END COMMON COUNCIL POWER GRAB. DO YOUR JOBS

 

      SULLIVAN FOR MAYOR  CITY OF ALBANY, N.Y. 2005

June 8, 2005                                                J P Sullivan  Tel/Fax  438 5230

        SULLIVAN TO COMMON COUNCIL INCUMBENTS AND

       CHALLENGERS: END POWER GRAB, DO YOUR JOBS

Joseph P. Sullivan, Republican candidate for Mayor of Albany, today, called on Albany Common Council candidates to end their power grab to undermine a strong Mayor in Albany.

This power grab is a distraction that is taking attention and energies away from resolving the issues vital to the quality of life and future of the City of Albany:

   * disarming criminals and gangs, making our schools, streets and neighborhoods safe for law abiding residents

   * strictly enforcing speed limits and safe driving on residential neighborhood streets

   * preparations to cope with natural and man-made disasters and terrorist acts

   * restoring a K-8 neighborhood school system with a focus on learning the knowledge and skills needed to become a well-adjusted, productive member of society

   * developing a comprehensive city land use master plan, with the advice, participation and consent of neighborhood residents, that will promote improved residential integrity and life quality in city neighborhoods.

Common Council incumbents, and challengers, must take clear stands on these and other vital city issues, in order to be worthy of re-election or election, before there is any further debate of the recent calls for charter revision and redistribution of power from the office of the Mayor to the Common Council in the City of Albany.

Stop undermining the office of the Mayor. Albany needs a strong Mayor more than ever. The buck stops at the Mayor's desk and the focus of the 2005 city elections must be his performance as a leader in addressing the above issues.

The current, weak, ineffective Common Council does not merit any additional powers. Their ineffectiveness is a major issue in campaign 2005.

They should do their jobs, fully exercising the powers already vested in them as individuals representing the constituents of their respective wards, and as a body representing the residents of the City of Albany as a whole.

In short, Council Members, and candidates, get to work and do your jobs! Demonstrate that you are worthy of re-election or election!

Lost for ideas? See Sullivan Blog:

   http://journals.aol.com/lonerangeralbany/lonerangeralbany/

 

NOVEMBER BALLOT INITIATIVE MANIA

     June 7, 2005

     SULLIVAN FOR MAYOR  CITY OF ALBANY, N.Y. 2005

              SULLIVAN CALLS FOR NOVEMBER BALLOT

              QUESTIONS TO FIX FAILING CITY SCHOOLS

Joseph P Sullivan (R) applauds the emergence of participatory democracy in Albany, supported by 8 Common Council Members, as reported in the Times Union (Effort to weaken mayoral power.. June 7. 2005 pB7, by Brian Nearing).

Sullivan said the Common Council move supporting a November ballot initiative to amend the city charter to provide for a shift in power from the Mayor to the Common Council, has opened the door to November Ballot Initiative Mania.

Participatory democracy can be a fine thing, if the public is fully informed, said Sullivan. Full and fair reporting of all sides of ballot initiative questions, by the media, is an essential prerequisite for participatory democracy to work.

Sullivan challenges the Common Council to place questions on the November ballot aimed at fixing the failing city schools. The ballot questions proposed by Sullivan are:

Q1  Should Albany return to a K-8 neighborhood school system?

Q2  Shall the Albany City School District and School Board be disbanded and responsibility and accountability for the city schools vested with the Mayor and Common Council?

Q3  Shall city school budget votes be held in conjunction with November elections, with binding results? (No Reruns)

Q4  Shall the funding of city schools be shifted from the property to sales/income taxes, so that all pay their fair share of support for city schools?

The Albany Common Council should take the lead in fixing the failing city schools, by immediately adopting and forwarding a Home Rule Request to the NYS Legislature, for action before the current legislative session ends, said Sullivan.

But, will the Common Council act? They will, if their embrace of participatory democracy is genuine, Sullivan said.

If the Common Council fails to act, Sullivan said he will commence a petitioning effort to have the school questions placed on the November ballot.

 

 

 

 

    

STRONG MAYOR V GIRLIE MEN

 

SULLIVAN FOR MAYOR  CITY OF ALBANY , NEW YORK 2005

                  ALBANY NEEDS A STRONG MAYOR

                  Reject Liberal Dem-Working Families

                   Party Petitioning Ploy

 

Tuesday, June 7 is the first day to sign party petitions to qualify candidates for the ballot in the November city elections.

The Liberal Democrat-Working Families Party Coalition that now controls the Albany City School District and School Board, is seeking to gain control of city government this year.

First, the Coalition attempted to field a candidate for Mayor, who turned out to have no message and no credibility. That failed.

Then ,the Coalition announced that they would not endorse a candidate for Mayor.

Now, they are focusing their efforts on electing Shawn Morris Common Council President. The Common Council President, by law, becomes Mayor should the latter office become vacant for any reason.

Is Shawn Morris qualified to be next in line to succeed the Mayor? No! Unless voters want the rest of Albany to look like Delaware Avenue, which has become a blighted, crime-riden neighborhood under 8 years of Shawn Morris purporting to represent the Delaware Avenue neighborhood and Ward 7.

Morris is the sponsor of a resolution to rezone 3.5 acres on Holland Avenue at Hackett Blvd as "Highway Commercial" in order that a Walgreen's super store can be built at that location. This is an example of spot zoning at it's worst!

Holland Ave  and Hackett Blvd are primary emergency vehicle routeways to Albany Medical Center. there is alreday too much traffic congestion at that location.

A Walgreen's supers store would drive small independent and CVS/Eckerd neighborhood pharmacies out of business creating more empty store fronts on Delaware and New Scotland Avenues and at Crestwood Plaza.

In addition to electing Morris Common Council President, the Liberal Democrat-Working Families Party Coalition is attempting to gain control of the 15 Member Common Council. A hapless, ineffective body which can't even properly exercise it's current powers and responsibilities.

The Times Union (June 6, 2005, pB1 article by Brian Nearing) reports that the Liberal Democrat-Working Families Party Coalition will circulate a petition to weaken the office of Mayor and shift more powers to the Common Council. The Coalition already has the required 3,031 required signatures from the same flunkies who vote yes on every annual school budget increase, and who saddled Albany homeowners ans small businesses with a 200 million dollar (and growing) bond act debt to finance reconstruction of the failing Albany City Schools.

Albany voters should see this petitioning ploy for what it is - a raw political power grab under the guise of increasing participatory democracy.

I urge Albany voters not to sign this petition, nor the petitions of the Liberal Democrat-Working Families Party Coalition endorsed candidates who are their pawns in this power grab.

Albany needs a strong Mayor. If you feel you don't have one- elect one on November  8th.

 

 

 

 

ANGELS NO MATCH FOR ALBANY STREET DEVILS

       2 June 2005

        SULLIVAN (R) FOR MAYOR  CITY OF ALBANY, NY

 

        ANGELS NO MATCH FOR ALBANY STREET DEVILS

Does anyone in Albany feel safer after two days of media hype about the Guardian Angels coming to Albany?

Time for a reality check. A half dozen unarmed Angels are no match for legions of street devils armed with a variety of small arms, including automatic weapons.

All this media hype about angels only accentuates the ineffectiveness of the current Democratic Officeholders, including the Mayor, Common Council President and 15 members of the Common Council, when it comes to forcefully addressing the related problems of disorder, gangs and crime in city schools, on city streets and in city neighborhoods.

Albany Democrats have to pause and ask themselves this question- how would Dan O'Connell have dealt with these problems?

The inefectiveness of the current Democratic Officeholders in Albany with regard to resolving these problems, is proof that the party of Dan O'Connell is no more.

Angels? Albanians had better start saying their prayers.