It isn’t what you know but whom you know
By the Guy on the 13th Floor
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Illustration by J.P. Thimot.
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It’s good to be friends with the king
Maybe I missed that Fundamentals of Accounting class that explained in great detail the links between lobbying and conducting an audit or preparing a budget, but the appointment of Janet Penska to the position of Commissioner of Administration, Finance, Policy, and Urban Affairs left many a person in City Hall scratching their head. Penska’s two previous positions were as an Albany lobbyist and the University of Buffalo’s lobbyist. Apparently it’s more important to be able to raise money than it is to properly manage money these days.
The Brown administration has borrowed heavily from the preceding Masiello regime. They kept many of the same commissioners, a Mayor’s golf tournament that is run by the same individuals who ran it for Masiello with the same former sponsors for the same charity (though the Masiello golf tournament had better swag), and the same machine for raising funds: the Mayor’s Leadership Council, where local politicos, people seeking government contracts, and members of the administration get to pay $500 in exchange for a few parties and the chance for a brief audience with the Mayor. Like the Masiello administration, the Brown administration also formed a transition team.
Remember the transition team, that group of local civic leaders and captains of industry who conducted a nationwide search for the best and brightest people? Penska was a member of this team, and was able to idenitify the best person to head up communications for the Brown administration in her ex-husband Peter Cutler. Cutler was so overjoyed at the prospect of returning to the job that he held under the Masiello administration that he created a news story starring himself (it would have been a great episode of Cops) by running a red light, hitting a motorcycle, and then trying to avoid arrest.
(Flashback: Tony Marconi was a member of the Masiello’s transition team. Underwhelmed by the quality of applicants, he declared himself the most qualified and was appointed to a Deputy Commissioner’s position responsible for housing. He then made the local headlines by asserting that the problem a homeowner was having with the floors in her new home was due to her own weight.)
Penska was then so underwhelmed by the quality of applicants for the Commissioner of Finance job that she declared herself the most competent and was appointed to the position. Two suggestions for Penska as she moves forward in her new job: if you go out celebrating, take a cab, and avoid speculating about the dress sizes of your constituents.
Who’s controlling the Control Board?
The Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority—affectionately known as the Control Board—is charged with overseeing all large contracts to make sure that the city of Buffalo doesn’t end up employing creative accounting to avoid the red side of the ledger book. Of course that doesn’t prevent members of the Control Board from having contracts with the city.
Control Board member John Giardino and his development team were selected to modernize the Perry Projects. Control Board member Rev. Richard Stenhouse and his development team have both the Jefferson Avenue business incubator and new housing on Purdy, Ada, Elsie, and other selected sites. Although an appointment to the transition team was looking pretty sweet, I’m now thinking that the Control Board is the better gig.
The President McKinley/George Holt connection
Former and possible future Erie County Legislator George Holt’s legal problems seem to have no end in sight. First, Holt tried to blame his removal on bad advice from the District Attorney. Note to Holt: the District Attorney prosecutes people. It is in his job description. The best advice he can offer is a plea bargain.
Finally realizing the distinction between a district attorney and a criminal attorney, Holt reached outside the usual suspects to bring in Todd Bullard, a Rochester attorney with a Buffalo connection. Bullard attended the University of Buffalo Law School but was an undergraduate at Allegheny College, where President McKinley matriculated. Let’s hope that Bullard is more successful than President McKinley was on his last visit to Buffalo.
How to walk while straddling a fence
Erie County Legislator Chairperson and County Executive hopeful Lynn Marinelli was sucked into the vortex of George Holt’s sinking political career. Marinelli refused to either condemn or support Holt, hoping to sit quietly on the sidelines while the matter played out. Things didn’t quite work out that way—Holt ended up suing her. It is difficult to walk around, much less take your seat in the chamber, with a fence between your legs. Take a stand. If you want to be Erie County Executive, you need to demonstrate to the people of this county that you’re capable of making tough decisions.
Lazarus
Politics can be magical. To the surprise of everyone, but no one more so than Judge Michael D’Amico, it was recently discovered that a man who was deceased signed a D’Amico petition more than a month after his passing. While it could be a miracle, chances are far more likely that the man’s signature was forged as opposed to him returning from beyond to place his John Hancock on a nominating petition. Judge D’Amico is a nice guy but if the chance arises to come back from the other side, we are going straight to our family. Maybe a quick haunting of a few people we don’t like.
In politics, it is referred to as the “kitchen petition.” An individual obtains a list of registered voters and simply fills in the blank lines on the nominating petition with the names of registered voters. It is so much quicker and easier than knocking on doors and actually asking people if they would like to sign. It is also illegal. We’re back in Frank Clark territory again.
Transfat
When the debate about banning smoking in public areas raged on a few years back, the pariahs of the pro-smoking lobby all beat their chests and wailed about the slippery slope. They proclaimed that first it will be cigarettes, and next it will be fatty foods. (The general public scoffed at the suggestion. We love our fatty foods. We didn’t get this way from eating salad!) The rapidity with which their words have become prophetic has amazed even the most jaded observers, particularly in a place like Western New York. (Chicken wings, anyone?) The ban on smoking in bars has been great. No more undressing in the back hall and hanging your clothes outside after a few beers at the corner tavern.
But transfats? In the grand scheme of things with all of the challenges facing not only Erie County but also all of Western New York, you would think that there are more important issues to be debated. The issue of enforcing such a ban has also been raised. Will the county have to hire fat inspectors to make sure that restaurants are not serving the artery-clogging lipid? Larry Adamczak might still be looking for a county job.
Parking permit profits
A City of Buffalo laborer was arrested for allegedly stealing more than 600 handicapped parking permits that he turned around and sold on the street. Nothing speaks more eloquently about the hallowed traditions of civil service than an employee stealing from a program designed to help handicapped people. Though the individuals who purchased the permits deserve special mention.
George Washington (a few times removed) slept here
Buffalo may not have the ties to Colonial America that our fellow citizens in New England or even downstate New York can boast. You don’t see those roadside signs announcing that George Washington slept here. We did come a step closer when John Augustine Washington V, a distant nephew of the founder of our country, was held in the local lock-up on assault charges. Only this Washington wasn’t taking aim at Redcoats; rather, he lobbed a vodka bottle at a fellow American in Saint Tropez, after which he fled to Chautauqua. We’re holding him for the French, who are requesting extradition. So does this mean we can install a blue marker in front of the holding center?
Swanick’s sweaters
Chuck Swanick has announced that he is ready to dip his toe in the political waters once again. How well the Republicrat will be received by either party remains to be seen, but his announcement has created a new problem for the men of Western New York. With Swanick back in the politics, there will be a run on loud polyester blend crewneck sweaters. If this is your choice of casual wear, make tracks to the Galleria. Because once Swanick enters the race, those distinctive pullovers will be at a premium.
The year 2007 looks to be shaping up as a memorable one in the world of politics. Even if it’s not the best and the brightest that do well in public life, but those with the thickest skins and shortest memories.
The Guy on the 13th Floor wishes that Frank Clark were more like the Maytag Repairman—hoping that something would go wrong instead of too often being on the working end of a microphone or television camera. “Think before you act,” says our Guy, adding, “I like Frank but he’s the only guy I know from Buffalo who sounds like he’s from Queens. Maybe Frank and Byron could trade accents.”
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