Benny I think we are in for an interesting 12 months.  What I am hoping for during these months to come are facts based posts along with the opinion based ones so I can be an informed voter.  I can see a potential problem for vote splitting it will be interesting to see what comes of the Alliance Party and who they come up with for candidates to counter the rubber stampers.

My own parish in Albany takes in between 6 - 8k each week.  We can't be in as much trouble as I originally thought.  They are willing to pay the "new" CEO of Catholic Charities (who has not yet been hired to fill Sr. Maureen's job) between 140- 160k.  When that trivia gets out I can see a lot less moneybeing given to Catholic Charities.  Churches here are combining.  The old St. Catherine's is now Mater Christi and is becoming a mega church.  Yes mega churches scare me.  However, DVR the churches that are broke are the ones that are merging.  There are not numerous deanerys there are only a few.  Soon Schdy will be reduced to one parish...it will be a meaga church but there will only be one.  We were lucky in Albany to keep St. Pat's open.  It was Holy Family parish and now will become the Church of the Americas.

The Alliance Party will have plenty of candidates.They had great people speaking like Betsy Henry {who started the successful Downtown Green Market} and Vicki Horwitz. Hopeful it will not be the same old-same old. Been there-done that. City Hall needs all new blood.

     The DEMS have done permanent damage to themselves after decades of patting themselves on the back by laying off fire fighters and creating a $13 Million deficit. It's not something that is awry-everything is awry. Hopefully, the Alliance Party will make fiscal restraint and tax cutting it's highest priority. We need fiscal expertise not mere diversity.