Economic Growth off the Menu at LoPorto's

Just when Chappy Campana was about to lock up the heavyweight title for hostility toward economic progress in Troy, Councilman Michael LoPorto (District 7) has given him a run for his money. Loporto's now-infamous comments, telling David Bryce, one of Troy's single biggest investors, to "pack up and leave", has certainly raised the bar. Perhaps there's something lost in LoPorto's delivery without the Borat moustache he sported during his 2005 campaign, but on its face, telling an investor that you don't want his money definitely isn't sound business policy. But Councilman, because you've been so good with providing us material in the past, we're willing to spend our Saturday morning breaking things down for you in a way you'll understand.

Let's pretend that you have a large pile of leftover food behind your restaurant. It's a big heap of all the penne and fettuccine and bread crusts and napkins and other things that have been scraped off plates in the years you've been open. It's huge. Now, someday, you're going to have to deal with the fact that this pile is back there because, let's face it, it's a big pile of rotting food, and you're in the restaurant business, not waste management. So let's say David Bryce shows up at your door, and offers to buy that pile of garbage off of you. Not only that, but he's going to install patio seating back there, so you'll get even more business where you previously couldn't have. Wouldn't it be in your best interest to say "yes" instead of waiting for the pile to become a health risk or collapse? And hey, he's offering you a few bucks for something no one else wants. Is a better plan to (a) take his money, give up the mess and allow yourself the economic benefits or (b) throw your wine in his face and tell him to leave?

We knew you could be reasoned with, Mike.

Chappy Sweeps Away New Jobs

Did you hear that sweeping sound, Troy? That was the sound of the City Council Democrats taking the broom to another business and chasing them out of the city.

Their latest casualty is David Bryce, who presented a bold plan that would have been a solid win for Troy taxpayers. The brain trust that chased Bryce away--Clem Campana, Gary Galuski, Michael LoPorto and Kevin McGrath--happens to be the same wacky bunch who helped put Troy on the map for voter fraud. No word yet on what designs the Chappy Chums have for the parking garage. Perhaps they'll start registering voters at the address.

Troy Gets Chapped, Again

Welcome back, Rensselaer County! We're sorry for the delay in getting material to you, but it's just been too difficult to choose one Democrat screw-up to write about. It would be nice if the D's, particularly in Troy, could keep our readership in mind when considering their actions because there just aren't enough hours in the day to give every felony or scandal or residence problem the attention that it deserves. And if there's one man who deserves that attention, it's Chappy Campana.

Chappy did a real number on Troy taxpayers last week with his opposition to the sale of the parking garage. Instead of just voting against it, he kicked things up a notch, blocking any sort of a vote on the matter in a move that had Talespin comparing him to Sheldon Silver. Rather than pocketing a nice chunk of change during a recession, adding a big piece of property to the tax rolls and helping downtown businesses grow, Chappy wouldn't even allow discussion on the issue. What courage!

Chappy hasn't exactly been the model of sound judgement, given his involvement in the 2009 Ballot Scandal, and this is no exception. His motivation is little more than an adolescent desire to spite Harry Tutunjian at the expense of Troy taxpayers, the long-term consequences of which Chappy seems content to ignore. Everyone in politics knows that when you have a popular incumbant, the single most successful course of action is to oppose their every move.

That's what gave us political legends like Walter Mondale, Carl McCall and Jim Conroy, after all.

Democrat Denial in Troy

Tonight is the big night for the Troy City Council, when Chappy Campana's unwieldy bunch will have to pass whatever it is they believe constitutes a budget. The big question on everybody's mind is how the Dems will deal with the whopping pension payments that Troy and other municipalities are going to be forced to cough up. Even in the face of a 10% tax increase, Chappy's crew has been strangely silent about the underlying problem that caused this predicament, that is, the fact that New York's pension system is costing taxpayers too much money to maintain in its current state (here's some background information on the problem). We all know that John Brown's handlers keep a pretty tight leash on him, so we don't expect much there, but the other Dems should be doing more than just lobbing Harryhate around. Why not use the occasion to lobby Democrat Assemblyman (and Majority Leader) Ron Canestrari and Democrat Tim Gordon to support Tier V legislation, or even better, a move to a guaranteed contribution system? For all their charges about Harry Tutunjian being "insular" or "arrogant", the Democrats are the embodiment of both with their belief that this same problem won't happen again. Then again, foresight hasn't really been the forte of the current Dem field; after all, did Chappy and the gang really think they'd get away with several dozen counts of election fraud? The same lack of forward-thinking by the Campana crowd that's keeping prosecutors busy fails yet again to deal with the real problems facing taxpayers.

Republicans don't kill Democrats; Democrats kill Democrats!

If you thought the wait for New Moon was something, prepare yourself for 2010, when Tom Wade's ballot-forging Democrats will--officially--begin tearing each other to shreds. Their treatment of Pete Grimm was only a sneak preview of the cinematic self-destruction that's bound to have observers wondering whether Wade's people have actual dynamite strapped to their chests.

After winning only 6 out of 19 seats on the county legislature, Boss Wade orchestrated the defeat of Pete Grimm, the lone incoming Democrat with any experience in the body, as minority leader. Grimm is a decent guy, and bears distinction as one of the only Democrats in Troy not facing indictment or a permanent ban from any public authorities, so we can understand why he wasn't getting along with the Wade crowd. In his place, Wade installed HUD Conroy disciple Pete Ryan, but his reasons for the move aren't clear. Ryan's tenure on the city council was sufficiently unimpressive that Metroland has been able to perpetuate the idea that Bill "Dormitory" Dunne was the intellectual heavyweight of the council Dems, which is hilarious in its own right. That doesn't convey the image of Ryan as leadership material, even by Rensselaer County Democrat standards, so we're going to be scratching our heads as we continue to ponder Wade's motives.

While Wade seems to be able to control four of his six county legislators, it's another story on the Troy City Council, where Wade put up a slate that Dr. Frankenstein could be proud of. The egos of Chappy, John Brown and Mike LoPorto could together make upstate energy-independent if they were fed through the turbines at the hydroplants, a fate which each one would most definitely impart on the other two given the opportunity. All three men have their eyes (or, with LoPorto, eyes and moustaches) on higher office, and all three know that they are in direct competition for every iota of positive attention on the Democrats, which will be scarce in coming months. We're saving our predictions of the actual casualty list until after we know who's going to be doing hard time for those ballots that forged themselves, but in the meantime, you won't need your reading glasses to see those knives getting sharpened during council meetings.