But Maher believes the heavily Republican district is up for grabs, since his opponent represents only two towns from her old 115th District. Democrats have nominated Dan Carter.
Just to make sure voters remember him, Maher distributes packets of forget-me-nots. He’ll have to dig a lot deeper to win this one.
Number, please
Diligent snoop that he is, County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach gave the executive a free pass after an audit showed a Kingston man had run up 17,000 unauthorized calls on a county-owned cell phone. The cost to the county was estimated at $1,700.
The 21-year-old man, who doesn’t work for the county, apparently found the phone, which, ironically, had been assigned to the crime victims’ assistance unit. The accused, code-named Jeremy Blabber, faces felony charges.
That somebody might have missed 1,000 unusual phone calls from a phone nobody had seen in a while might be understandable, but 5,000, 10,000, 17,000? Somebody in the executive branch was asleep at the switch. Who, Auerbach does not detail.
Auerbach recommended the legislature consider his sensible proposal that the county allow employees to use their own cell phones and file for reimbursement.
The executive, who jealously guards his prerogatives, and who bears ultimate responsibility for this embarrassment, could have done that with a Monday-morning memo.
Here and there
Contrary to speculation in some quarters, Ulster District Attorney Holley Carnright, a man who will drink no wine before its time nor prematurely prosecute a case, is still pursuing an investigation into allegations made against former Kingston fire chief Rick Salzmann for alleged pension padding. The state comptroller is “wrapping up” his audit, the district attorney said, and will file a report shortly. Carnright will proceed from there. Salzmann, the department’s long-time chief, retired last winter after being confronted by the mayor with what were termed bookkeeping irregularities regarding his time sheets.
In the meantime, Salzmann’s short-lived successor, Chris Rea, has filed a lawsuit against the city for his summary dismissal by the mayor, allegedly for offenses similar to Salzmann’s.
We still have no specifics on why these two officers were removed. Guardhouse lawyers tell me C-Rea (as the former chief is known) may have a case, if only on procedural grounds.
In what might have been a classic political compromise, Greene County legislators are elected for three-year terms. Incumbents typically find the two-year term too short — candidates run every other year. Challengers find four years too long — you’re stuck with a bad one.
Maybe it’s working, maybe it’s not. Seven of the nine legislative districts in Greene, comprising 14 legislators, are so far uncontested. Usually, that is not a good thing.
There was a time when Ulster’s county legislature couldn’t throw enough money at the community college. New buildings went up, programs were launched, and staff and enrollment expanded. No more. The college, like the local economy, has pretty much flatlined in recent years. In fact, Ulster County’s $6.2 million share — about 22 percent of the college’s proposed 2012-13 budget — has not increased since the county-executive system was put in place in 2009.
Later this month the board of trustees is expected to sell the college president’s home and nine acres in Stone Ridge. What’s next, the Senate Gym? Liberals among us might argue that now is the perfect time to invest in education, not starve it.
Two-time Kingston mayoral candidate Rich Cahill Jr. has volunteered as a “stand-in” against powerful Democratic incumbent Kevin Cahill in the 103rd Assembly District. But that’s all. “I am absolutely not a candidate. My acting as stand-in gives the [Republican] committee more time to find a candidate,” he said.
Pity. Imagine the confusion.
