Collins Seeks a Rubber Stamp
The beauty of having a County Comptroller and County Legislature that is independent from, and controlled by the party in opposition to that of the County Executive, is that we have some checks and balances in place.
Because Poloncarz and Marinelli do not do Collins’ bidding all the time, and have had the audacity to challenge him on key issues, in Collins’ mind they must go.
Call it the Byron Brown School of Government, if you will.
Make no mistake - if the Comptroller is a Republican Collins lackey in the future, we won’t have a fiscal watchdog; we’ll have an obedient lapdog. We can’t afford that anymore. (See Nancy Naples).
Dave A. Says:October 7th, 2008 at 10:33 am
One problem with business owners in politics… they’re used to top-down management, and haven’t always learned to play well with others.
Jim Allen Says:October 7th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Why is it that wanting people that you can work with to make county (or city, state or federal) government more efficient and responsive makes one “political” or an egomaniac? The fact that Chris Collins would prefer people in critical offices to be the type of people who would be willing to work with his administration without having to worry about the constant “gotcha” politics that characterize the political climate in this region, is commendable and understandable. And furthermore, it’s the intelligence and character of the people in the positions of Comptroller and Legislative Chairman that makes them independent, not their political parties.
It’s clear that Chris Collins doesn’t suffer fools gladly but it’s been my experience that if you disagree with him and have valid reasons for doing so, he listens as any good CEO should do. If he is attempting to put others in office it’s because they share his values and beliefs in getting the job done (i.e., making Erie County government efficient and responsive) not because he is looking for a bunch of lackeys to do his bidding. Chris Collins deplores lackeys and political hacks of any political persuasion.
Math Wizard Says:October 7th, 2008 at 11:28 am
When Lynn Marinelli called for a hiring freeze, Collins attacked her as being a day late and a dollar short.
When Michele Iannello called for turning off county computers on nights and weekends, Collins attacked her saying any savings would be negated by the cost of replacing over used on/off switches.
When Mark Poloncarz attempted to do an audit, Collins had the County Attorney threaten to file ethics charges with Bar Association against him.
When Bob Reynolds, Tom Laughran and Michele Iannello voted against reauthorization of the 3/4 sales tax, he attacked them as too partisan.
Make no mistake Chris Collins is a chief politician, he came into office and gave big patronage pay hikes to unqualified cronies like Cheryl Green and created the highest paid patronage position in the county with the space czar (nevermind the fact the previous administration had a space utilization study done). He burned money on fake programs like six sigma. And he lied about taking just a dollar a year, instead he put his salary into a “charity” (at taxpayer expense, his pledge isn’t saving anyone a dime) that he is using to get himself re-elected. Collins said he was going to reform government and reduce taxes, what steps has he taken to do either?
indabuff Says:October 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Wow…if only James Keane was CE, everything would beautiful.
indabuff Says:October 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Talk about beautiful…this is what I meant to say.
Wow…if only James Keane was CE, everything would be beautiful.
Mike In WNY Says:October 7th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Anonymous sources from Illuzer II, whatever. Marinelli is a poster child for term limits.
Ike Says:October 7th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Yeah, where is this split government hypothesis w/r/t the federal races?
Or is it only an asset in your mind when it prevents a unified Republican government?
you hack
Chris Smith Says:October 7th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
County politics is soooooo 2005.
tbone Says:October 7th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I am no fan of Naples, but she got a bum rap. Every year when the budget came up for a vote she told the legislators and Giambra that they were playing with fire, that the budgets were not structurally balanced, that they were using county savings etc. Isnt the case that if the Co. Exec and the Co. Leg are both approving budgets, the Comptroller can do nothing to stop them? Is there a mechanism for the Comptroller to in essence veto the budget?