UPDATE: Our friends at Democracy In Albany have posted a great article on this subject for July 8, which can be found here. DIA is writing longer and longer articles, perhaps he/she is being influenced by albanyweblog's lengthy ranting and raving.
Here's a sampling of some of the emails floating around about Re-Capitalize
Albany:
From: Leonard I Morgenbesser
Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 11:25 PM
How on earth do we get a meaningful Citywide Plan (the
below one purports
to address education, neighborhood revitalization, economic growth
-when the PTA people are left off of the train
-when only one of 45 Members is African-American
Do we know if this Group will have public hearings
or will they just talk
amongst themselves?
How can they get a true picture if they just talk amongst themselves?
Do we know if they are interested in
-every positive opportunity for our young people
-delinquency amongst some of our young people
-the continuing, outrageous easy availability of illegally
possessed firearms including those which end up in hands
of some of our young people
Wouldnt it have been fitting if they had put at least
one young person on
this Group
What is going on here?
Can we really have true growth if we have as I have
said in various public
testimonies
two Cities on a Hill
-one along Fuller Road/U Albany booming with Nanotech
City/Village, adjacent
to State Campus (Renovated) Village, with some fine new dining facilities
downtown like 677 Prime
AND ANOTHER
-the one downtown where hopes are not vibrant among
some of our adults and
young people
-where people live in fear
-where people get the feeling other people including
some in power DO NOT
CARE
While I continue to call for am Emergency Summit on
the Violence including
the illegal guns,
we have a Growth Committee which is not representative
of the total diversity and strength of the people of Albany
Go figure
Leonard I Morgenbesser Ph.D.
From: Luci McKnight
Subject: Re: Jennings' new "plan for growth"
Date: July 2, 2006 12:20:55 PM EDT
To: dwvr@mac.com
I feel that all of the people who were selected by
Mayor Jennings are noble leaders in our region but the entire notion
of capitalizing on every aspect
of our city government as we plan for it's growth must have broad based
representation of it's residents. It is apparent that the majority makeup
of
this 45 Member committee are not residents and therefore should submit their
resignations.....LMM
From: John Schnebly
Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 8:39 AM
Subject: Jennings' new "plan for growth"the
Dear Brian,
I read with interest your article this morning on
Jerry's new 45 member
panel to craft a new vision for Albany. I certainly agree with the
thrust
of your article as to the diversity of this new panel. Since I know
most
of the folks named, please allow me to give my observations as to
their
interests in serving on this panel:
Gerald D. Jennings, Mayor of Albany till 2009--seeks
to gather campaign contributions to finance his successor for his
greater glory, prestige, and
legacy.
Thomas Geisel--Key Bank President--seeks to finance
hyper-secure developments with "appropriate" public guarantees
with no risks for his
bank, at best possible interest rates.
Mark Adams--Times Union Publisher--seeks to expand
circulation in a growing
region.
Stephen Baboulis--WNYT-TV VP/GM--seeks increased ratings
in competition with
his rivals.
James Barba--Albany Med Center CEO--seeks more money for his med
center.
Betty Barnette--Albany city treasurer--seeks continuity
of power by
supporting Jerry every step of the way forward.
M. Christian Bender--Brighter Choice Foundation ED--seeks
real solutions to
Albany's problems in the context of his own philanthropic capabilities.
Steve Boyle--St. Peter's Hospital CEO--seeks more money for his
hospital.
David Buicko--Galesi Group COO--seeks more profitable
development opportunities for his company.
Nancy Carey Cassidy--Picotte Companies EVP--seeks to
complete her vision of
Corporate Woods.
Michael Castellana--SEFCU president--seeks to make
profitable loans, gain
more depositors.
Timothy Conley--Conley Associates president--seeks
more real estate activity
for his firm.
Robert Curley--Citizens Bank president--seeks more
profitable loans, growth
in depositor base.
Thomas D'Ambra--Albany Molecular Research president
and CEO--seeks optimum
relationship with moneyed interests in region to secure stock base
in his
company.
Maurico Diaz--Empire Shoe Rebuilders owner--token Hispanic
small business
owner for diversity.
The Rev. Kenneth Doyle--Chancellor of the Albany Roman
Catholic Diocese--seeks meaningful role for his "flock" in any activity
impacting "his flock".
John Egan--Renaissance Corporation of Albany president--seeks
implementation of the vision of Marty Silverman, given source of
his funding. Supports
mass transit options in competition with highway options due to his
resume
in transportation and his realization of impact of rising fossil
fuel costs.
Carl Florio--First Niagara Bank president--seeks profitable
loans and growth
of depositor base.
Alan Goldberg--First Albany Corporation president--seeks
optimum relationships with investors in region to secure his stock
values.
Kermit Hall--UAlbany president--seeks more money for
UAlbany, more jobs for
UAlbany graduates, more prestige for his position.
Nancy Hodes--Hodes Associates president--I don't know Nancy.
Roger Hull--Help Yourself Foundation president and
former Union College
president--seeks opportunity to serve after career with Union.
Eva Joseph--Albany City School District superintendent--seeks
better schools, more money, etc.
Richard Kotlow--UHY Advisors NY CEO--seeks more financially
qualified clients and larger accounting jobs.
Rene LaSpina--WTEN-TV president and GM--seeks better
ratings, more advertising sales, better competitive position for
her station.
Donald Led Duke--BBL Construction Services president--seeks
more major
construction contracts at better margins.
Richard Liebich--Charitable Venture Foundation chairman--seeks
optimum opportunities to deploy his resources in the context of coordination
with
other financial and civic leaders of the type Jerry has selected
for this
panel.
Kelly Lovell--Center for Economic Growth--seeks enhanced
opportunities for
profit for her membership netting growth of her organization.
Jennifer MacPhee--Bank of America market president--seeks
profitable loan
opportunities and growing depositor base.
Alan Martin--Capital News 9 VP and GM--seeks enhanced
ratings and greater
growth of Time Warner in market.
Norman Massry--Tri-City Rentals president--seeks growth
in his rental management portfolio for profits.
Angelo Massone--Angelo's 677 Prime restaurant owner--seeks
to be the logical
place for this panel to dine and spend their money.
Christine Miles--Albany Institute of History & Art
director--seeks more
contributions from individuals and government to expand her programs.
John Nigro--Nigro Companies president--seeks more strip
mall development opportunities wherever the biggist return on risk
can be located.
Kevin O'Connor--Tech Valley Communications CEO--seeks
more sales through
relationships with business and civic leadership.
John O'Donnell--Albany County Airport Authority CEO--seeks
improvement of
airport and growth in airport traffic.
Victor Politzi--Progressive Insurance state manager--seeks
more return on
his investment in Albany real estate through optimum relationships
with
Albany's leadership.
Joseph Rabito--Albany City Development and Planning
Commissioner--seeks to
do what Jerry asks him to do.
Jeffery Sperry--CB Richard Ellis (Albany) president--seeks more
buildings to
lease, rent, sell, and purchase.
I. David Swawite--Omni Development Company president
and COO--seeks more
development opportunites for highest paying tenants.
Ed Swyer--Swyer Companies president--seeks more opportunities
for his
successful formulas of Styvesant Plaza, etc.
Lyn Taylor--Albany Colonie Chamber of Commerce president--seeks
growth of
her organization through growth of her membership.
F. Michael Tucker--Harriman Campus Redevelopment Corp.
president--seeks massive NYS support to implement his proposals for
Harriman Campus.
Michele Vennard--Albany County Convention and Visitor
Bureau president--seeks successful term of office doing what the
political
consensus directs her to do.
Obviously, these are all great choices to serve on
this panel. However, you are quite right in reporting many are wondering
where is the
representation of the community, of labor, of the ethnic diversity,
and of
any political diversity. I have not done a cross check of this list
for
their appearances on Jerry's contributors lists--however, my guess
is that
each person named to this panel has contributed to Jerry's political
campaigns. I see no one on this list who has given anything significant
to
Jerry's opposition in his initial run for office, nor any of the
subsequent
elections-- where he had challengers. In short, this is a list of
Jerry's
fans, and Jerry's support team. Therefore, this list represents about
47%
of the voters when you take out the votes that went to Harold Joyce
from
labor and to Archie Goodbee from the minority community [33% and
20%]
I would think the time has come to organize another "blue-ribbon
panel" of this 53% of potential Albany voters. Many
who could be on this panel are
in the cc list above. Jerry's group could develop their vision for
Albany.
This other group could develop its own "community benefit" vision
for
Albany. Jerry's group could concentrate on profits for their institutions.
This other group could concentrate on opportunities for its membership,
living wages for its organized workers, and fair contracts for its
project
labor agreements.
Then, as the summer of 2009 approaches, with all its
celebrations of the
400th Anniversary of Albany's "discovery" in 1609, perhaps
the executive
committees of these two bodies could select representatives to negotiate
terms for genuine diversity in Albany representing all interests--profits
as
well as fair wages, expanded opportunities, mixed housing, and commercial
diversity. Since my friend, John Egan, is heading up the economic
development subcommittee of Jerry's panel with Bob Curley of Citizens
Bank
heading the neighborhood revitalization committee, I would bet these
two
great guys would just love to negotiate with organized community/labor
representatives to actually get something done that would be politically
viable--now that Albany has its Convention Center PILOT and Bruno's
district
has its AMD chip fab together with Joe's offer to support energy
companies
like he supported AMD's development. Who knows "happy days" may
be here
again....
Obviously, living in Albany is not a requirement to
be on Jerry's panel.
Supporting Jerry is a requirement. Therefore, I would be on neither
panel,
since I live in North Greenbush, and didn't support Jerry for his
current
term. But if I were to describe my motivations like I did for Jerry's
panel above, I would say: John Schnebly--US Energy Independence Consortium
CEO--seeks job development and profits from Cybertran development
with
covered solar parking lots at Cybertran stations. [After all, we
all have
our interests and we might as well be honest about them...If Brian
Nearing
were to be described in this manner, it would be: Brian Nearing---Times
Union Reporter for Albany civic activities--seeks to become the "go-to" article
writer on Albany's issues reflecting the genuine majority opinion
of the voters. [Gee, I hope that comment does not get you in trouble
with Mark
Adam, your publisher, who is on Jerry's panel...] Have a nice 4th
of July
weekend, Brian. Nice article...
Best Wishes,
sneb
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