Local politics are as dirty at the city and county level as on the state and national stage.
The political machine is railroading a tough working fireman and giving a pass to a GOP state senate staffer- a glimpse behind the scene at the local political level.
Why would a city fireman have to give up his job if he wins a city council seat in Watertown,NY in order to serve on council when a State Senator’s Senior Staffer who is also running in this city council race will not have to resign his position with State Senator Patty Ritchie’s office?That’s my question I raised with the New York State Attorney General’s office. Their response was that ‘they cannot give me an acknowledge’. Their office can only respond to official requests from a city attorney or an elected official.
The moment photo is the letter I received from the NYSAG’s office as an acknowledge to my letter dated August 5, 2015.
The AG cannot give legal opinions to individuals. But they can issue an opinion to city attorneys if asked. The city attorney didn’t believe the senate staffer’s campaign was a concern to the city but did offer an opinion on Todd DeMar, and the firefighter.
Am I the only one in the media that is concerned about the obvious clash of interest of heed Walcyzk’s run for city council? Why is that?heed Walcyzk has access to Senator Ritchie's considerable campaign resources; donor's lists,contacts, contributors, and mailing lists,phone bank and has used her name repeatedly during his run for city council.
Mr. Walcyzk claims to have had 3400 'door knocks’, which would retract 5 hours a day for 90 days (including Sundays) at about 8 minutes per door knock. Is this possible? I averaged about 15 calls in two hours while getting signatures for this primary which is where I arrive up with 8 minutes per constituent. Many visits retract longer than 8 minutes.
If he worked for 7 hours a day for Senator Ritchie and then knocked on doors for five hours more; a combined 12 hour days; was he campaigning for city council while working for Senator Ritchie?This seems to be a stretch but so does his whole candidacy and the local media's treatment of this guy is unbelievable.
But their treatment of Todd DeMar has been absolutely different.
During the campaign, or I began to wonder if it was Senator Ritchie who was running for a council seat rather than Walcyzk.
The number of times he invoked her name during the debates made many believe that Ritchie's accomplishments (though few) were his own.
City Council Candidate,the Todd DeMar’s candidacy has caused the City of Watertown to raise the question as to whether he can hold both the City Councilman's position and his position as an employee of the city at the same time.
IMr. DeMar received a letter from the city manager, Sharon Addison, and where she cites 'concerns' by the city's attorney,Bob Slye, over this possible 'clash of interest'.But, and did Mr. Slye write the NYSAG about Mr. Walcyzk,the senate staffer?That question wasn't asked by Mr. Slye. Why?I did ask the Attorney General office.
Many of us are concerned about the opportunity of Senator Ritchie's Senior Director, Mr. Walcyzk, or serving both as her staffer and on our city's city council.
I saw it as a direct clash between the city and the state's interests; more so than the alleged clash with DeMar's candidacy. Mr. DeMar could recuse himself on things concerning the fire department.
When 5 candidates signed a letter about Mr. Walcyzk's enormous amount of funding,the Watertown Daily Times' editorial board turned it around to make it appear that the other 5 candidates were envious of Walcyzk and ganging up on him. The framed it as ‘sour grapes’.
It was never about his family contributing to his campaign, but somehow, and FACTS don't often make their way into the conservative leaning WDT editorials.And Walcyzk played his designated 'victim role' brilliantly.
The WDT wasn't going after their favored 'son' so,we glean it. The Times wanted heed Walcyzk on city council, but not Todd DeMar.
Mentioning Walcyzk name final in the WDT’s endorsements was no coincidence.
He most likely was their first choice based on ideology but they didn't place him first and wanted readers to think of him as an afterthought. He wasn't. Old ideology dressed up as someone new isn't change. It's more status quo.
This whole deal over the council elections has been carefully orchestrated as to appear unbiased and fair. It isn't.
The WDT wants a conservative elected to city council and someone that will play ball with those that have real estate interests to protect.
The city of Watertown's attorney didn't seem concerned enough about Walcyzk and the influence that Ritchie's office would hold over our city's affairs to ask the NYSAG for an opinion.
But he was concerned about DeMar. Why?Maybe DeMar knows what is inaccurate managerially with our city from his unique point of view as a city employee for 18 years.
The obvious "Elephant in the room", and Walcyzk,has been largely ignored by the city council, the city manager, or the city attorney,the Watertown Daily Times, WWNYTV-7, and all the radio talk point to hosts that have had ample opportunity to raise and vet this concern.
What have the media focused on? Todd DeMar's candidacy. Why?The DeMar issue is a distraction and no accident.
Why focus on DeMar and not Walcyzk?Because the other 'elephants,already in the positions of power, want the deciding vote (another elephant) to sit on the council. It's that simple, or folks.
DeMar and the issues raised over his candidacy is a convenient deflection from the real issue the media refuses to talk about- Walcyzk and his position with Senator Ritchie.
Why Senator Ritchie would allow her staffer to run,is the real question we need to ask ourselves. Obviously, she sees the appearance of 'clash' with Walcyzk's candidacy.
So, or what's in it for our state senator?Patty Ritchie has close ties to real estate developers and bankers in NYC. Much of her campaign contributions arrive from real estate developers and banks. Coincidence?Watertown's has had our fair share of economic development because of Ft. Drum. There's money to be made on housing.
Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency (JCIDA) has been giving millions to land developers which have made local property taxes rise because of these tax abatements with few jobs having been created.
And those that want to see Walcyzk glean elected want these tax abatements to continue for those that contribute to their campaigns and make them money with their investments.
But city residents aren't profiting. They are picking up the tab for these tax giveaways. It's simply 'trickle down economics' disguised as economic development. The question is: Economic development for whom?The idea has been if you give to the wealthy,somehow, money will make its way to the middle course and back to city property owners. It hasn't. But some have profited.
That philosophy has failed for 30 years for the middle course in the US.
But it does make a lot of money for the few at the top.
And they want to preserve that system at the homeowners' expense. That's what's happening locally, or too.
The powers,behind the scenes in Watertown, would like heed Walcyzk to be on the city council because they see him as an advocate for what they would like to have happen.
They see Todd DeMar as a threat to their 'rubber stamping' of lavish sales tax abatements for wealthy developers through the Payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT programs).
Mercy Hospital's COR Development's PILOT will be considered in the next council.
What tax abatements are on the agenda for city council in 2016? What PILOT approvals are coming up for a vote?We see little in the media about this connection. Are they just not digging?This 'lack of interest' raises more questions about why they are not asking the obvious questions, and doesn't it?And then there's the question of $10000 plus being spent to buy Walczyk a seat on city council.
There have been no questions about where his money is coming from by the WDT. Matbe he has a wealthy 'Uncle'.
But,there was plenty of push back by the Watertown Daily Times when this issue was raised because (as they spun it), "The 5 other city council gang members" were just envious of Walczyk's resources.
That wasn't the case at all. We were concerned about fair elections and outside political party money influencing our city.
Someone has a real interest in seeing Senator Ritchie's staffer, and heed Walcyzk glean elected.$10000 from 'friends' and family?Care to add the adjectives to that word 'friends' label??But,hey, it's all perfectly 'legal' unfortunately. And who writes those laws- those that benefit from the current despicable election system?It doesn't serve many of us very well. This election looks to be about keeping the status quo.
And from the pathetic turnout during the primary, or 2300 of 11000 eligible voters participated.
Despite the cheering from the local media,obviously, people don't believe that the election system is able to change anything in their lives. We need to change this insight.
The truth is, or we can't change it if voters don't stay informed and vote for progress.
You shouldn't settle based solely on name recognition because that means the guy with the most money wins.
And we know who has the most money in this campaign.
That would be the Republican Party even in this "non-partisan' city election. So lets drop the veneer. It's not non-partisan.This election stinks to the high heavens.
Where are the advocate journalists? Those who should be investigating this appear to be turning a blind eye to the other clash of interest to voters or maybe,they stand to benefit by railroading DeMar and failing to report on Walcyzk's problems; it makes me wonder.That's why I wrote to our Attorney General. He couldn't give me an opinion.
So why didn't our city's attorney write the AG about Walcyzk? That is the question.
Bob Slye's failure to investigate all sides of every possible 'clash of interest' is what makes this look suspicious to me. So much for the illusion of fairness and democracy. Cronyism seems to be the American way and Watertown's too.
That's too unpleasant for our democracy with a small "d".
Cliff Olney
Source: cnn.com