Hugh Reynolds: Campaign cash

The columnist Reynolds.

I’m no fashion plate, but the mayor came dressed for a public hearing in open shirt, khakis and sneakers, seven minutes late. I couldn’t tell whether he was wearing socks. In these days of T-shirt executives, the mayor might have been overdressed, but by traditional standards he looked like one of the Beach Boys. And there is no excuse for being late (with no apologies offered) for weddings, funerals or public hearings.

This just in. The mayor is blaming his Democratic primary foe, Steve Noble, for failing to follow up on a repaving project for Forsyth Park tennis courts. What’s next, blaming Noble for the Washington Avenue sinkhole, the leaky roof at City Hall, the mayor’s high blood pressure? Enough.

Here and there

Assemblyman Kevin Cahill insists his recent chaperoned ride on a handcart in midsummer heat on the Catskill Mountain Railroad from Kingston to the Ashokan Reservoir had nothing to do with the never-ending Cahill-Hein wars. Did the boy, now publicly aligned with an outfit high on the executive’s enemies list, suffer sunstroke? Perhaps Hein and Cahill could inspect the railroad on a two-man handcart all the way to Highmount.

Terry Bernardo, Republican candidate for county executive, has of late been referring media inquiries to her campaign manager in Albany. Sometimes he gets back, sometimes not, but who cares? It’s the candidate we want to talk to, not some high-priced out-of-town mouthpiece. Bernardo, after four years in the legislature and two as chairwoman, should be ready, willing and able to address media inquiries.

I can’t say I’m crazy about a mayoral meet-the-candidate event two days before the city Democratic primary on Sept. 10. People need some time to think about the information they get from these things and candidates need time to refine or explain positions taken. Such events leave open the tempting abuses of last-minute cheap shots, false accusations and character assassinations.

Politics in friendly Saugerties may have hit a new low with one pol accusing another of politicizing the Fourth of July parade. For some residents that’s the only time they see their Yankee Doodle Dandy elected officials.

I expect the county exec will hold a campaign PR event at least once a week until November. The most recent one was a laugher. Speaking from his ever-handy portable executive podium, Hein announced a county bus tour with a focus on Gotham on Sept. 12.

In my view, this is the classic example of too little, too late. Hein may have many talking points, but economic development is not one of his strengths. He should have been conducting these tours on a regular basis from day one (January 2009) of his administration, not two months before Election Day 2015.