Koon is out for Exec Race - Let the Rumors Fly yet again.
Ah the power of stepping on other people’s posts. Exile beat me to the post but here is another take. Like Exile said, Assemblyman David Koon is out.
Enter the most recent name– Kevin Murray, a former Monroe County legislator. From Joe Spector’s article yesterday:
Democratic leaders said they are reaching out to Murray, who ran for mayor in 1993 and who served on the legislature for 28 years, as a possible candidate to run against Republican Executive Maggie Brooks in November.
The party has been struggling to find a viable candidate against Brooks and had long viewed Koon as an option.
But with Koon out, Democrats are eyeing Murray, who is well-respected in party ranks and who was long its voice on the County Legislature.
What is interesting is the rumor mill that surrounds the selection of candidate. First the buzz about Brighton Town Supervisor Sandy Frankel running.We had our little poll on this site with the results leaning towards Frankel. I recall a D&C blog where there was discussion or coments with certainty that Frankel was it (I looked but couldn’t quickly find it).
Then Assmeblyman David Koon was going to run. Our buddies over at Mustard Street proudly announced in April that Koon was it because of some back door deal to get his son elected in East Rochester (you can read ER Mayor Candidate Koon’s retort in their comments) , then it was going to be some junior Legislator, now it’s just “not Koon”.
Then of course Tom Tobin over that the D&C said that the Dem’s were in the streets with signs demanding a candidate. Maybe he is the one with the sign so he would have something to write about.
I guess all isn’t as it seems and we will know in a few weeks when the petitioning process gets in full swing.
Frankly, I think people are tired of the protracted campaigning process. We have Presidential candidates and debates on TV -now. Last year’s local congressional races were brutal. Robo calls, TV saturation, Mail box saturation. I think people are just tired.
The conventional wisdom is that Maggie is going to be difficult to beat. Sure - Incumbents are difficult to beat. However - Maggie is not without baggage and this baggage weighs Monroe County down.
That baggage is the failed policies of the Monroe county GOP and the inherent corruption and ignorance that goes with it. Recall: the Water Authority, Airport land deals, COMIDA, one shot budget financing with the Riga Landfill and Tobacco money.
The smoke and mirrors of capping a budget component that doesn’t ever rise enough to blow the cap and claiming credit for not wasting time. (That’s like running a foot race and promising never to run faster than 50 miles an hour and expecting accolades when you don’t run 50 miles an hour - hell, I promise I will never physically run faster than 30 miles an hour - now reward me!), Raising taxes (When I grow up I want to have 9% sales tax like Oneida county) , lowering services.
The MC Legislature and lack of movement is also part of this baggage. Oh– ownership of the Ren Square - 4 months away?
I think people are starting to see the strings to Steve Minarik where the city is pitted against the suburbs and people are arguing about what side of the lifeboat the hole is in. Let Maggie run on her record. The Dems should run on it too.
All I want in a County Exec candidate is one who can work with all elements of the county to bring it together rather than sacrificing one element over an other for short term political gain.
We have enough of that currently in our current administration in Washington - we don’t need it here.
What would you tell Maggie’s oppponent to discuss? Be specific and put a link if you can.
Related posts:
1. No raising taxes. 8.5% raise proposal means you’ve stopped thinking creatively. No ideas? Oh, I know, let’s raise taxes.
2. Leave the library alone. The Supreme will strike your policy down and we’ll be footing the bill. (See #1 for taxes.)
Have a plan. Have a well-thought out plan for the region. Show us you’ve put some thought into it. Use the Brookings Report. or something else.
Show me that you’re an intelligent, organized person who knows what they’re doing.
Also, all those problems with maggie/comida highlighted above are good things to campaign on as well.