Wow, as if not endorsing Tony Lafountain and Mark Assini weren’t enough. How about the endorsements for County Legislature?
They endorsed Mike Condello and said this about John Howland:
Howland also has passion and is independent-minded. But the legislature needs a new breed.
They endorsed Paul Haney and this to say about him:
But Haney, a retired certified public accountant, has distinguished himself in government finance over four decades in public service.
(They forgot to mention that his 40 years of experience included hiding a $40 million deficit when he was Tom Frey’s Finance Director.) Forty years of service is ok for Haney, but it’s a problem with John Howland.
They endorsed Nora Bredes and had this to say about Ciaran Hanna:
In his first term, Hanna was most notable for refusing to toe the GOP line on switching the county budget’s submission date. He later lost his committee chairmanship.
Interestingly, there have been few signs of such independent thinking since Hanna’s freshman year. He declined an invitation by the Editorial Board for an interview.
Evidently Hanna wasn’t mavericky enough for them.
Look at what they said about Republican Jeff McCann in their endorsement of his opponent, gay rights activist Jo Meleca-Voigt:
But when it’s considered that he is firmly entrenched in the often heavy-handed way in which Republicans run the county, and problem-wracked Greece town government, questions can be legitimately raised about whether McCann represents the leadership Monroe needs for the future.
This is even more offensive when you look at what they said in their endorsed Harry Bronson:
An attorney who specializes in social justice, Bronson has been an able spokesman for Democrats on a wide range of issues.
Right, Harry Bronson is a lawyer specializing in “social justice.”
By reading that you wouldn’t know he makes his living off of Assemblymember Susan John, one of the chief enablers of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — the poster boy for the need to reform Albany. Our good friend Philbrick has a great piece on this.
It’s pretty clear the endorsement process was a complete set up. The saving grace in all of this for local Republicans is that it is so obvious that anyone with a brain will see through it.
To end on a positive note: this may well be one of the last local elections the D&C does this — hopefully as their cost cutting continues the editorial board’s time with us will be limited!