Who is Bobby Cantwell?

We've got questions and hopefully you'll have answers...

This guy came out of no-where. Who is he?

I wonder if Patty Ritchie will back Cantwell or Button? Our money is on Button...

Where is Cantwell on the issues? All we know is that he wants to deal with issues affecting the St. Lawrence River

Why is June O'Neill silent on the 118th Assembly district?

Let us know your thoughts...

The Best Candidate We Could Have Asked for to Go Up Against Aubertine

Renzi to run for state Senate; backed by Wright, Scozzafava
THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2008
Watertown attorney David A. Renzi said Thursday that he will seek the Republican nomination for the 48th Senate District race, and then picked up support from two key party members.

“I’m very confident in Dave’s ability and Dave’s candidacy,” said former state Sen. James W. Wright, who served the 48th District from 1994 to 2008. “David is the type of individual I see holding the seat — someone who is a new face, and who has not been tainted by government, if you will, and who will bring a new approach.”

Mr. Wright, who said he was asked by several locals to run again for his old seat, said his consideration of that idea “was frankly, very short-lived.”

Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava, R-Gouverneur, also erased all speculation Thursday that she would seek the Senate seat.

“I decided I was content staying with the 122nd Assembly District for now,” she said. As for Mr. Renzi, the assemblywoman added: “I’m very pleased that he’s willing to step in there and run.”

Mr. Renzi, 39, will look to unseat state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, who won a Feb. 26 special election over Assemblyman William A. Barclay, R-Pulaski.

George Williams, Oswego County Republican chairman, said Mr. Barclay will seek re-election in the 124th Assembly District instead of making a second try at the Senate this year.

Mr. Renzi made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for the 118th Assembly District in 2002. St. Lawrence County Clerk Patricia A. Ritchie prevailed in that primary, but later lost to Mr. Aubertine in the general election.

Patty's Decision Just Got That Much Easier!

We would be shocked if Patty Ritchie didn't decide to jump into the race for the 1-1-8 by the end of the week.

She would be a good representative for us and I think Burns getting out might just be the final straw; he would have likely been the strongest Democratic candidate the donkey's could have put up! Lets see.


Burns drops plan to run for Assembly
118TH DISTRICT: Jefferson County sheriff has other commitments; others vie for Democratic nomination
By JUDE SEYMOUR
TIMES STAFF WRITER
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2008

After what he called "long and serious consideration," Jefferson County Sheriff John P. Burns decided that running an Assembly campaign this year wasn't for him.

"I have some important family commitments that I think the Assembly race would take time away from," he said. "When I ran for sheriff, I made a commitment to be the sheriff. I feel that over the last six years we've come a long way with the department and I want to continue that."

Mr. Burns, who lives in the city of Watertown, said a campaign for the vacant 118th Assembly District seat would take away time he spends with his son Dane, 7.

"He's at the age where he needs my time now," the sheriff said. Mr. Burns also noted that his oldest son, Karl C., will be starting college in the fall.

With Mr. Burns out of the equation, his supporters are now looking more like contenders for the Democratic nomination.

Jefferson County Legislator Addie J. Russell, Theresa, said the sheriff's announcement "is making me take a second look at things."

Mrs. Russell is uncommitted toward running, but will talk to party leaders this week to discuss a candidacy. She expects to make a decision "well before" June 3, the first day on which candidates can collect signatures on petitions.

Pamelia Town Councilman Timothy E. Kelly also was in favor of Mr. Burns's candidacy; he has previously said he is interested in the Democratic nomination.

Sean M. Hennessey, Jefferson County's Democratic Committee chairman, said another candidate from the county could emerge soon. He said the party hoped to make a final decision "within the next few days."

Massena Police Chief Timmy J. Currier, registered without party affiliation, has told Democrats he would like to be their candidate. The chief has support from St. Lawrence County Legislator Gregory M. Paquin, D-Massena.

Massena Town Councilman John M. Wicke also is considered a potential Democratic candidate, but he downplayed a bid Tuesday.

"At this point, I have no plans on running," he said.

The Republicans already have an announced candidate, Robert W. "Bobby" Cantwell III, with another, St. Lawrence County Clerk Patricia A. Ritchie, expected to declare her candidacy soon.

Donald J. Lucas, an Alcoa retiree and Massena fishing guide, will run as an independent. Both he and Mr. Currier have sought the Working Families Party endorsement and line.

Times staff writer Corey Fram contributed to this report.

Kuhl Idea Guys

Representative Randy Kuhl, Republican from the 29th CD, has a very interesting new idea he has posted on his house website. I would encourage everyone to go to it and submit your ideas (whether you are from his congressional district or not). If you want to be heard, now is your chance.

Kudos to Kuhl and whatever staffer thought up this idea to "Fix Washington." Ingenious! To be fair and before we give too much credit, lets see if Kuhl actually introduces any legislation through this interesting forum. I'm sure he'll get a lot of off the wall, but kuhl, ideas. Maybe Scozzafava will submit a pro-abortion bill? Maybe Aubertine will submit a bill to exonerate his ethics violations for hiring his sister? It sure is a wild card.

See below & of course the links... (http://kuhl.house.gov/FixDC/)

"Three-quarters of Americans think that we are on the wrong track. I, like you, am tired of the partisan politics and games that only lead to additional frustration and yield zero results.

Every year, I visit all 145 towns in the 29th Congressional District, hold multiple telephone town halls meetings and host many town office hours. From these interactions, I know that my constituents are among the best and brightest in America and have many great ideas on how to solve our nation’s problems.

Therefore, I am launching the “Fix Washington” Project. I am proud to give my constituents the opportunity to have their legislative idea turned into a bill and introduced before Congress. I urge you to take this opportunity and help me fix broken Washington.

Together, we can create the solutions that will make this country a better place."

Where is Tom Scozzafava (and his sister Dede?)

Over the last several years, I have been following the story of "local boy done good", Tom Scozzafava. For those of you who may not know, Tom is the young CEO of Seaway Valley Capital, the company that merged the Wisebuys and Hacketts stores last year, and is currently completing the process of merging with North Country Hospitality. I was very impressed when I first heard of Tom returning to his roots and his plan for developing a holding company in an area of the state that has typically been economically depressed. I confidently invested a goodly sum of money in him and his vision for the North Country, and have watched him quickly grow the company from nothing.

But now after 9 months, cracks are beginning to appear in the foundation.

It seems in all the whirlwind of the company's recent financial activity, Mr. Scozzafava has forgotten the common shareholders...you know, the only ones that are paying for all his high flyin', wheelin' and dealin'. There are genuine concerns of how all of his acquisitions are going to be paid for, and the methods of financing being used. The market has responded by crushing the price of common shares. Common shareholders, in some cases, have seen the stock price drop by as much as 95% since last fall. The share price today is less than 1/2 a penny, while outstanding shares have increased 600% since July of last year. In my opinion, it appears that the insiders, Mr. Scozzafava, his sister Dede (the State Assemblywoman), and various other family members and friends, are the only ones who stand to make anything on this venture. While protecting their own interests in the firm, IT APPEARS that they are using common shareholders to pay for millions of dollars of debt reduction carried over to Seaway from several earlier unprofitable business arrangements that Mr. Scozzafava had been involved in several years ago. If that wasn't bad enough, Mr. Scozzafava seems to be either unable or unwilling to communicate with anyone who wants a straight answer about where this is all going to end.

Don't get me wrong - what Mr. Scozzafava is doing may be above board, but there are enough unanswered questions to set off more than a few alarms. Even the market bears witness that few think much of Tom's corporate plan; the relentless erosion of the share price has been going on now for 7 months. If Mr. Scozzafava continues to avoid answering the difficult questions, then shareholder lawsuits are certain to surface in the months ahead, and the cloud of uncertainty will spread from Tom to his sister, Dede, who is a minority partner in the firm.

If anyone up there in the beautiful North Country of upstate New York sees Tom, please inform him that he has the fiduciary responsibility to step up to the plate and address shareholder concerns. A shareholder's meeting would be a welcome venue to clear up these issues and restore investor confidence in the company's CEO.

(From a SWVC Shareholder... Ouch! I am sure DD is going to have a field day with this one.)


UPDATE:
This is from the contributor to this interesting post, which has sparked a fair amount of discussion I might add. Ahhhh, democracy in action! Here it is: "I have spoken with Ms. Scozzafava and need to correct information on the original letter (phrases not being factual). Not sure if that is possible, but I would appreciate whatever you recommend.

I have also posted the following retraction in the comments section of the blog:

Dede Scozzafava has no controlling interest in Seaway Capital, nor is she involved in any of the operations of the company. Her investment in the company is strictly passive in nature. I apologize to Ms. Scozzafava and to the readers of this blog for being uninformed about her role in the company."

Sincerely,

Timothy Mercier
Champaign, Illinois

We've Got News/Advice for the NY GOP

We've got some advice to give the state GOP, and most importantly for our readers, regarding New York's 48th Senate seat, which is currently held by Darrel Aubertine (keep in mind that we are not Darrel's biggest fans here at UGOB).

Stay tuned because our advice is on its way!!!

And just a quick hint: it won't be good news for Dierdre Scozzafava (Rino from Gouverneur)!

Of course we have to be brutally honest here at UGOB... after all we are a group of good ol' boys with some witty/insightful thoughts.

Sorry Dede; readers, stay tuned for our BREAKING NEWS/ADVICE.

Currier Aligns Himself with the Democrats For All the Wrong Reasons

There was a story in today's WDTs that Massena Police Chief Timmy J. Currier was seeking to become the next Democratic Assemblyman from the 118th district of New York.

One wonders why Currier would choose to associate himself with the Democratic Party instead of the Republican Party? One might think that Currier's experience in law enforcement would make him a natural fit in the Republican Party, which values the respect for law and order. So here are some of the possibilities me and my friends thought up:

1) The GOP county party structure in upstate NY is in shambles and Currier doesn't want to be a part of it.

2) Currier, if he won, would be in the majority as a Democrat.

3) Currier could really be philosophically in line with the principles of the Democratic Party, the same party that is going to nominate an inexperienced liberal, Barack Obama, to the presidency soon. (Watch for those results in NC and Indiana.)

4) Currier knows he could never win the GOP primary. (There are some rumors that there will be some very good candidates coming out to fight for that seat - we will update you on that in the coming weeks.)

5) Currier doesn't even know what either party stands for because his only experience is in law enforcement. He doesn't have a solid handle on policy issues like taxes. Democrats in the Assembly have no real interest in trimming the size of the state budget or lowering taxes on small businesses and the middle class...

So below and linked here you can find the article. We report, you decide.


Massena official eyes seat in Albany
CHIEF CURRIER: Police veteran plans run for 118th Assembly post
By JUDE SEYMOUR
& CHRIS GARIFO
TIMES STAFF WRITERS
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2008

Massena Police Chief Timmy J. Currier is lobbying to become the Democratic candidate in the 118th Assembly District race.

"I have always had an interest as my police career wound down in getting involved in politics," said Mr. Currier, who is a registered voter without party affiliation. "Given the fact I've been in public service for 20 years, continuing that in some form is my purpose."

While the chief awaited word from the Democratic Party, he applied for the endorsement and the line of the Working Families Party. Mr. Currier will be interviewed, along with other hopefuls, by that party's North Country West chapter by month's end.

Mr. Currier, 42, said he has been "long concerned" about the inequities of the property tax system, which is one of his reasons for running.

"There is too big of a burden placed on the middle class and working families in New York state with respect to property tax," he said.

Mr. Currier said he brings a "unique perspective" to the race because he has not been affiliated with any party.

"I first and foremost consider myself to be a centrist, not far left or far right," he said. "Generally speaking, with the vast majority of issues that are out there, I tend to lean Democratic."

The police chief said, if elected, part of his agenda would be to push "pro-public safety" and "pro-law enforcement" initiatives.

Mr. Currier said he has "no imminent plans" to leave the department, but added: "Anyone that reaches the minimum retirement age in law enforcement very likely looks to other opportunities. I still very much love my job and very much appreciate the opportunity of serving the village of Massena."

Donald J. Lucas, a Massena fishing charter operator and Alcoa retiree, is the only other candidate to formally declare his intentions for the Assembly seat. He also is seeking the Working Families Party line.

Besides Mr. Currier and Mr. Lucas, the Working Families Party has had five candidates request an interview so that they could be considered for the party's endorsement and line.

■ Darrel J. Aubertine, Cape Vincent, for the 48th Senate District. Mr. Aubertine, a Democrat, has served as senator since February.

■ Danny M. Francis, Watertown, and Michael P. Oot, Stockbridge, for the 23rd Congressional District. Mr. Francis, a Democrat, is a retired Marine officer and former Army recruiter. Mr. Oot, a Democrat, is an attorney.

■ Dierdre K. Scozzafava, Gouverneur, for the 122nd Assembly District. Ms. Scozzafava, a Republican, has long been rumored as the potential opponent of Mr. Aubertine.

"At this point we're still in discussions about possibilities," the 10-year Assembly veteran said.

Ms. Scozzafava said that she tried to apply for the interview without designating a position sought, but the party would not accept the form without it.

■ Jeremy Barlow, Herrings, for the 122nd Assembly District. Mr. Barlow, a Democrat, is a lawyer and former child abuse and neglect prosecutor for Jefferson County Department of Social Services.

Mr. Barlow, 31, was noncommittal about his candidacy when asked Friday.

"I just wanted to keep my options open," he said.

Mr. Barlow started his own private practice in January after recently earning his master's degree in entertainment law. The lawyer, who has no government experience, has previously considered runs for the 23rd Congressional District and the Jefferson County Legislature.

Louisa N. Pacheco, the Working Families Party's lead organizer for its North Country West chapter, said chapter leaders will make endorsement recommendations to the state executive committee. The state committee will formally endorse during the first week of June.

Relishing Our Victory This Week & Asking More Questions

Amigos,

Forget for a minute that Darrel Aubertine is pandering to the North Country's ATV crowd because it was a spectacular week for us here at UGOB! (For more on Aubertine's flip-flop on the ATV issue see tomorrow's WDTs.)

What is more important is that we have been relishing our latest victory - the firing of Darrel Aubertine's sister, Deb Wiley!

We just want our readers to know that we will be putting up a serious fight to ensure that Aubertine's sister does not get paid for the week she was illegally and unethically employed.

We are also seeking a copy of Wiley's resignation letter from Aubertine's office. There have been some rumors/speculation that Wiley never resigned and that Aubertine's Chief of Staff, Ed Gaffney, had to step into the middle of things earlier this week. (Apparently, Darrel didn't have the balls to fire his own sister because of their close relationship; Darrel fought the initial decision until Gaffney got intimately involved.)

If these rumors are true then it raises some serious concerns as to the way in which this case was handled; Aubertine may have flat out lied to the citizens of the 48th District if Wiley was in fact fired. There are some interesting twists to this story as we will see in the days to come.

On a side note, Aubertine is doing everything he can to spin the story and change the subject. Hence, his latest flip-flop on the ATV issue will appear in tomorrow's Watertown Daily Times. How can anybody trust this guy?

We will keep ya'll posted! Thanks for coming back for the inside scoop.

Please Trim the Pork

There is a lot of talk this time of year because all the district budgets are coming in. Gouverneur for example had a 21.4% hike; Thousand Island's district was almost 10%! There are others too but not one district came in at a lower budget than the year before. Maybe one will come up shortly, but we won't hold our breath.

We liked this quote today in the paper regarding a district budget: "I think it's quite a budget, to tell the truth. Everybody's gaining, all but the homeowner," village resident Randy J. Slate said. "The man who makes $10 an hour isn't going to be able to live in the village of Gouverneur anymore, no way."

Nepotism in New York, part 2

Big story in today's Watertown Daily Times.


It appears that Mr. Aubertine was so excited to be the new Senator of his district that he left his ethics at home... The Watertown Daily Times reported first, and we here at UGOB raised questions next, that Aubertine has hired his sister and that it could raise state ethics questions. Interesting how Aubertine voted for the bill in the NYS Assembly which prohibits the hiring of family members. Is this story over or does it have some legs?

What a difficult week for Mangione to balance! Our next question is: Can you knowingly hire a communications director that does illegal drugs? Is there a law/ethics rule against that?

At any rate, we'll take the credit here for our posting on Wednesday, April 23. Good thing the Albany Correspondent was on top of the ball, Jude Seymour was just going to gloss over it.

UPDATE: We try to stay as balanced as we can here at UGOB! Today, the managing editor of the Watertown Daily Times, Mr. Bob Gorman, notified us that Jude Seymour does not cover the Albany political beat. That distinction goes to the reporter who did end up covering the story, Tom Wanamaker. We apologize that we "speculated" Jude Seymour was glossing over Mr. Aubertine's ethics violation.

We are confident that the Watertown Daily Times will see to it that Debra Wiley does not get paid by the New York State taxpayers for the week she did work as Mr. Aubertine's constituent relations pro.


Aubertine's sister quits as liaison
RESIGNATION ACCEPTED: Reform that the senator voted for in Assembly prohibits hiring family members
By TOM WANAMAKER
TIMES ALBANY CORRESPONDENT

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2008
ALBANY — State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, said Monday night that his sister, Debra A. Wiley, Cape Vincent, has resigned her position as a constituent liaison in his office.

Ms. Wiley was appointed to the post last week, but a statement issued by Sen. Aubertine's communications director, Drew G. Mangione, said questions on whether the appointment followed state law prompted the senator to investigate the propriety of the move. The questions were posed Monday by the Watertown Daily Times.

In a statement, Mr. Mangione said: "Earlier today, Senator Aubertine became aware of a situation involving the employment of his sister, Debra A. Wiley, in his Senate office. After reviewing the appropriate policies, Debra has submitted her resignation and our office has accepted it."

Ethics reform legislation enacted in the early months of former Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's administration generally prohibits the hiring of family members by sitting members of the state Legislature.

Section 73, subdivision 14 of New York's public officers law, adopted in March 2007, reads, in part: "No statewide elected official, state officer or employee, member of the Legislature or legislative employee may participate in any decision to hire, promote, discipline or discharge a relative for any compensated position at, for, or within any state agency, public authority, or the Legislature."

Exceptions may be granted for people with "a physical impairment," or for "the temporary hiring of legislative pages, interns and messengers."

The measure passed the Assembly on Feb. 14, 2007. It passed the Senate on March 7, 2007, and was signed into law by Gov. Spitzer on March 26, 2007.

Then representing the 118th Assembly district, Mr. Aubertine voted in favor of the measure.

"This was the proper course of action once we became aware of the potential conflict in this situation. Sen. Aubertine has been a longtime supporter of government reform and accountability and will continue to fight for strong ethics laws in Albany," the statement concluded.

Mr. Aubertine represents the 48th Senate District, which includes Jefferson and Oswego counties and part of St. Lawrence County. He took office March 3 after defeating Assemblyman William A. Barclay in a special election Feb. 26. The election was held to replace former Sen. James W. Wright, who resigned.

Times state editor Perry White contributed to this report.

Rudy Giuliani Criticized by Cardinal Egan of NY

Catholics take this stuff pretty seriously. This story below might sum up why Will Barclay, Republican Assemblyman, lost his race against Darrel Aubertine, a pro-life Democrat Assemblyman this year. While we here at UGOB hope Aubertine will really stick to the pro-life position in the Senate, we also hope that we can get a real pro-life, pro-growth Republican in his place!


Giuliani criticized for receiving Holy Communion during pope visit
Posted: 02:53 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Cardinal Edward Egan says Rudy Giuliani should not have received Holy Communion during the pope's visit because he supports abortion rights.

Egan says he had "an understanding" with the former presidential candidate and New York mayor that he is not to receive the Eucharist. The Catholic church opposes abortion.

The cardinal said Monday that Giuliani broke that understanding when he received the Eucharist during Pope Benedict XVI's visit.

Egan says he will be seeking a meeting with Giuliani "to insist that he abide by our understanding."

Giuliani's spokesman says she is preparing a response.

Pay Raise for Judges?

Some would agrue that NY judges deserve a pay raise. Others don't think so at all.

Interesting story here from today's New York Post.

Judges across the state are engaged in a "rule-book slowdown" and refusing to hear cases involving firms that employ members of the Assembly and Senate, The Post has learned.

The protest follows years of lobbying for a pay raise, which has gotten the state's 1,300 judges nothing but broken promises and a wage that, when adjusted for cost of living, ranks 49th in the nation.

....

Two upstate judges told The Post that they recently recused themselves from cases involving Silver's firm because of their anger over the stalled pay raises.

"I think the speaker is a slug," said Cattaraugus County Judge Larry Himelein, a Democrat who said he couldn't be fair to Silver's firm. "The whole New York state political process is a joke."

What a controversy!

June O'Neill Makes Political Hay Over Everything

June O'Neill is making a political firestorm out of anything and everything these days. She'll do anything to change the New York state of mind that has been focused on the Spitzer scandal for weeks now. Today she took it to a new level though; she is micromangaging the politics of naming buildings...

O'Neill's political operation, which of course was inherited by the Clinton's, will stop at nothing to win some cheap points. We here at UGOB have now seen "a new low in the annals of political desperation."

State Spending Out of Control

With all of the talk of NYS spending being out of control I decided to wander over to the Empire Center, a Manhattan Institute for Policy Research think tank. They have some interesting stuff over there. For instance, did you know that "New York lawmakers in 2007 were paid the third highest annual base salary at $79,500, according to the latest National Conference for State Legislatures salary figures. Only lawmakers in California and Michigan were paid more."

Not only that, but NYS legistators ranked fourth in the nation for spending per member.

Our spending is out of control! Check out more of what the Empire Center has on their site.

Today's Interesting Headlines

Jim Wright may challenge Aubertine for his old Senate seat.


Paterson Channels Faso.

Political Blog Makes the WDT Today

Maybe someday the Upstate Good Old Boys will make the front pages of the Watertown Daily Times. But this is an interesting story you should check out...

Blog might have inside connection to Jeff. County government
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008
By JUDE SEYMOUR
TIMES STAFF WRITER


Sheriff Burns is not the only one who believes the blog's author has strong ties to county administration.

After Political IV broke news that Watertown resident Jerry O. Eaton would be nominated as the county's new Republican elections commissioner, Ezra S. "Ted" Ford speculated on the author's identity on his blog, Danger Democrat.

"We understand from a pretty reliable source that the 'IV' man is none other than Watertown florist and Jefferson County Legislator Scott Gray," wrote Mr. Ford, LaFargeville.

Asked about that post this week, Mr. Ford said the Eaton announcement "was written in the Scott Gray style and was exactly what Scott Gray thinks" but added that he was "largely guessing" on the blogger's identity.

Mr. Gray, R-Watertown, was asked in early April if he was affiliated with Political IV.

"I know who it is," the legislator responded. He would neither confirm nor deny any involvement. Reached again this week, Mr. Gray said he would not discuss the blog.

Mr. Ford and others interviewed about Political IV said they believe that Mr. Gray is involved, but that he is likely not the blog's sole author.

"It might be a couple of people that are connected," Mr. Ford said. "The writing style is pretty good, so it may be a professional writer. It may be someone who was with or currently has a position within existing media."

Mr. Ford said the blog demonstrates some "very intact" sources within the county Legislature. "Somebody is really connected," he said.

Robert F. Hagemann III, county administrator, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

While the guessing game continues, five locals with interests in politics have denied any involvement: Watertown Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham, county Legislature Chairman Kenneth D. Blankenbush, Legislators Philip N. Reed, R-Fishers Landing, and James Nabywaniec, R-Calcium, and former Legislator Paul J. Warneck, who is now county director of real property services.

The person purporting to be the author of Political IV contacted the Watertown Daily Times via e-mail after Mr. Ford "outed" Mr. Gray.

"Ted is guessing," the March 26 e-mail said.

The Times responded: "Why the anonymity? Allow us to explain to readers why you won't publicly identify yourself."

There was no reply.

Now Jefferson County's best known blogger, Mr. Ford initially tried to write Danger Democrat under a pseudonym.

"That lasted a month before I thought: 'This is stupid. Everyone knows it's me,'" he said.

Mr. Ford, a former county Democratic Committee chairman, said he believes that blogs penned by anonymous writers tend to be distrusted more.

"There's something more credible if you know the yay-hoo who's writing it," he said. "I'm not particularly fond of the anonymity of Political IV. I respect it and understand it. There's probably a good reason why IV is unknown."

His progressive viewpoint long unchallenged, Mr. Ford said he believes Political IV was created as "the antidote to Danger Democrat."

Although IV has billed itself as the "independent voice of reason," Mr. Ford said, the blog often espouses a conservative Republican viewpoint.

"I just think that they saw that quite a few people were reading Danger Democrat and it didn't express their point of view, and they wanted their point of view heard," Mr. Ford said. "I'm in favor of that. It gives me someone to pick on."

Instead of drowning out Danger Democrat, Mr. Ford said, he believes the presence of a counterpoint has increased his readership. The site, its owner said, is averaging about 400 hits per day.

Mr. Ford, 67, also has intensified his pace. He is averaging about four posts per day since Political IV debuted; he created about 2.7 posts per day before the other blog existed.

"My overall mission is to get people interested in perusing the Internet to find independent viewpoints," he said. "It's a passion for me and it's obviously a passion for IV. And I think IV does it well.

An Affair in the North Country?

Just a month ago the new Governor of New York State admitted to cheating on his wife with several women, including a state employee. Let’s just hope Patterson doesn’t try to cheat the North Country, too. It wouldn’t be the first time the North Country has been cheated on by the likes of the Albany/NYC crowd.

Patterson already made the reckless decision this month to strip the residents of the 118th Assembly District of their representation by not calling for a special election to replace Darrel Aubertine. Now Upstate New Yorkers will go without representation until the next go-around.

Patterson will try to chummy up to his Democrat friends in the North Country tomorrow with a visit to soldiers at Fort Drum. He is also expected to visit Samaritan Medical Center. Lets hope he takes this opportunity to address North Country issues in a bi-partisan manner. The North Country can’t afford to be cheated out of the political system any longer.

Oot's Endorsement Amounts to Beans

It appears that Michael Oot has received a noteworthy endorsement today! Too bad the endorsement is not from someone/some group within the district of the people he seeks to represent, the 23rd congressional district of New York. Today, Oot won the endorsement of Syracuse Sheet Metal Workers; this is notable because they are run by Clinton fat-cats from outside McHugh's district. (Talk about special interests getting involved in the affairs of the North Country… Chris Poole and Mike Moran need to get a grip on reality; how does this really help anyone they represent?)

In my opinion, Local 58 should be more concerned with the New York's 25 congressional district. For one, because that is where they are based (301 Pulaski Street, Syracuse, NY 13204). But more importantly, Local 58 needs to deal with its own declining union presence and the overall union presence in the U.S. They need to ask themselves if they are really helping their 500+ workers by supporting extremely liberal candidates for office and pieces of legislation like the Employee Free Choice Act (HR 800) in the US House, a bill that has repeatedly failed and which would amend the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 in a gross way.

The Steel Workers favored legislation would give even more power to union bosses and eventually it would take more union dues away from its members paychecks, something very few laborers want. HR 800 would also end the secret ballot process and take away the democratic power of union members in their union decision-making processes. No wonder unions are in decline in the US and that we are losing jobs in Upstate New York at an alarming rate.

What is even more interesting is that the Local 58 snubbed a pro-labor incumbent like Rep. John McHugh just because he is a Republican. McHugh has been on their side on many trade and labor issues over the course of his career in Congress, against the will of his party. But Local 58 would prefer to throw McHugh under the bus for their pipe-dream candidate, Oot, who will never get traction.

One would think that the Local 58 would want to make friends with the next ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. I mean won’t McHugh get to decide whose steel we use for shipbuilding next Congress? My guess is that McHugh won’t be returning the favor to our friends in Syracuse unless they change their minds.

Nepotism in NY?

Sorry that I, Mr. Thomas Nast, have been sleepless in Seattle for weeks and haven’t posted. But it has come to my attention that we have some serious nepotism in upstate New York politics, just when we thought those days were over!

Today, directly from the Watertown Daily Times we found out that our newly elected State Senator, Mr. Darrel J. Aubertine, has added several new staffers to the state’s payroll. One such staffer just happens to be his sister, Debra A. Wiley. Now the move is all fine and dandy, except her salary comes straight out of the wallet of the New York State taxpayer. Sounds like straight up nepotism to me. I wonder if the Watertown Daily Times and the writer, Jude Seymour, will follow up and find out just how much she is being paid for her new role as head of constituent liaisons… and I wonder how much Senator Jim Wright paid his constituent liaison staffer? If Wiley gets special treatment for being the new Senator’s sister will anyone make an issue of it when Aubertine wants to run for Congress?

On a positive note for Aubertine at least he can get this out of the way before his Congressional run in 2010 or 2012, depending on how long McHugh wants to stay in the US Congress. It looks like he is staying put and he is making a heck of a run for chair/ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. Bravo to Mr. McHugh!

I remember another former New York politician who sought to clean up New York politics, rid the state of nepotism, and special interest… his name was Eliot Spitzer. It looks like Hillary Clinton taught Aubertine well – reward those close to home.

The New York GOP Endorses

With all the talk of Will Barclay rounding up various endorsements, we almost forgot about what the state party might say about the presidential election.

Today we got an E-mail stating that the NYGOP had endorsed John McCain from Arizona, a guy from 3/4 of the way across the country. It is sort of a slap in Romney's face we thought, but then again Rudy came out for McCain last week. In the same message there was a pitch for Barclay. Way to go for him!

At least Joe Mandello is willing to give a shout out to his upstate NY candidates, unlike our own June O'Neil who can't even get her own county chairs to line up behind Aubertine. Rumor has it that Saratoga Democratic Chair Larry Bulman is even backing Barclay.

Larry is probrably just upset that June is focused on Hillary's race and has abandoned her upstate roots. Why would she want to relive her failed attempt to turn Upstate NY from red to blue?