Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Sue Savage of Sch’dy: She does it her way
Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
A style seems to be emerging in the leadership of Susan Savage chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature, a style that might be described as — oh, let’s say stubborn. Or as Assemblyman Jim Tedisco characterizes it, falling back on cliche, “My way or the highway.” This occurs to me with the recent passage by the Savage-led legislature of a measure that had already been squelched at the state level but that Ms. Savage appears unwilling to let go of. It’s a rather arcane matter known as a home-rule message which would increase the amount of money that the Schenectady Metroplex Authority can borrow though I don’t care so much about the details. What I care about is that these measures are invariably carried in the state Legislature by members who represent the relevant locality, which in this case would mean Sen. Hugh Farley and Assemblymen Jim Tedisco and George Amedore. Those three attached certain conditions to the measure that Savage and her fellow Schenectady people wanted, and since they control the state end of things, that would seem to be that. But no, Ms. Savage went right back and passed the same thing all over again as if the esteemed state legislators had never spoken. Meaning, it was going to be her way or nothing. That put me in mind of her approach to a radical piece of legislation regulating sex offenders that she championed last year. She dug in her heels on that too, despite widespread opposition from other public officials and from professionals in the field. And it put me in mind of her approach to the music program at Schenectady County Community College, which she decided ought to move from the college, next to the Mohawk River, to downtown Schenectady, about a mile away, as a further stimulus to downtown rejuvenation. She decided it without consultation with either the head of the program of the president of the college, and when they objected, she withheld money that had already been approved for an expansion of the college’s existing facilities, until they could get their minds right. It also put me in mind of her approach to the proposed expansion of the county library’s main branch. When the trustees of the library came up with a plan of admittedly dubious esthetic merit that would have cost $4 million to $5 million, Ms. Savage and her legislature rejected it, hired a new architect and came up with a much more elaborate plan that would have cost $7.7 million and that they eventually learned would necessitate the closing of the library for 18 months. They made clear that no money would be forthcoming for the trustees’ own plan, all of this leading the former director of the library to lament the “continuing erosion of the policy-making power of the library board of trustees” and to propose that the library break away from the county so as to get out from under the legislature’s thumb. So her leadership seems to consist of insisting that her way is right, and if anyone disagrees, just raising her voice and talking over them until they come around. The funny thing is, I tried to discuss this with her the other day on the telephone, and do you know what she did? She insisted she was right and raised her voice and talked over me. I couldn’t get to the end of a sentence. I would say, “For example, you were pretty hard-headed on the sex offender legislation, because when you …,” and that’s as far as I would get. She would immediately be talking over me and saying, “That is clearly incorrect. We did compromise on the sex-offender legislation,” and so forth, not only drowning me out but also spinning the history of that little legislative saga as if I hadn’t been there and witnessed the whole thing. “You and others who don’t want me to be successful are trying to characterize me in the press. Your statements are unfair and they’re inaccurate,” she said. What about the library? I would say. What about strong-arming the college and how you ...? But I could never finish. She would verbally overpower me with a highly spun version of events and say, intransigently, “You’re trying to portray me as intransigent, and it’s not true. You’re mischaracterizing me, and it’s wrong of you to do that.” I didn’t have a chance, and I could only imagine what kind of chance someone who is subject to her authority or her appointing power, like a library trustee or the community college president, would have in a conversation with her. Forget it! So it was funny — her demonstrating her style to me by denying it. Another funny thing is that this stubbornness of hers doesn’t necessarily work, and the campaigns that she mounts often end in a fizzle. It would be a different, perhaps, if she prevailed. Then you could say, well, at least she gets results. But no. The radical sex-offender legislation ended in embarrassment when her own colleagues deserted her on it and rescinded the most radical part of it. (They compromised, but she didn’t. She voted against the rescinding.) And it led to further embarrassment when her point man on the legislation, Ed Kosiur, ran for the Assembly on the strength of his purported defense of children and got clobbered. The attempt to compel the college to move its music program to downtown likewise came a cropper, and the new plan is now the old plan, to build an expansion at the existing location, slightly scaled back. Likewise with the grandiose plan for the library. People howled at the prospect of closing the place for a year and a half, and now a committee is back at the drawing boards, looking for something more modest. And the trustees are also contemplating breaking away from the county’s governance. I expect we will get a similar result with her insistence on the original Metroplex bill, which our state representatives already took off the table, as the session winds down, and which they assure me is not coming back. Incidentally Ms. Savage denies a report in this newspaper that she is looking to go over the local assemblymen’s heads and get the thing done by her fellow Democrats in the Assembly (the local representatives, Tedisco and Amedore, are Republicans), but that is just more spinning and word-parsing. She told me that she had made “no statement to the newspaper that she would find alternate sponsors” and she had “not made a specific request to any legislator to put in a piece of legislation,” but she granted that she had spoken to the Democratic leaders about the matter, because, in her words, “I want them to be fully apprised of this issue.” Which can only mean she was trying to get the thing done over the heads of Amedore and Tedisco even though she might not have made a “specific request” for sponsorship. The same with her insistence that her legislature had no choice but to vote again on the alreadyrejected Metroplex bill because it was on the agenda. No, she insists, she is not being uncompromising. In fact she has gone so far as to invite Farley, Tedisco and Amedore to a little sitdown lunch next week to “work this thing out.” And maybe she has, though Farley on Friday said he had received no such invitation, and in any case would be too busy in the coming week to sit down with her. I was unable to get a quick reply from Tedisco or Amedore about whether they had received anything and whether they would be available. Tedisco told me earlier, as did Farley, that they had already compromised, and that was enough. For her to consider trying an end run around them would be “horribly insulting,” Farley said, and the chances of getting a bill passed that way would be “absolutely zero.” Which is why I say this current show of stubbornness shows signs of ending the way the others have, and it’s entirely possible the county will not even achieve the raising of Metroplex’s borrowing limit, which was the essential element here. Put it all together and you’ve got hard-headedness yielding slim results.
Finally somone besides the people who post here are seeing Suzy the way she really is. It's time for her to step down or hopefully get voted out in 2009.
Although I disagree 100% with Ms.Savage's ideology, arrogance and politcal strong arming, I would like to see another political party harness some of her energy and moxie and direct it into a fair, productive, positive direction that would ultimately benefit the taxpayers.
The reps are in the compromising mode for their own benefit and also do not want the Metroplex abolished cause they want control of those metro-purse strings. You aren't gonna see County Legislature Farley call for a disbanment of the plex since he helped pen the beast!!!!!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY COUNTY Metroplex bill in do-or-die state Bonding cap measure faces deadline BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Legislation to benefit the Metroplex Development Authority will likely die this session unless Schenectady County officials accept changes to the authority’s operations, state officials said. The state Legislature concludes its business late this month. Bill sponsors in the state Senate and the Assembly, all Republicans, amended home rule legislation proposed in April by majority Democrats in the Schenectady County Legislature. The county is seeking to add $25 million to Metroplex’s bonding cap, raising it to $75 million, and to add five years to its life, extending it to 2033. They say the benefits will allow Metroplex to fund projects along lower State Street and within the towns. The longer term for Metroplex will enhance its borrowing ability. Republicans amended the county request to ban managers or management-confidential staff who work for the county and chairpersons of local political parties from serving on the Metroplex board. They said the amendments will help keep politics from interfering with Metroplex’s mission, which is to promote economic development in Schenectady County. Some view it as a political spat between state Republicans and county Democrats, who consistently link their success to Metroplex’s efforts. Legislature Chairwoman Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, expects to meet with the bill sponsors this week and seek a solution to the stalemate. David Smingler, aide to state Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, said “The bill is there, ready, willing and able. We need a home rule message from the county Legislature which supports the amended version.” Without home rule legislation, the amended version “will languish,” he said. Bill Sherman, chief of staff for Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, said Te- disco will not back down on the amendments he proposed to the original legislation. “These are common sense amendments and we feel we have compromised and there hasn’t been a compromise on the other end,” Sherman said. Smingler agreed: “I hope that it gets resolved. The [state] legislators have compromised substantially from their original position. It’s time for someone else to compromise.” Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen had no comment on the issue. He is a management-confidential employee with the county but is specifically exempt from the Republican amendments. At least two Democrats on the Schenectady County Legislature differ on what should happen next. Vincent DiCerbo, D-Schenectady, chairman of the Legislature’s Economic Development Committee, supports the amended version. “We all know what the political dynamics are and we know we have to work with the state Legislature. They are not going to pass our legislation. We have to be realistic,” he said. Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, supports the county efforts to retain the language contained in the original home rule request. “We did not perceive or feel there was a need to change the qualifications or exclude some people who are qualified to serve on the board,” he said. The Republican amendments, he said, “seek to solve a problem where a problem does not exist.”
They continually fail to mention that Mr.Tedisco was summonsed by the taxpayers to NOT pass legislation to increase the bond or the Metroplex's existence at least until after the NYS audit.
well here is the jist of the matter at heart- the bill won't go anywhewre because he put the ball into their court in order to stop it. And sure enough they won't compromise and it shows that they are fakes and phonies and just want it the Savage way or no way. looking at it after my initial outrage, I am happy in that he played the game and gave them an offer to go half way and get concessions towards getting the democrat politicians out of the mix. But NO, Savage wants ALL her people on there and that is that. So no increase, and for those that WANT the increase, Savage looks bad. For those that don't, there is no increase (at this stage)
the end result is what matters. Savage painted herself in a box.
Now Tedisco can wait until the audit and if things look bad he can say' oh look, there are discrepeancies, so I withdraw the bill in total."
It was a good delaying tactic without going to war with what the legislature has stated they wanted (with the exception of Joe S and Angelo S) that they wanted an increase to 75 million bucks! Then TEDISCO and Georgie and Hugh would be the bad guys, but WHO is tha bad guy now- ??? SAVAGE! Hhahahahahaaaa
and also this took me a time to figure this out but in a couple of days of time, I started to see how brilliant it was! I give Jimmy T lots of credit because sometimes one has to go into the building to put the fire out through THE BACK DOOR not the front. Capice? very rich indeed.
right, she will resting up to cut a swath thruogh the taxpayers with her hammer and sickle and when she comes out from hiding she will be back with a mean vengeance. Carl Strock better put scotch tape on his hood and fender when he parks his car.
Wasn't it Loud Sue who wrote The art of war"???? Or was that ...
You are right there Sal....Suzie will come back with a vengeance for sure. She's not about to take this strong arming, from a male from an opposing party sitting down.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
CAPITOL Officials plan to discuss Metroplex compromise BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Bob Conner at 462-2499 or bconner@dailygazette.net.
State and county legislators plan to meet this morning on a compromise bill to raise the bonding authority of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority from $50 million to $75 million. Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature, said she will propose attaching to the bill a prohibition on all elected government officials serving on the Metroplex board unless they are currently a member. This comes in response to a bill introduced by the Republican state legislators representing Schenectady County that would bar county legislators from the board, along with party chairmen and county government managers. The Republican legislation exempts the county economic development chief, who is currently Ray Gillen, who also serves as chairman of the Metroplex board. Savage said she could accept the GOP proposals barring party chairmen and county managers except Gillen from Metroplex. Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Niskayuna, and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, reacted cautiously, saying the ban on all government elected officials might be too sweeping but also saying they want to get a bill done. Farley expressed concern that it was late in the legislative session to be contemplating changes to the existing bill. Savage said if there is an agreement, the county Legislature could pass a second home-rule message at its meeting on Tuesday, leaving enough time for the state legislation to pass before the scheduled end of the session June 23. Gillen says the increased bonding cap is needed to continue Metroplex's economic development work, which is widely seen as having spurred significant economic activity in the county, especially in downtown Schenectady. Savage and the Republican legislators are scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. in Farley’s office in the Legislative Office Building.
Logged
