Grains of Salt (v51): Fair Redistricting Matters

Grains of Salt

Last Tuesday, voters in the city of Syracuse approved a proposition that will lead to creation of an independent commission of city residents to handle the Common Council redistricting after the 2020 census.

Many folks are at least tangentially aware of issues with redistricting around the country; for example, the Supreme Court has heard a number of cases over the years, dealing with issues of race, population, who gets to do the redistricting, and whether partisanship is good or bad.

Personally, I'm not a fan of having politicians do their own redistricting; we've seen too, too many times how this works to benefit them and not us. That doesn't mean that all politicians are bad, or self-serving, or more interested in their own longevity - but there's so many examples of exactly that,  like this battle in Pennsylvania, or this one in North Carolina, that I'd rather someone like me tried to figure out. 

The rules for Syracuse that our vote amended say that if any of the five districts falls below 15% or above 25% of the total population, the districts must be redrawn, and any new district must contain between 17% and 23 of the population. The Common Council voted earlier this year to amend the charter to allow for the independent commission, as long as voters agreed.

The Council's decision came after the County Legislature voted against making the same change.  Here's County Legislator Chris Ryan, a member of the Democratic minority, talking to WRVO about the lines drawn years ago:

Our finished product, when we redid the legislative districts almost a decade ago, was seriously flawed, and probably should have been challenged legally. We should lean on our community leaders, our civic groups, academia and people who do this kind of thing, and consult with them, so we can put forth a better product.

Here's what he's talking about, from WRVO's report:

The lines were drawn  to fit more than 27,000 people in a district. 

But the result is a hodgepodge of meandering lines, dividing up the city of Syracuse into nine out of 17 county districts, located completely or partly within the city. Republicans hold a 12 to 5 advantage in the legislature, despite there being more registered Democrats in the County.  

Legislature Chairman David Knapp, while saying the Republicans are "looking at opening up the redistricting process" sometime in the future (and maybe even holding a public meeting), expressed some concerns with having a commission now instead of waiting until after the census.

We just felt it was adding another bureaucratic commission that really didn't have any teeth, to advise a commission that's already in place. In this really highly charged political environment we're in, finding nonpartisan groups is pretty tough these days. 

He's right - we are in a "highly charged political environment " - in part because of things like how district lines are drawn, how that dissuades many voters from participating (at best), and disenfranchises them (at worst). It's also in part because of the distrust of the elected in those who elect them (and conversely); it's also in part because of the assumption that finding nonpartisan people is impossible. I'd say it probably is, if your premise is that you won't.   

We know that redistricting shenanigans have happened here in NY, because former State Senator John DeFrancisco told us so, about not only protecting a political party, but protecting a specific potential future candidate for state office. Take a look at these excerpts from DeFrancisco's book, as reported by Teri K. Weaver of Syracuse.com | The Post Standard.

When it was time to redraw state political districts nearly a decade ago, former state Sen. John DeFrancisco rejected an early version of proposed changes to the district he represented.

Why? It left out the town of Onondaga, DeFrancisco writes in his new memoir.

Bob Antonacci, another Republican, lives in Onondaga.

And DeFrancisco, a veteran senator who was then in his mid-60s, was already thinking about who might run for the district when he retired.

“I objected, since Bob Antonacci lived in the town of Onondaga,” DeFrancisco writes in his book, “Never Say Never: Adventures in NY Politics.”

“I wanted to keep open the possibility that he could run for my seat if he was interested when the time came,” DeFrancisco writes.

And that’s just what happened.

Yep -- a proud moment for the double-dipping former Senator, don't you think? The guy who said we needed him more than he needed us?

Granted, I could simply retire and not serve any longer. However, now that Republicans have regained control of the State Senate, Central New York would be better served by my returning to my Senate seat, as a majority member and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (emphasis added).

And apparently we'd be better served by having a district map drawn to help get someone somewhere off in the distant future get elected? 

If we needed a reason why we need impartial redistricting in New York, and in Onondaga County, and in the city of Syracuse, I'm not sure we'll find one better than this. Oh -- eventually, Antonacci did run, did win by a narrow margin, and then after less than a year in office, rn for and win a seat on the State Supreme Court bench. So much for DeFrancisco's plan.

Fair Maps CNY obtained commitments from most incumbents and candidates running for city and county 'district' seats to support fair and nonpartisan redistricting, which sets us up well for getting this right after the 2020 census.  

Among the folks signing the pledge? Legislature Chairman David Knapp. 

Grains of Salt (v30): SOTC, Part 2

The other day, I took a look at new Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh's State of the City address.

In my first post on the SOTC, I focused on Walsh's plans to leverage collaboration, the careful planning of his Transition Team, performance metrics and accountability, and the work of the I-team to help us innovate our way out of our financial difficulties and into a more successful fiscal position.

Let's pick it up again, starting with the I-81 project.

We will also make 2018 an important year for progress on the I-81 Viaduct project. Syracuse and all of Central New York must seize the opportunity now to drive inclusive growth in the city and the region. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our community. And thus far, we have failed to grab it. We can't afford to wait any longer. 

The facts are out there, Walsh tells us, and he's right. There's a ton of data on the NY DOT website, including the options still under consideration and those dismissed. We've been at this for years now, and we have to move forward at some point. Walsh supports the community grid plan, not a huger viaduct, and not Syracuse's version of The Big Dig. Why?

...commutes will actually be made easier by a street system that stops funneling our entire inbound and outbound daily migration to a major choke point - Harrison and Adams Streets.

...I have had elected officials from outside the City tell me that they understand exactly why I support the community grid, even while they advocate for a different solution. And, to be fair, I understand their position as well.

He's heard and understands concerns in Dewitt about increased traffic, noise and pollution with I-481 being made the new I-81. He's heard and understands concerns from north of the city, in Salina, about loss of tax revenue from hotels and other businesses that have grown up around the current path of the interstate. West suburbs worry about increased truck traffic, as people get off the highway earlier and take back roads to get to points west, disrupting or even destroying the small-village look and feel. And he's heard from our friends at Destiny USA about losing traffic and visibility if the I-81 name is moved to a different location, even if the physical highway will still remain.

And, he's got answers, Walsh does. The concerns are legitimate but solvable; he understands that threats to economic viability should be taken seriously; he gets that main streets are a cornerstone of both commerce and quality of life. Most importantly he's open to collaborative problem-solving.

We should not feel the need to argue over how the current pie is carved up. This city is prepared to work together to make a bigger pie for all. Together we can do transformative things for our city while simultaneously investing in and strengthening the economies of our suburban communities and improving our region's overall quality of life. 

As a community, we have already begun to rise, but handled properly, the I-81 project can be rocket fuel to our ascent. New revenue for our city... Inclusive job growth... A healthier economy and better neighborhoods... All are there. The I-81 opportunity is a clarion call for action and in 2018 the City is ready to answer. 

Specifically on the tunnel, a project which has received significant backing from local State Senator John DeFrancisco, who just announced his candidacy for Governor, Walsh pulls no punches.

Instead of contemplating spending several billion dollars more than is necessary on a tunnel to serve only 30,000 cars per day, what if we invested even a fraction of those dollars and the full power of our collective energy and creativity in undertaking meaningful economic development initiatives in areas outside of the city?

And there was this comment, which was directly related to the I-81 project, but really extends beyond that into Walsh's overarching approach to governing.

Instead of pitting our communities against each other, what if we stood together, unified, with a plan that creates wins for all of our communities? I believe the decision before us can and should be a source of deeper collaboration and a way to reconnect the economic interests of our City and our suburbs. 

He's got a lot of things in mind to help capitalize on the opportunities presented by the I-81 project, including assisting women and minority businesses in obtaining the necessary certification to allow them to grow now through participation on government projects, allowing them to be prepared to work on the community grid (or whatever solution we end up with).

He's partnering with folks from San Francisco in establishing the Syracuse Build program, modeled after City Build, the construction workforce training program they implemented. Other partners include the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency (Walsh was the Executive Director of SIDA under Mayor Stephanie Miner's administration), trade unions, community organizations, and the state departments of Labor and Transportation to move this innovative program forward.  And, he sees it extending beyond just construction training into other potential growth areas.

Walsh is also looking ahead to building new neighborhoods in the areas freed up by the anticipated removal of the viaduct. There's a massive review of the city's zoning ordinances, which started in 2015 when Walsh was still working for City Hall, and he's committed to getting it done this year. As he noted, the last time it happened, his grandfather was our mayor. And the Syracuse Housing Agency, with many properties in the impacted area, is also going to be ready, by engaging the community now to plan what to do then.

What seems clear from this section of the SOTC? Sitting around waiting for something to happen is not the way our new mayor plans on working, and it's not the way he sees us being successful.

I'll close with one more quote from his remarks.

In case you haven't noticed, I reject the idea that people of good will and open mind cannot find common ground.

Grains of Salt (v28): Two (More) Scoops, Please

I happened to be reading last week's local papers  over the weekend and stumbled upon on of my least favorite articles - a double-dipping politician.

I've talked about my distaste for this in the past, because, sadly, we've had a number of folks who have done this. State Senator John DeFrancisco said he wouldn't take both his pension and his salary, but he did it anyway. Onondaga County Sheriff Gene Conway said he wouldn't, and did it anyway. His predecessor, Sheriff Kevin Walsh, did it and blamed us for not asking him if he was going to do it. And now, our District Attorney for Life William Fitzpatrick, has let it be known that he's going to do it too.

It seems Fitz officially retired at the end of December but he never left his job and may have no intention of doing so any time soon. He's working on a trial right now. He's in his seventh term, having first been sworn in way back in 1992, but he's been in the DA's office for much longer.  As a result, he doesn't have to get a waiver to take his full pension - there's a special rule for elected officials who've been in office since before July of 1995.

His salary as DA is over $180,000 a year; his pension could also be in the six figures, depending on which tier he falls on in the NYS pension system.

All of this is perfectly legal, and like other locals mentioned above, he takes the pension for the best of reasons.

The term double-dipping is inciteful, but I"m actually protecting my family. If I died today my wife wouldn't get my pension. 

There are a few problems here. First, the law provides special protection to elected officials who have been around since Methuselah was a child; second, the lack of term limits for elected officials, which allows them Methuselah-like years in office, building up the power of incumbency to the point that many run woefully under-opposed, if not totally unopposed, term after term.

And, of course, there's the part that makes the elected officials believe that we need them  - not that they need us, mind you.  Not that they need us, but that we need them. So much so, that we'll accept them getting paid for working at a job while getting paid their pension for the same job. I'm not sure we need them that much or for that long. 

To be honest, I'd rather they really retired, took their pension, and rode off into the private sector sunset. Or the RV retirement sunset. Or any other kind of retirement sunset, for that matter. Because one scoop really is plenty.

Grains of Salt (v3): Two Scoops, Please

It's hard to imagine that it's been almost a year since I did a post on a local elected official here in the Syracuse area double-dipping, taking both a taxpayer pension from a previous position and a taxpayer salary from their current position.

Last time, it was state Senator John DeFrancisco, who had resisted the urge to double dip as long as he could stand to, and then, in our best interests, decided that two scoops are better than one. He didn't mention it during his last campaign, mind you; rather he dropped it on us towards the end of the year well after he won re-election.

Granted, I could simply retire and not serve any longer. However, now that Republicans have regained control of the State Senate, Central New York would be better served by my returning to my senate seat, as a majority member and chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

Ah how sweet the taste...

This time around, it's Onondaga County Sheriff Gene Conway, who replaced notorious double-dipper Kevin Walsh. Walsh blamed us for not knowing he was going to double dip - because we didn't ask him if he was going to, silly us.

Conway won election last year as Onondaga County Sheriff in a reasonably close race against Toby Shelley who had promised that he would not collect both his pension and salary, or that he would donate his pension to charity if he won election. John Balloni, who lost to Conway in a primary, admitted during the campaign that he'd take both.

Conway, aware of the controversy with his predecessor, told us he would not take both.

I have stated that I will not seek a pension as sheriff for two reasons, because I will be trying to set an example and there would be no savings to the county as I was previously employed there. 

And yet, seek a pension he did. He took steps to suspend his pension once his sheriff's salary reached $30,000, which is allowable under the rules as long as the pensioner is not an elected official. But since he is an elected official, the state had to pay him for the missed payments from April through October.  And, going forward, he'll get both, unless he leaves the pension system, according to a State Comptroller's office employee.

"I will be trying to set an example," Conway told us; he might have tried, but he did not succeed. He also hasn't had much to say on the issue, when contacted by the media.

Time will tell if he'll take the necessary steps to actually become the example we expected.

Two Scoops, Please!

It's a wrong thing to do with a cracker or veggie and some dip.

And it's the wrong thing for John DeFrancisco, Tom Libous and the rest of  the dozen or so of our illustrious State Legislators who filed papers to do.

And they all know it. How do we know that?

Because they ran for re-election and never mentioned it to us during the campaign. See, that's how this works.  Run for reelection (in many cases unopposed or under-opposed) and never mention your intent to collect both your pension and your salary, which (without lulus), is $20,000 or so above the median income in New York.  Throw in the lulus, and the per diem, and all of the campaign cash that these folks spend so freely, and the self-promoting mail we pay for, and all the rest, and it's a nice little deal these folks have, isn't it?

It was the wrong thing for outgoing Onondaga County Sheriff/St Patrick impersonator Kevin Walsh to do, too -- but, as Walsh explained it was our fault that we didn't know his intentions, because we never asked him. Duh.

As with much of what our politicians do, it's perfectly legal and perfectly abusive and tone-deaf.

And perfectly justified, even for folks like DeFrancisco who has, as recently as 2013, said he wouldn't do this, but now maintains that he's not simply retiring and collecting just his pension because we need him:

Granted, I could simply retire and not serve any longer, However, now that Republicans have regained control of the State Senate, Central New York would be better served by my returning to my Senate seat, as a majority member and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (emphasis added).

Libous is also not simply retiring, even while facing cancer and a federal indictment, but is going to stick around, take a couple of token pension payments and then freeze them, so that his wife will be eligible for any 'popup' benefits. Others are not simply retiring because they've been married for decades to wonderful women who would be forced to accept a 'modest' lump sum payment should their husbands die while in office. Apparently for them, having a wonderful wife is fine for the money, but not more important than serving us.

Selfless bastards, all of them. What would we do without them?

Working and Paying Taxes

Today is my 24th 'work anniversary'. It was way back on March 12, 1990 that I stopped being a temporary worker at, and became a full time employee of, what eventually became upstate NY's largest regional health insurance carrier.

Over the years, I've been a claims processor, an analyst, a trainer, an analyst, a process improvement analyst, a manager, a business integration expert, a director, an analyst, a process expert, an analyst, a process manager, a requirements analyst, and a compliance program administrator.

I've been trained on lots of practical things (specifically related to our business, products, and the like) as well as how to run effective meetings, how to communicate effectively, how to lead effectively, how to use software effectively to me look smarter.

I've had Lean/Six Sigma training, and learned about the Six Thinking Hats, and Maslow's Paradigm, and where to find my cheese now that it's been moved, and how to find my strengths. I know how to lead from where I am, and how to row in the same direction as everyone else.

I'm a Change Agent. I'm a Communicator. I'm a Participant.

I'm the kind of person you might want working for you, if you were coming in with one of those new tax-free businesses where the employees don't have to pay income taxes for 10 years.

Yesterday, the Onondaga County Republicans entertained and were entertained by The Donald, His Hairness, Mr. Trump himself.  He chatted up the crowd for just over half an hour, but did not announce his intentions to run for Governor, although he did say on a radio show that he would announce by the end of the week. (We'll see whether that happens).

I'm not a fan of Trump. I think he's an obnoxious blowhard, and a master self-promoter, which in some respects makes him sort of like a politician but a little more like the Duck Dynasty Dudes.  But even Trump realizes the craziness of  the Tax-Free NY program, which makes a separate class out of those of us who work for employers like mine and folks who come in to new companies that, because of a crazy idea cooked up by our Sonofa Governor Andrew Cuomo and business lobbyists, don't have to pay income taxes.  Trump calls publicity for the program, which he says he saw running during his golf tournament, political ads that should have been paid for by the Cuomo campaign.

Even State Senator John DeFrancisco realizes that this is a bad idea, and that it's unfair competition for existing businesses.

One guy who doesn't get it is my guy, Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, who thinks the plan is fantastic because the new businesses will not be in direct competition with existing businesses, they'll be focusing on new technology and leveraging our educational system, blah blah blah.  We get that part, Bill.

However, these new businesses will need people who have skills in some traditional areas that businesses need to focus on, like finance, and human resources, and compliance, and so on.  They'll have to come from somewhere, either with the business that moves here, or from the existing workforce, or be outsourced to some other company.  And if they come with the employer, or leave a local company to work for the new kid on the block, those people will be here, using state services, for free.

And me, with 24 years and counting at my now 78-year-old company, well, I'll be helping pay their way. Happy Anniversary to me.

The Dirty Snowpile Awards for 2013

All the big Hollywood award shows are over, Ben Affleck has shaved off his beard, and the good, bad, and ugly of fashion have been all been identified. And now, as the temperature here in Syracuse heads north of 60 degrees, it's time for the Dirty Snowpile Awards. I'm sure this year's winners will be just as proud as those from  2010 and 2011  to receive this prestigious honor.

So where do we start?  We had a lot of material to choose from, no question about that -- and we have a repeat winner or two this time around, some 'defending champions', if you will.  Here goes:

The 'Put an Idiot Bumper Sticker on your Own Forehead' Dirty Snowpile goes to John Sununu, for his engaging and idiotic appearance with Soledad O'Brien on CNN.  Sununu, who suggested O'Brien put an Obama bumper sticker on her forehead, was trying to make a point by referencing an actual document - the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) assessment on the costs of repealing the
Affordable Care Act - and pretending it said the ACA cut Medicare benefits by over $700 billion.  This was not the case, but it didn't matter to Sununu - say something loud enough and often enough and people will believe you.  Unless it's Soledad O'Brien, who actually read the CBO letter and called Sununu on the lie- er, misstatement.

The 'Groucho Marx' Dirty Snowpile goes to National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Director Wayne LaPierre, for embodying the oft-cited Groucho quote about belonging to a club that would have him as a member. LaPierre, by his comments after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, his statements after other mass shootings that it was 'too soon' to talk about them, and his inflammatory statements since then, has done more to fan the flames of gun control advocates than the horrific shootings themselves.  The NRA would do themselves a favor if they found another mouthpiece.


The 'Talk Less, Do More' Dirty Snowpile goes to jointly to Congress and President Obama. All of them need to get to work.  Recent attempts at playing nice (Obama taking Senate Republicans to dinner, or having lunch with House Republicans) are fine but we don't need any more photo ops. We know what you all look like, we know what you think is important -- but we don't need photo opportunities, we need real opportunities.  Remember what they say: "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need." Now's the time to try.

On a related note, the 'Who the (Heck) are You' Dirty Snowpile goes to the handful of people who still approve of Congress.  Approval rates have fluctuated a bit over the past several months, but I don't remember when it was even as high as 20%. I'm reminded of when we were kids, not excited about eating our vegetables.  Dad would tell us there were starving kids in other countries who would love to have our food, one day, my brother challenged him to name one. Can anyone name one of these 'approvers'?

And then we have the 'Wading Through Roe v. Wade' Dirty Snowpile to, well, to everyone - male or female, Democrat or Republican - who said anything about rape and abortion in the last election cycle.  We had Akin  and women's bodies 'shutting that thing down' and Mourdock with 'God's intent' and jokes about aspirin being a contraceptive and Louise Slaughter with her Nazi references -- it's all nonsense.  If people want to try and legislate abortion away, so be it -- it will be up to the courts, ultimately, to decide whether any new law are legal. In the meantime, can we please just stop letting the stupid people talk about it?


The thing about dirty snowpiles is, the dirtier they are, the longer they stick around. Sometimes it feels like that with our elected officials, doesn't it? It's a pretty good thing that you can control the budget of the agency you formed to investigate your own allegedly bad behavior, isn't it? Kind of makes it hard for that agency to do a good job, when with the stroke of a pen the funding can be cut. But that's the way it works for the Congressional Ethics Office, under the House Ethics Committee.  And speaking of ethics, say goodbye to Jesse Jackson Jr. (and his wife) who agreed to fess up to stealing money from campaign contributors. Let's give these folks the 'House (of Cards) Ethics' Dirty Snowpile; this one looks ready to tumble over any minute.

And what about the Presidential contest last year? Lots of Republicans, fighting each other, and in the end they all lost. Not because they were bad, but because of which one of them won. And so, the 47% Dirty Snowpile goes to none other than Mitt Romney. We all remember the 47% comment, right? That, and all those gifts that Obama gave to voters. Yeah, that's what it was, the 47% and those stinking gifts.

Albany has its own set of issues, apart from the fun that everyone has in Washington.  Here in New York, we have Andrew Cuomo, that Sonova Governor, who was elected fairly easily.  Now, apparently, he thinks he's the Supreme Commander of the Empire (State -- you're the Governor of the Empire State, Andrew). It doesn't, but apparently no one's told him that yet.

Cuomo earned One Man in a Room Dirty Snowpile. Cuomo blew a perfectly good opportunity to craft legitimate gun legislation; he shot it all to hell, actually, by pushing an emergency bill, and by not focusing on the things that people generally agree on. Instead, the NY SAFE Act, shoved down the throats of New Yorkers, satisfies no one.  Typos and bad law passed under cover of darkness (led by the Transparency Governor) don't make NY SAFE.  They make us look like morons.

And speaking of morons. The 'My Future's So Bright, I Have to be a Republican' Dirty Snowpile goes to State Senator Malcolm Smith, the sitting Democrat who tried to bribe his way into the Bloomberg Post as a Republican. I'm not sure whether this says more about his creativity or the foolishness of his partners in crime, so anxious to have any politician in their pocket they'd take one of any stripe.

There will be more to fall as Preet Bharara, the rising star US Attorney for the Southern District of NY, continues to investigate. And that will be a good thing for all of us who lose a little bit of faith in the system each and every year.

Sadly, I could hand out as many awards as there are dirty snowpiles here in Syracuse during an average spring. And even though temps are starting to get up there, we do still have a couple of dirty snowpiles left in town.  So, I'll do one more -- we'll have an even 10 this year.

The 'Make Mine a Single' Dirty Snowpile goes to local State Senator John DeFrancisco, for applauding himself for not double-dipping (retiring to collect a pension and continuing to collect a salary as a legislator at the same time).   While some think it's laudable that he chose not to double-dip, DeFrancisco's comments when questioned by a reporter left a few things to be desired.  He started out OK, noting that he wasn't really retired, and I agree that seems pretty simple and straightforward.  But then, he added

If I get hit by a car tomorrow and I died, it would be a $100,000 benefit, which is probably about two years pension and then my wife has nothing further. That's a real concern. 

Yeah, that's a real concern for everyone who works, Senator, including the taxpayers who support your $113,000 salary and who will be paying the $50,000 pension you've earned on your part-time job.  But we're glad you're taking care of yourself first, we really are.

And with that, the snow shovel is in the shed until next winter.

Thank Me for Thanking You

Back in September, I posted about one of our local politicians, who seems to always find a way to make sure he's the center of attention.  I'm not a fan of his generally, but this aspect of his personality drives me nuts. I got a chance to witness it again, up close and personal, the other day. 

My mom, a remarkable woman of 82, has been the chairman of a three day festival in her community for the past 25 or 26 years; the event raises money for all of the community programs that support kids, seniors, and everyone in between.  This year, after much soul-searching (and, I admit, some gentle family pressure), she decided to step down as chair; she'll still be involved - she can't help herself - but she'll no longer be running the show.

One of her favorite things about being in charge of this event is that the local papers always cover it; one of her least favorite things is that the papers need an interview, and they know she's accessible, and so she gets tapped for the interviews every year. One of the stories mentioned that this was her last year as chairman.

Now, this politician has a family connection to my mom's community, and it's also in his district.  He apparently has his staff scan the papers looking for things of interest in the district, and they must have stumbled upon the article featuring my Mom.

He sent her a note, on his impressive letterhead, congratulating her on another successful event; he wished her luck in her future endeavors, and mentioned the nice article. He apparently liked it so much, he had it laminated for her and enclosed it with his note.

Which was a nice gesture, I guess.  As long as you look past the 'Compliments of Sen. John A DeFrancisco' label he stuck on the front of it. 

The Update Desk: 9/2/2012

The other day I posted on a few of my pet peeves when it comes to politicians.

Another of my other favorites is the way some of them manage to make sure the world knows that it revolves around them.  You know what I mean:  the banners at public events large and small proclaiming the politician's undying support of and contributions to the event, as if we didn't know that it's our own tax dollars that the politician is taking credit for spending.

And of course there's the obligatory photo op, whether holding a baby, or a shovel at a ground-breaking for some business, or a sausage sandwich at the New York State Fair. Our capacity for seeing pics of politicians seems only exceeded by their appetite for being in the public eye.

Here's a great example of one of our local pols with his appetite on full display, at the Fair on opening day, which is traditionally Governor's Day. 

That tall guy in the blue blazer in the middle of the picture? That's  Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York.  That short guy to the Gov's right is State Senator John DeFrancisco, who represents part of the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County in Albany.

It's really an unremarkable picture, fairly standard stuff. But again, it's Governor's Day at the Fair...



photo from Sen. DeFrancisco's web site

 ...so it makes perfect sense for the headline on the Senator's website to read "Senator DeFrancisco Kicks Off the Start of the 2012 Great New York State Fair" doesn't it? 

Senator DeFrancisco: I'm not saying I told you so (honest)

Google 'Destiny USA' and there are around 47,000,000 results.  Many of them will be from my hometown newspaper, the Post-Standard, and if you were to take the time to read them you'd get a pretty good sense of the economic development conversation here in Syracuse over the past couple of decades. Here's a good start if you want the short story.

Destiny USA, or what will officially become Destiny USA in August of this year, is a mall.  A really big regional mall, but certainly nothing like it could have been, or should have been, if we had gotten what we were promised over the years. It's the poster child for a host of competing issues:

• how to repurpose and transform 'unusable' land -- an oil tank farm;
• how to manipulate the state and local economic development systems to get tax breaks that will outlive most of the companies that helped build the mall;
• how to manage public relations campaigns and public opinion;
• how governments and private businesses negotiate deals;
• and how one man's dreams will almost certainly not live up to expectations.

When all is said and done, our local economy will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales tax revenue, but will not receive more millions of dollars in property taxes.  In NY, with our 2% tax cap, this is likely to hurt.

But funny thing is, there apparently are only two people who knew -- absolutely knew-- that this was going to happen. Presumably, one of them is Robert Congel, the developer, who has some great lawyers and got a really good deal, all along the way.

The other is State Senator John DeFrancisco, who represents part of (but not my part of) Onondaga County.

DeFrancisco, the 'pit bull' of the NY Senate, had a lengthy column published this past Sunday's paper in which he made it clear he knew exactly what would happen, that Congel would declare his building done at the end of the phase 1 expansion, and that would be that: he'd get a 30 year property tax exemption.

His Pit Bullness noted that he certainly was not saying "I told you so" but rather was warning us about the potential for other bad acts to happen if we didn't listen to him. Not only did  we not listen to him all these years, which he referred to "this sad part of Central New York's history" and "this long sad journey," but it's worse than that:

"(he was) uniformly criticized by the media"
"...if I said it once, I said it a hundreds of times..."
"I was repeatedly vilified in the media..."
"Again I was criticized for being a naysayer..."
"..I was vilified once again..."
"..(I) was again criticized for being an obstructionist."

But he's not saying I told you so, no siree.  He's protecting us from ourselves, and blaming the media for pushing the original mall and the expansion. That's right, it's the media's fault. Admittedly, he didn't spare the various politicians who were involved over the years, who he said were "bowled over with a vision, and a hope, and a dream" and who didn't pay attention to the deal, but they almost couldn't help being caught up in the "media frenzy that was created for this project."

So how does a giant mall in Syracuse fit into the larger picture?  How does our pit bull Senator compare with those on the national scene?  

Well, many folks believe that most elected officials don't pay attention to what their constituents (or the country or the state) want or need, but instead only listen to someone else's dream and hope and vision - a PAC, the party leadership, or whomever.

And certainly at the national level and also increasingly in state contests as well, we're bombarded with direct ads, issues ads, junk mail, and non-stop media bombardment trying to push us in one direction or another, so that's pretty familiar to us as well.

Of course, on the other hand, we're also very familiar with politicians who are extremely adept at chest-thumping and pointing the thumb's up in their own direction, and equally adept at casting blame in the other direction. 

So in that respect as well, I guess our pit bull is just like all the other dogs in the pound.

No Rocket Science Required

Too often, when we’re faced with challenges, it seems we get stuck on the fact that if there was an easy solution, we’d have found it already…but since we’re still facing the challenge, clearly the only solutions must be up there in the realm of rocket science, right? 

Take Syracuse’s current situation, our string of violent acts going back to Halloween. Once we get past the shock – five blocks from my house four people were shot the other day! – and we start breaking it down, it doesn’t take too long to get to bad or non-existent parenting, poverty, abuse and neglect, the lure of gangs and drugs, bad schools, and so on as causes for the violence. These are the kind of things that didn’t start yesterday, and won’t end tomorrow; the issues are the boulder, and we are Sisyphus.  

I had a brainstorm today. It may be silly, and it may not work, but it might be worth a shot. And it's not rocket science.

I’m wondering what would happen if famous or semi-famous folks from all walks of life – elected officials like Stephanie Miner, Bill Magnarelli and John DeFrancisco; educators like Debbie Sydow and Nancy Cantor and Dan Lowengaard; businessmen like John Stage from the Dinosaur BBQ; media personalities like Matt Mulcahey, Sean Kirst, John Walsh, and Jim Reith; preachers from the local churches, and just plain folks created a whole mess of ‘stop the violence’ public service announcements? 

They could air on all of the local TV and radio stations; we could have billboards and bus cards and newspaper ads, donated or at reduced cost, and try to get the message out that violence doesn’t solve anything?

Call me crazy or idealistic or simple minded, but this wouldn’t cost millions of dollars, or take thousands of days, or require hundreds of studies, or need dozens of committees… it would take just one influential person to step up, call on their friends or call in some markers, and then it would start. School kids could get involved, and college students; parents and grandparents, and on and on.

Tonight, I reached out to one of those influential people, and asked for help for our city. I’ll keep you posted on what I hear.  Do you have any crazy ideas we can try?

Veritable Pastiche Endorses Andrew Russo

Most regular readers know that typically the only endorsement I give at election time is an endorsement of the power of voting itself.  But this year, I’m actually endorsing a candidate, Andrew Russo, in the race for NY Senate in my district.  

Like most Empire Staters, I’m fed up with the nonsense that passes for ‘government’ in Albany, particularly in the Senate.  The governor’s mansion and the Assembly have their own issues, but the poster children for bad behavior, selfish partisanship, failed promises and do-nothing-ness have to be our Senators (read more here, here, and here). 

My senator David Valesky and John DeFrancisco, who represents pretty much the rest of Syracuse, are both key players in their parties.  Both have had ample opportunity to make things better, to collaborate on behalf of the citizens of Central New York and all New Yorkers as a whole. 

Instead, both were involved in the disastrous, embarrassing, and paralyzing coup in 2009 and since then neither have acquitted themselves well.  While I can’t take part in voting out DeFrancisco (I can only encourage his constituents to do that), I can participate in sending David Valesky home. I believe now is the time to do that.

Why now?  Because he squandered the opportunity he had as a member of the Senate leadership, at a time when the Dems controlled all three houses of government in Albany, to really make a difference for New York, to enact real legislative reform, and to make the hard decisions we needed him to make to help secure our future. 

Why Andrew Russo?  Because he believes in term limits, pension reform, and he talks logically about campaign finance reform. He believes that legislators should have real jobs (as he does), and get their benefits from those jobs, rather than from our tax dollars. He believes that good ideas come from people, not from political parties, and that the way to govern is to bring people together to put those good ideas into place. And of course he’s in favor of more jobs, lower taxes, reduced spending and increased growth in our state.  

How do I know this?  Because I asked him, and he answered me. Which means that, even before he’s in Albany, he’s a couple rungs up in my book because Valesky has never had the courtesy to answer my email. 

I’ve always considered myself a centrist Dem, but over time, I’ve become more fiscally conservative. I still believe that when citizens truly need help, government should be there, but to offer a leg up, not a handout. We can’t afford to make promises to and protect every corporate interest, every constituent group, every union job, and remain solvent. And we certainly can’t continue to afford a legislature as dysfunctional as the one we have today.

Andrew Russo is not perfect.  I think some of his ads were on the negative side, I'm not excited that DeFrancisco was an early supporter, and I'm not thrilled with the money and support he got from the Republican machine. I'm concerned about his ability to say no to them, and to collaborate with Dems if his leadership doesn't want him to. And I told him that.  He says I'm more important than they are, and I hope he's sincere.  

But under the circumstances, I think we could do a lot worse, including maintaining the status quo.  And that's why I'm voting for Andrew Russo. I hope you'll consider doing the same.

The piece of paper on the floor

I was recently invited to participate in a program at work, a 'change agent' development program.  I won’t go into a lot of gory details about the program, (which I fully support) but I'II still have some confusion on what exactly it is that a change agent does.

At a meeting this week, I asked the question, "do we tell our fellow employees we’re here and offer assistance, or are we supposed to just sort of exude changiness?"  One of the HR mentors at the meeting equated being a change agent to walking down the hall or the street and seeing a piece of paper on the ground…do we leave it there or pick it up? I pondered that response a bit, I’ll admit, trying to apply it to situations at work.

But the piece of paper analogy got me thinking about politics, and change, and how some of the local candidates would do with the whole paper on the floor thing.  Here’s what I came up with:  

• John DeFrancisco, the ‘pit pull’ of the NYS Senate. He’s an entrenched incumbent Republican, been in office way too long, and sadly sees his primary responsibility as regaining control of the Senate for the Reps. DeFrancisco was a player in the disastrous coup of 2009.  He would only pick up the piece of paper if it would give him the majority of the paper, otherwise he’d simply ignore it. 
• David Valesky, a Dem, is actually my Senator, for a couple more days, at least.  He’s had some challenges in the past couple of years as a high-ranking member of the majority party leadership, and is facing a tough battle.  He wouldn’t pick up the paper unless he thought it would be good for residents of his district (if you listen to him), or unless he was ordered to by the Downstate party bosses (if you listen to the Reps).  
• His opponent is classical pianist Andrew Russo, a ‘citizen politician’ with strong support from the Republican party, which can practically taste victory on Tuesday.  But he’s got some unorthodox ideas for a Rep, including supporting term limits (good luck with getting that done here in NY).  I think he’d pick up the paper, but only a limited number of times.  
• Andrew Cuomo, Dem for Governor, of course would pick up the paper, then find some Wall Streeter or industry bigwigs to whip into compliance so there’d be no more paper on the ground under his watch.
• Last, we have Carl Paladino the Rep-ish who miraculously won the primary to flail against Cuomo. I pity the paper if Carl found it first; he’d cut it by at least 20% and leave it in tatters, then email raunchy photos of it to his friends. 

Ironically, on the two days after the change agent meeting, I found a piece of paper on the floor; I picked it both times. There were no witnesses, so I'm not sure I shifted the culture dial. I wonder how far it's going to shift on Tuesday...

Can We Talk (Part 1)

I sent the letter below today, via email, to the State Senator who represents much of Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse. He's not my Senator, but he's very interested in what happens in my district, which adjoins his. I'll keep you posted on whether this correspondence generates a response.


November 19, 2009

Senator John DeFrancisco
Room 802 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247

Dear Senator DeFrancisco,

I recently read in the Syracuse Post Standard that you are supporting the candidacy of classical pianist Andrew Russo, the first of possibly several Republicans to declare as challengers to my Senator, David Valesky.

While I understand that you would support a Republican in a race against one of your Democrat counterparts, I’m curious as to why you think Mr. Russo is the best candidate to represent my district. I’m not that familiar with his positions, as his candidacy was only announced very recently; since there are others in your party who may also run, I suspect you have more familiarity since you’re considered a supporter even before any other candidates declared.

Can you explain your thinking on this? I realize I’m not one of your constituents, but as we are both residents of the city of Syracuse, I’m interested in your thoughts on what our city, our county, and the state need to do going forward in these difficult economic times, and why you think Mr. Russo can best help us move in the right direction.

Thanks for your insight, and for your response.