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Stratton imports help

Diane Marco is pretty well-known in political circles as a two-term member of the Rotterdam Town Board, but she is not seeking re-election this fall.

An appointment list released by Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton indicates he has hired Marco as an information-processing specialist at a rate of $15 per hour.

Stratton must have had to go outside the city to fill the job because there were no qualified Schenectady residents available.

Or perhaps this is an example of intergovernmental cooperation. For whatever it's worth, both Marco and Stratton are Democrats.

http://www.timesunion.com

This is a grade 12 position.
It is a data entry position.
$31,000 a year with benefits.

So I guess there is absolutely no one in the city of schenectay that is qualified for this job, huh? Perhaps they should have taken someone off the welfare roll and get them on the tax roll. I guess Ms.Marco just missed working with the disfunctional dems. Ms. Marco obviously didn't know how to work with an administration that actually WORKS for the people and not for their own personal interests like Ms.Marco did for the RPD and every developer in town.

Anyways Ms.Marco will feel much more at home in the city along side Mr.Paolino and the bunch!

Didn't one of our former Supervisors (Paolino, I think) get pulled into the Schenectady city politics before he left his town position?  Seems like a growing trend.

Birds of a feather flock together.

http://www.dailygazette.com

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ROTTERDAM
Officials applaud Marco for her service to town
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Nearly a decade ago, Joseph Marco was convinced his daughter Diane would be a perfect fit for public office.
    The Rotterdam Democrats were seeking a candidate for a one-year term on the Town Board, a vacancy created when Joseph Signore left it to become supervisor in 1998. In his daughter, Joseph Marco saw a compassionate candidate who could rise above politics and do what was in the best interests of the town.
    Marco lost the election to challenger Judy Dagostino, who had been appointed to the seat by the town’s Republican majority. While her father was devastated by the loss, Marco found herself determined to run again.
    “I said ‘Dad, it’s no big deal,’ ” she recalled on Monday. “Win or lose, I was going to run again.”
    When she got on the ballot in 1999, Marco won a seat she would not relinquish for another eight years. She has since served under three different supervisors and has watched party control over the board bounce between the Democrats and Republicans. Next week, she retires.
    But for Marco, 56, serving on the board hasn’t been about which party is in power or its agenda. It’s been about serving the better interests of the town, she said.
    “I voted for what I thought was right for the town,” said Marco. “I was not a ‘yes’ person, I was not a ‘no’ person. When I thought it was right for the entire town, I voted for it.”
    In April, Marco announced she would not seek a third term, citing her impending retirement from the Rotterdam branch of Sunmark Federal Credit Union and her desire for other residents to take an active role. Though she enjoyed her time on the board, Marco said the job can be more demanding than it appears.
    Marco’s service was applauded by both parties during the board’s last regular meeting of the year this month. Signore, now serving as a board member and deputy supervisor, presented Marco with a plaque on behalf of the town. Former Supervisor John Paolino, a Democrat, presented her with a dozen yellow roses.
    Paolino reflected fondly upon his service with Marco, his former deputy. He characterized her as someone who always kept the interest of the public in mind when it came to making decisions, even if those decisions went against the grain of the dominant party.
    “She really looked deep inside herself to came up with a decision,” he said. “After a lot of thought and analysis, she really didn’t care who favored it — she voted for what she though was the best for the town.”
    During her time in office, Marco was a proponent of creating a water district in Rotterdam Junction and was the driving force behind abolishing the unpopular police commission. Her only regrets were that she couldn’t see through projects to build a community center and new public safety facility.
    “I’m walking away with my head held high,” she said.
    In the short term, Marco said, she plans to travel to Florida during the winter months and then return to Rotterdam once the weather warms. She didn’t discount fi nding a part-time job outside of politics or even returning to the bimonthly Town Board meetings.
    “Only this time, I’m going to be on the other side,” she said.

I also applaud the fact that Diane Marco is leaving!!!

Nice to see the Gazette hasn't lost it's slant, even with the Dems on their way out.

Gee, nothing about Wal-Mart?  I know I was for that when it was proposed (which I have since changed my mind on.)  She had her heart set on it, I believe.  Too bad the Gazette "misplaced" that mud...

Can't bring the walmart thing up BK. Then it would have opened up a can of worms. On how she sided with the land owners and developers and not what was in the best interest of the residents. Or how she singlehandedly spawned the fiasco regarding the police commission. She will not be missed by many.

Bumble:

Marco is gone, so no use beating a dead horse.  You need to find something to criticize the new guy on- Silva.  That issue with the Police Commission really seems to bother you.  I ask myself- who in the Town of Rotterdam would waste so much time commenting on a police commission that has been defunct for what a year or 2 now??? Who could be bothered so much by the abolishment of the police commission that they would continuously bash the cops and criticize anyone associated with getting rid of the police commission formed by John Mertz....    If I remember correctly Diane Marco didnt singlehandedly do anything- thousands of people signed petitions to abolish the police commission and in the end- the Republican appointed board member - Joe Gidarelli saw th commission for what it was and voted it out.  

The commission was simply an attempt to control promotions and appointments by politicians.  An attempt to put the least qualified into the most importat positions.  I dont think the Board could have made it any more clear that is what their intent was.  The residents in the town are not completely blind!

If you really feel that a police commission is the right thing to do- you should have the guts to say it publically at a meeting whether you are a Board member, a party boss or just a resident..... I must say that I find it hard to believe that the average citizen in Rotterdam gives a crap about some old Commission gone bad so much that he would continue to rant about it....   If you think politicians should be the ones doing the hiring and firing- then find a way to get it done- I dont think Police Commission #2 would go over too well though-

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Bumble:

Marco is gone, so no use beating a dead horse.  You need to find something to criticize the new guy on- Silva.  That issue with the Police Commission really seems to bother you.  I ask myself- who in the Town of Rotterdam would waste so much time commenting on a police commission that has been defunct for what a year or 2 now??? Who could be bothered so much by the abolishment of the police commission that they would continuously bash the cops and criticize anyone associated with getting rid of the police commission formed by John Mertz....    If I remember correctly Diane Marco didnt singlehandedly do anything- thousands of people signed petitions to abolish the police commission and in the end- the Republican appointed board member - Joe Gidarelli saw th commission for what it was and voted it out.  

The commission was simply an attempt to control promotions and appointments by politicians.  An attempt to put the least qualified into the most importat positions.  I dont think the Board could have made it any more clear that is what their intent was.  The residents in the town are not completely blind!

If you really feel that a police commission is the right thing to do- you should have the guts to say it publically at a meeting whether you are a Board member, a party boss or just a resident..... I must say that I find it hard to believe that the average citizen in Rotterdam gives a crap about some old Commission gone bad so much that he would continue to rant about it....   If you think politicians should be the ones doing the hiring and firing- then find a way to get it done- I dont think Police Commission #2 would go over too well though-

I believe that police commission #2 would go over a much better than #1.  If the board took time to read the names on the petition, they would have  noticed that of the 1000's of names, the majority of them didn't even live in the town of Rotterdam.  I know that the petition was floating around a local business getting as many names on it as they could, regardless of where they lived.

You're correct in stating that the commission has been defunct now for 2 years.  You wanna know who could be bothered by such history??  The Democrats and Conservatives(Chief Hamilton), who thought that it would be useful fodder against town Republicans in the past election. It failed miserably.  I believe Tommasone was re-elected by a wider margin than 4 years ago.

The resistance to the police commission didn't come from the residents, but from the boys in blue, their families, and a bunch of unsubstantiated  names on a petition.  Most of which didn't live in Rotterdam.  How else can you explain the  the fact that Town Republicans not only maintained their seats on the board, but expanded them by 1.

Republican board members, form another commission.  Obviously it wasn't political suicide as some members on this forum may have believed.  

I also was aware of the petition being signed by many many many people who do not even live in Rotterdam. And this illegal petition was circulated by the cops and friends and family of the cops. That is disheartening to say the least. They should thank the town board members for not researching the petitions. It may have put the cops in a negative light.

And then the cops took it one step further and tried to take over the conservative party. Specifically to sway this past election, which failed miserably for them.

I am nothing more and nothing less than a resident of Rotterdam. I am not politically affiliated with anything or anybody. I don't even know any politician personally.  I have been accused before, on the old Rotterdam forum of actually being Mr. Mertz. I had even received nasty private messages from a member who went by the name of DMM. And since DMM thought I really was Mr. Mertz, the message nailed who it actually was.

I just post my thoughts and opinions, and that is all!!

I think you should form another commission or at the very least, interfere more in the police department- It worked out so well before.  Promote the least qualified cops, appoint family members, increase spending by hundreds of thousands....It will never catch up to you.  I promise.....  

And as far as how republicans won elections in the town of Rotterdam-    who did they run against????????  

And if the petitions were bogus and it was only a handful of residents opposed to the 1st Commission, then shame on Johnny Mertz for not having the guts to vote no to abolishing the Commission.  

Quoted from 85

And if the petitions were bogus and it was only a handful of residents opposed to the 1st Commission, then shame on Johnny Mertz for not having the guts to vote no to abolishing the Commission.  

  I AGREE!  

Hopefully, now the board knows that it doesn't have to handle the RPD with kid gloves during the upcoming contract negotiations. The election speaks volumes to that.  The RPD's hijacking of the conservative party, and their endorsement of the democratic candidates in this past election didn't have the impact they hoped.  Too bad.

I guess if the petition was started by joe Rotterdam resident I may have found it more credible.  But it wasn't.  It was organized from within the police department, and the PBA.  In reality, joe resident could care less about a police commission.

The police and the police chief should now realize that they are not the elected leaders of the town, but servants of the town.  Appreciated, well compensated servants at that.  

Quoted from 85

And as far as how republicans won elections in the town of Rotterdam-    who did they run against????????  

They won the election because even though they may not be a perfect town board, and none are, they are far more superior than what we have had in the past.

And the reps ran against a loser WHICH might I add was endorsed by the cops conservative party for negotiating the police contract ONLY!! Didn't work!

And we can't be that stupid here....if a police commission was even remotley talked about, there clearly was a reason. So how are the negotiations going now? Or are the cops going to hang on to the old contract until the NEXT election?

Ya, that's what I call 'in the best interest of the residents'! HARDLY!!

Keep an eye on Silva folks!!