy with her bickering to follow through on even the most simple of her goals two years ago.
The only self-absorption around here is Keehn supporters like you, who are too blind to see the writing on the wall. Had your contingent bothered to pay attention, they would have realized the turning tide at the state-of-the-city address – remember the “silly council” comment –and worked to kick the mayor into action on some of her promises. It’s too late now.
I’ll leave you with this wager: I guarantee she won’t serve another term in office. Mark my words. And the shambles she leaves in her wake will be disastrous for the city.
Allow me to laugh heartily at your mention of Bronner. Yet another reason to vote Keehn out of office: her bizarre allegiance with this blowhard. Even the Republican hardliners want nothing to do with such a wingnut.
Bronner’s case was ACOD’ed because he has no record and both parties agreed on the resolution. Had Peter McTygue not agreed, they would have been going to a trial, which would have been a ludicrous waste of money and resources. What the resolution does mean is that if Bronner pulls any sort of illegal stunt over the next six months –an entirely possible thought given the contentious election season this fall –he’ll again face the assault charge and likely receive the strictest of penalties.
No answer? I thought not. Too bad, I thought we had a good conversation going.
Dear God, this blog is my guilty pleasure.....
I hope this isn't the end of this thread, because the whole Keehn/Boyd/Johnson discussion is interesting and important.
I believe Horatio that you are correct. The odds of Madame Mayor serving another term are a very sketchy bet indeed.
I didn't vote for her the first time around, but pledged to support her efforts after she won, in the spirit of community. As a very small "r" Republican (actually, I'm an independent if you look at my voting record or simply the world's worst Republican) I WANT to see our elected officials succeed.
Sadly, I don't see much tangible success of Mrs. Keehn's administration. In my opinion she is the democratic version of our President-an empty shirt who is long on rhetoric, and short on substance. A very nice woman to be sure; but woefully out of her depth and an ineffective administrator. If she could lead as well as she campaigned...well, then we would have something.
Any chance of getting my vote went out the window with her inept (and very UN-Democratic) effort at Charter Reform, embarrasing feud with Mr. McTygue, and the rabid, spittle soaked, blind allegiance from her advisors and ill-mannered staunch supporters that are constantly reminding me about how out of touch I am with the mainstream views of this community.
At this point I will be supporting Boyd or Johnson. I don't know Scott Johnson, but I do know Gordon Boyd after serving with him in one of our local organizations. He is eminently decent, smart, sensible, and worthy of office. The more the Keehniacs try to paint him as a manifestation of evil, the more I want to vote for him...or anyone for that matter.
The hypocrisy of these supporters is infuriating. They claim to stand for inclusiveness (much like Bush did when he was campaigning), but that only applies if you are one of the Kool Aid drinkers that goes along with the whole platform. I believe that Madam Mayor ran on a campaign of Open Government. After nearly two years in office, I believe the opposite is true.
Speaking of open government, when is McTygue going to be open and release the financial plan for the Saratoga Lake water project? And when is he going to make the plans for the High Rock project widely available? Boyd touts this on his website, pretending it's focused on affordable housing. That's just an afterthought.
McTygue and Boyd are just frontmen for the developers and overdevelopment that will ruin this city. Voters are starting to get the picture. They're tired of Tommy. This won't help Boyd.
Madam Mayor can hold her own with poise and grace, as the YouTube videos show. It is absolutely amazing how many people continue to look at the YouTube video of the city council meeting - over 5,000 people, with more each day. I hope there are more of these videos!
And who knows what the DEC is going to find in its criminal investigation? Tommy and Billy tried to dump the blame on Pat Design, but it didn't work. And why were the McTygues so quick to sneakily clean up the illegal dump off Weibel Road after it was discovered by David Bronner? What were they hiding? I predict Tommy may have a lot of explaining to do before election day, and Boyd's close association with Tommy will help Keehn stay in office.
The Keehniacs keep trying to connect MyTygue and Boyd (a good strategy since I think The Perfect Storm is brewing to finally kick Tommy out) but I don't think the case has been made. I follow things pretty closely here and I certainly am not convinced. I suspect the average Jane/Joe doesn't get it at all. My guess is that's because the relationship just doesn't exist. The more the Keehniacs try to make that case, the more foolish and desperate they look when it's not made.
Val needs to campaign on her merits, not the bad deeds of her opponents or their supposed compatriots. But she can't, because she has none. So she stoops to the level of her supposed enemy, McTygue, by trying to play meanspirited politics, which only paints her as equally worthless to the goal of effective governance.
Val clearly is not suited for this type of politics. Her only chance to win is by staying above it. I actually think she has the ability to effectively do so (part of the reason for her 2005 victory), but she's been sucked into the cesspool. I don't think she's going to be able to get out of it.
So the remaining question is, what happens if nobody wins a majority? Is a plurality enough in this city, or will we get a runoff? I think the only certainty is that Keehn won't win the first vote. The question is, if we get a runoff, will Keehn be able to hang onto second place, thereby giving her a shot at sticking around two more years?
I have to laugh at the above trail.
These Keehn people TRULY don't have a clue. Not a clue about politics, governance, policy, economics, administration, teamwork, consensus building, networking, rules of order, and worse yet: not a clue about Saratoga's history, dynamics, neighborhoods, infrastructure, issues,...anything!
I didn't think it could get any worse than having the Roohan henchmen running this town for so many years.
I might have been wrong. It looks like a bunch of recent carpet baggers wanting to 'play politics' in their new sandbox IS worse.
Well, it would be worse, if not for the current charter which prevents dominant power from being help by a single individual. Especially with that individual being a pathetic example of a 'bored housewife with too much time on her hands.'
I guess I need to support Boyd, but by default.
But.....aren't there ANY other alternatives out there?
(Yes--I know it is too late for others to join these races; but can we not identify the 'best and brightest' in the town and get them involved?
Just a dream....just a passing dream
Milhouse,
I’m not so sure about McTygue. He’s kind of like the political version of Moby Dick. There’s a reason he’s been out there for so long and it’s fairly unlikely that a power play by Kamp Keehn will oust him. It does look like he’s facing his toughest re-election in modern times, but as you’ve alluded; negative campaigns have a habit of achieving the exact opposite of their intended purpose. And if the DEC happens to drop a load on his department anytime between September and November, it’s going to appear mighty orchestrated.
Keehn is definitely in the cesspool. Unfortunately, I don’t think it was her idea to jump in. I’m not sure who her advisors are, but they’ve done a mighty bad job at advising. As I’ve mentioned here before, I think Keehn is a mouthpiece for a movement in the city, not necessarily the leader of that movement. In the many times I’ve met this woman, she always seemed a bit aloof, almost like a deer caught in the headlights; in all, an amicable woman but not the type cut out for running a city.
My prediction thus far is that Boyd will emerge the victor of the primary. It’ll probably be tight, but I think Val has caused way too much ill-will in the city to carry the fringe voters. The general election I’m still a bit foggy on. As I said above, having two democratic candidates on the ticket will spell doom for the party provided there’s a Republican turnout. And the GOP is mighty sore after the lumping they took in 2005.
Honestly, I think there will be a clear majority when the dust does settle. Keehn’s supporters are VERY vocal –as you could see here –but from everyone I’ve talked to, she doesn’t seem to have very much support. The support she does have will probably fracture the democratic ticket and allow Johnson to grab a majority. But you pose a very good question. A runoff election is about the only way I could see her taking the office back.
HO: This is a test. I'll check back in a few days to see if you've posted the following comments on this blog. If not, I'll assume you're still enforcing your policy of censoring anything that's not unadulterated pro-Boyd propaganda.
1. There's no provision in the City Charter or State Election Law for a run-off election. Most votes wins. Period.
2. The connections among Boyd, McTygue, and Bruno have been demonstrated over and over again. For a recent example, take a look at the video in the archives on the Capital News 9 website. You'll see Boyd and McT jointly endorsing Bruno's re-election. Or check out the Board of Elections contribution database. Who does Boyd make contributions to? Pataki, Bruno, McTygue.
3. Boyd's support is so thin that he's managed to run his campaign account $16,000 into the red in a matter of months. He says it's only a clerical error. Imagine the havoc he could cause with the City's $50 million budget.
4. McT's latest environmental disaster has nothing to do with Mayor Keehn. Long before she took office, he polluted Lake Lonely with raw sewage. And it was years before she was elected that his do-it-yourself approach to removing migratory waterfowl from Congress Park got him in trouble for violating state and federal environmental laws. Tommy's never been bashful about breaking laws, no matter who the Mayor is.
5. Boyd still hasn't accounted for his whereabouts on July 18th. It won't help his chances in the Democratic primary if peoople find out he was at the Conservative Party dinner honoring Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove.
Okay, I’ll repeat this one last time for the solitary poster sitting in the cheap seats who apparently doesn’t get it: if you post off-topic remarks –of any kind –they won’t be thrust into the flotsam and jetsam of the communications here. This is especially the case when the comments are deleterious and anonymous.
In your case, I’ve even bent these rules for the shear sake of argument. Reread the post. Is it about the McTygue brothers? Is it about Keehn? No. It’s about the futility many voters will face come November. And in your hyper-allegiance to what has arguably been this city’s worst mayor, you somehow gloss over this message, no matter how clearly it is stated. So save you conspiracy bunk. You’ve had two comments moderated and for good reason: they were ill-worded diatribes that had nothing to add to the conversation at hand. If you can’t learn to post civilly, then you won’t post at all. This blog takes hours of my time each day and I’m not going to allow an insignificant little peck ruin it for those who do enjoy reading it.
Now onto your recent rant. I’ll defer to my compatriot over at (dis)topia, who brings up a very salient point: this election is not Keehn versus McTygue. And the only reason her supporters are painting this picture is because she has no other record to run on. Regardless, you and people of your ilk continue to yammer on about ancient history like the Spring Run Creek discharge, which would have happened regardless of who was seated as commissioner. Sure, George Cannon made a stink about it in two consecutively unsuccessful elections. But the problem was with an aging infrastructure that the city couldn’t afford to replace, not McTygue’s negligence. But this is off-topic; way off topic, for the aforementioned reason.
As for Boyd and his supposed support for Republicans, who really cares? I’m thoroughly disgusted by the partisan politics in this country and for that reason, do not subscribe to them in any sort of fashion. If you choose to vote along party lines and not the issues at hand, you’re nothing more than a blind sheep being led to slaughter.
You know, I'm compelled to reply to the unmitigated genius of the last poster.
#1) I'll give you that. My knowledge of actual election law blows.
#2) Any SMART Saratoga politico would be a moron NOT to support Joe Bruno. Say what you want about the man...he has brought boatloads of money to our city and county. Given Joe's age, his tenure is undoubtedly nearing its end. Wait until he's gone and the money and support he brings to the table dries up, and then people will see how much he really means to this town. My question isn't whether Mr. Boyd and Mr. McTygue support him, it is why does Madame Mayor fail to lend her support (other than to take undeserved credit for his efforts) to this man who helps to make this town so great. The fact that he is in the opposition party is not nearly a good enough reason not to.
#3 Imagine the havoc Mr. Boyd could wreak on the city's finances? That is laughable. Number one, he would not be the finance commissioner, he would be the mayor, and therefore be checked by the very nature of the commission based form of government (unless the Charter changes, wink, wink, nod, nod, say no more...). Also, I would MUCH rather trust a businessperson like Boyd with the economics and accounting of the city, than a special education teacher.
In the spirit of fairness, I will say that I would trust Mrs. Keehn much more than Mr. Boyd if my child needed help in school.
#4 Correct me if I'm mistaken, but is Mr. McTygue running for Mayor? Why are the Keeniacs so geeked about framing the mayoral election as Keehn vs. McTygue; and by the way, aren't they IN THE SAME FREAKIN' PARTY? I love how much you guys try to paint the Republicans as a group of fragmented, disunified, overdeveloping pigs, yet you neglect the problems of your own tent. Try getting your own house in order before being so quick to judge others.
Oh, and the choice of your words "Environmental Disaster" ring of hyperbole don't you think? Chernobyl, Bhopal, Love Canal, the Exxon Valdez spill...those qualify as disasters. A small fuel spill in a DPW garage doesn't exactly ring of disaster; nor does some ducks being removed from Congress Park. I don't know of the Lake Lonely issue, but your post suggests that Mr. McTygue personally and maliciously dumped copious amounts of garbage into it. I have a real hard time buying that, and would love to hear his side of the story.
I will say this. I try to be an informed guy; constantly reading and listening to conventional and unconventional sources. I can't recall ANY such story regarding this matter-so it must be one heck of a cover up....or more plausibly, someone with an ax (or many axes for that matter) to grind is trying to make political hay.
#5 This is just so stupid, I can't dignify it with a retort.
In the event you Keeniacs are reading this, can you answer this: What has Mrs. Keehn actually accomplished in her 1.5 years in office? Please, enlighten me. Unlike some, I am open minded, and if you make a significant enough case, you could change my mind, and potentially gain a vote. It might not seem like much, but my gut instinct tells me you are going to need every vote you can get, contrary to your optimistic appraisal of the incumbent's chances.
I must admit: you're right.
Whenever approached with the "WTF has this woman accomplished?" or "WTF does this woman stand for and how does she plan on accomplishing it?", these pimples respond with a "Tom McTygue did this" rant.
Say what? They remind me of a mentally ill neighbor I once had: you ask her a question, she answers a different one.
Bit, it's obvious why: Madame Mayor has accomplished nothing, stands for nothing, has no vision, has no policies, has no plan.
Time to end this nightmare.
Post a Comment
<< Home