“I’m not supporting anybody,” I said. “It’s my job to be skeptical. Relax. We’ve all been through these things before. It’ll work out.”
We continued on in silence. Little could we know that as we entered the county office building for the special committee meeting, it had in fact already been worked out.
Fallout
So, what, if anything, was accomplished here, other than to convince some people we have a couple of egomaniacs in major elected positions?
It’s still a little early to pick winners, but it is fair to say Cahill, at least, made some points, even if he was willing to hold the county hostage to do so.
At ground level, this rivalry is about who is top dog in the Democratic Party, Hein or Cahill. Hein, to even the casual observer, is ascendant. He has established iron-fisted control of county government and all that entails. With a compliant legislature he can manipulate at will, his word is literally law. A solon of some influence, Cahill is but one of 213 state legislators (eight representing UlsterCounty) whose influence is largely defined by the proximity to grant money for his constituents.
But now and then, like every two years around sales-tax extension time, Cahill is in a position to exert direct influence on local events. That he did so this year sends a clear signal to Hein that he will indeed do so again. The assemblyman may not yet be at the table, but he is most certainly in the executive’s head.
Face to face
Despite their public pillorying of each other, Hein and Cahill were in regular, though frosty, contact by phone and e-mail during the two-week crisis. They met face-to-face a few hours after the Ways and Means Committee meeting (which neither attended) after being summoned to a county Democratic executive meeting that night to explain their positions.
Cahill, a witness said, arrived around the 6:30 p.m. starting time, Hein about 90 minutes later with deputy executive and strategist Ken Crannell in tow. Hein rarely flies without a wingman or wingwoman (Chief of Staff Adele Rider or County Attorney Bea Havranek.) Cahill works without a net.
Standing near each other at the front of the room, the two exchanged barbs by then familiar to the public — like liar, obstructionist, scaremonger, etc.
“It got pretty tense,” one observer reported. “For a while, it looked like fisticuffs might break out.”
Fortunately for the physically overmatched Cahill, the executive resisted the urge to squeeze him like a pimple.
Going forward
At least one media outlet left the Ways and Means meeting in the mistaken impression that the executive had offered the resolution that broke the logjam. Hands-on Hein no doubt had significant input. The legislature is careful to consult the executive before drafting any legislation that might be subject to a veto. The resolution offered by the Ways and Means Committee will be sent to the Social Services Committee before being voted on at the July 17 regular meeting of the legislature, unless a special meeting is required.
A key component of the resolution is that if the state legislature doesn’t do its part, all bets are off.
The governor is expected to call the state legislature back into session some time this summer. So naturally the buzz in the daily media is about whether he will or he won’t.
And a glorious Fourth to everyone. This is what our forebears fought for.
