What is with Schenectady Mayoral Candidates?

Full disclosure: I know both of these recent candidates,  and have worked with both of them on neighborhood association issues.

Recently barely defeated candidate Roger Hull wrote a very critical piece for the news recently, in which he complains that there should have been a recount after the very close race for mayor, and that Gary McCarthy is "double dipping" by accepting a public  pension while seeking (and winning) an elected public office. I'll talk about those point in a moment, but the whole tone of the piece sounded like whining loser rather than game changing third party founder.

During the race Gary McCarthy refused to approve permits to allow other people to collect signatures on petitions for Roger Hull, a process which has been rubber stamped by both parties for years. Even Hull's son was refused a permit, which served no good purpose, as enough signatures were collected, but did offend a number of voters, who were not shy about saying so. I heard that in College Park, I heard it in Woodlawn, and I heard it in the Stockade. Doing something which offends even people who are inclined to like you isn't good politics.

Recounting the votes

I completely agree that the vote should have been recounted in this case, not because it would have changed the result, but because it would have avoided speculation about vote irregularities, particularly those caused by unplugging and moving the machines at Schenectady High, which certainly introduced doubts because poll watchers for other candidates couldn't be in two places at once to monitor the handling of the machines both inside and outside the school. While I don't believe the conspiracy theories about the bomb scare being a trick to get the machines moved, it looks questionable, and since people are talking about the origin of the call, someone must believe it was a dirty trick.

Double dipping

Unless voters have a problem with the idea of someone retiring and drawing a pension from one job while working another, I don't see why this point was raised. Usually the term is used to refer to someone who retires from a job and then continue to do the same job as a "consultant." Clearly that's not the case here, and while Gary McCarthy is putting more money in his pocket by retiring to take the mayor's job, it does save the city money by not having to pay for some benefits. Score that one a win-win, big win for the mayor, small win for the city. And probably overall a small win for the taxpayers as a whole, Given the number of retired people working a little because the pension isn't going very far, I don't think the public is going to see this as a problem.

I have two wishes about Schenectady politics, the first being the new third party continue to field viable candidates and keep the council on its best behavior, and second that the next election be more civil in tone and focused on issue, because "I like his solutions" is what you want to hear, not terms like "lesser of two evils." And having people turn out because they actually think their vote makes a difference is refreshing, I hope that continues. It's been about a decade since I heard people saying "I'm glad I voted" or "I should have voted" after an election.