Certainly not the happiest looking 'party'. Then again, they all live in Schenectady and pay taxes. I'd be looking pretty mad too!

The dems just may be out of 'tricks'  now that all of these independent candidates are popping up!

Personally I don't think stratton will run again.............I wouldn't be surprised if they endorsed McCarthy this time around. Too much baggage with stratton.

Quoted from bumblethru

The dems just may be out of 'tricks'  now that all of these independent candidates are popping up!

Personally I don't think stratton will run again.............I wouldn't be surprised if they endorsed McCarthy this time around. Too much baggage with stratton.

The NNTP-Schenectady Edition-By popular demand!

     The DEMS have really stepped in it. They can't win Assembly or State Senate so they have a log jam at these low offices. They can't run Mayor SOS again when people are screaming for his resignation. The best Mayoral candidate was shuffled over to City Court. McCarthy had his shot and lost to Al. Many others are planning early retirement and fleeing the County.

What a bunch of weirdos

Quoted from rachel72

Certainly not the happiest looking 'party'. Then again, they all live in Schenectady and pay taxes. I'd be looking pretty mad too!

Yeah and with the money Union probably paid him - he could live anywhere he wants, but chose to keep Schenectady his home.

He did alright with some pretty difficult questions actually.

Although presentation wise....  The men behind him should have been in all suits - or probably better yet, just a solid colored shirt & slacks.  The group looked like just some random people standing behind him.  A more unified physical appearance would signify a unified political philosophy.   (And not standing staggered haphazzardly, but more equidistant from each other...  )

Would you trust someone rich enough to buy a house for $377,000 to be your mayor?   HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THe guy has no understanding whatsoever of what the normal city residents are going through.

Again, this is the guy who DRAMATICALLY REDUCED the city's tax base by removing MILLIONS off the assessment roll causing Schenectady's normal residents to pay HUGE HUGE increases in taxes.

And then he left Union, and the Savage/Gillen/Stratton crew took over.

By the way, Hull bought his house from someone with the last name of Savage.   Oh yeah, and his house is assessed for almost $40,000 less than he bought it for just 5 yrs ago.  And since the assessment was done, what two years ago now?, most definitely it has gone further down in value.  But I'm sure that Hull isn't worried about that, He is heftily compensated for sure.

Does anyone thing that maybe, just maybe, Stratton is planning not to run, and Stratton and Hull are working together but knowing that the dems really look bad and probably can't win, that maybe they are in cahoots in inventing this party just so the dems will be "protected" without the appearance of dems governing the city. If this is my imagination running wild, well, I'll tell you, it still can't top DV's wild imagination that the city is in the midst of a renaissance.

Quoted from mikechristine1

By the way, Hull bought his house from someone with the last name of Savage.  

Very interesting

Quoted from mikechristine1

Would you trust someone rich enough to buy a house for $377,000 to be your mayor?   HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THe guy has no understanding whatsoever of what the normal city residents are going through.

Again, this is the guy who DRAMATICALLY REDUCED the city's tax base by removing MILLIONS off the assessment roll causing Schenectady's normal residents to pay HUGE HUGE increases in taxes.

Not trying to sound like a cheerleader here...

But you're essentially saying that someone who has wealth is not able to look out for others who do not.  (And considering how many students get financial aid, that sort of disproves your suggestion....)

With respect to tax rolls...  Hell yes I'd like them to pay a PILOT.

But sometimes when you are president of an organization you look out for the good of that organization before you look out for the good of everyone else.

I think the answer he gave was the best one he could give on the subject - but not overly impressive.

My guess is that while he was president of the college he knew that eventually Union would have to pay one.  It's a big fish in a small pond, and cannot ignore such obligations forever.  However:

1.  Paying one immediately upon requesting sets a bad precedence.  For Union it would be better, even if they know they're going to do it...  To delay, delay, delay...  Then give in.  Making it difficult for the city means they won't turn around and come to Union for a massive increase every year...
2.  That becomes even more important when the city is spending money on things it does not need.  This goes back to his comments on the subject...  If Union was there to bail them out of every problem, the city would never have the need to get their financial house in order.

Stratton versus Hull...   I'll take Hull any day of the week, based on some of the other comments he said.

What I find most amusing, after watching this video, is how Hull said he will not make any personal attacks. Although I find that quite admirable and refreshing, it is also understandable on why he wouldn't.

While Union Pres., Hull took how many properties OFF the tax roll.....with the city government's blessing??? How can he possibly criticize the hand that fed him? Instead of the city government taking responsibility by cleaning up these neighborhoods, they chose the easy route and took them off the tax rolls and handed them over to union college under Hull's watch.

So while union college, by itself pays no taxes, neither do all of the properties they now own that are off the tax rolls.....yet still benefit from the tax paid fire dept, tax paid police dept., road repair/snow removal, sewer, water.....etc.....

Hull himself, presently runs a non-profit, which he mentioned in this video.

So while Hull was personally inconvenienced by the tax grieving process, that brought him to this point......he does not take any responsibility for the financial condition of the city that he helped create. He's clearly an educated man. He didn't see this coming?? No vision or foresight?  

Hypocrites in Schenectady are a dime a dozen. Thought it was amusing when Hull was asked why Union College tuition cost vastly exceeded inflation rates, Hull explained that cost associated with the college are very different than running a City. Really?!? Seems as if Hull is saying that when money is needed, he tapped the tuition strapped students for more funding. Seems like he'd fit right in with the spend and over-tax MO of Schenectady.  

Mr. Hull was a cheer leader who got a cold dose of political reality when he tried to grieve his high taxes. Then he saw that the City sheeple {including him} were all treated like dirt and 99% had their protests dismissed for "lack of sufficient evidence". He is right about absolute power corrupting absolutely-then wants to run other DEMS?

     Hull is not up to speed on the problems in the City and has no solutions. Getting the nonprofit community more involved is nonsense. If they want to more involved-pay a PILOT. This includes Better Neighborhoods, Inc. The City is providing too many services and has too many employees. All Planning and Development should be moved to the County. Garbage must be privatized. End the Erie fiasco. This alone would save $6 MILLION a year. Concentrate on attacking crime/gangs and slashing taxes. Capping property taxes at record levels is loser. He's better than the current total failure but must contrast in bolder colors. Failed liberal solutions in another Party will not turn this mess around.

Quoted Text

Alliance Party Confusions – Roger Hull – Part 1
This is a multipart article that will closely examine Roger Hull’s role in changing Schenectady.
By Pat Zollinger

     After listening closely to former Union College President Roger Hull and the aspirations of his newly formed political party, The Alliance Party, my curiosity got the best of me and that’s because I couldn’t remember anything significant he had done for Schenectady Taxpayers. Roger Hull had done plenty in my opinion, to add to the burden that city taxpayers have just trying to maintain their homes in the city but now that he was claiming to be an abused taxpayer, I couldn’t remember anything he’d done to help us.

     I videotaped Mr. Hull’s announcement that was held in the Rotunda of City Hall on Thursday, December 16, 2010. The news media guys were more than ready to squeeze me out, but I was going to stand my ground. After all, this was a momentous occasion and I had to record the whole thing for posterity. I already knew the plan was to stand before the stairs as I had asked in the city clerk’s office where it was going to be held. Chuck Thorne (current deputy city clerk) told me that he was told it would be in the rotunda and that he was also told that the “rotunda is public space so Hull had every right to hold it there.”

      Thus begins the start of a new era I thought, where city hall once again becomes the house of the people.  Gary McCarthy told me in September that I could no longer videotape on the council side of the rail. He said he was “being nice” to allow it previously but now that OSM had taken control apparently his true colors came through and he didn’t have to be nice any more.  It’s pretty well known that McCarthy is going to run for mayor should Stratton not run or get appointed to some cheesy position in the Cuomo administration but I am still suspicious of Roger Hull’s motives in running for mayor.  While I would agree that Gary McCarthy would be the worst choice for mayor (he lost to Al Jurczynski in 1999), I can’t say that Roger Hull wouldn’t be just as bad. .......................>>>>.................>>>>.................http://www.schenectadyinformer.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1293371375/s-new/

Sounds to me like this Hull guy is a Trojan horse propped up by the Democrats.   They would like to split the vote of any candidate for mayor the Republicans run, during this nationwide anti-Democrat wave that took out so many House Democrats and also destroyed Susan Savage and Angelo Santabarbara in the State races.  Even a weak Republican Mayoral candidate has a chance of winning in the current anti-democrat, anti-Obama political environment.

If they Gazette treats him with kid gloves, then you know for sure his conservative rhetoric is fake, and that he’s an imposture.

He's a Republican vote splitter.

Time will tell, but it is appearing that Hull and this alliance party is closely associated with the liberal socialists already in power. The liberal socialists know that this is going to be a real tough election year. Perhaps the liberal socialists would rather have someone closer to their 'friends and family club' way of thinking than perhaps.....let's say.....PG! Perhaps?

We'll have to see who contributes to their campaign.

Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Race for mayor already under way
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.

    It’s New Year’s Eve, and already the campaign for Schenectady mayor has begun.
    Candidate Roger Hull issued his first statement of the campaign Thursday, criticizing Mayor Brian U. Stratton for the city’s new contract for its fi refi ghters.
    The contract, which runs from 2010 to 2014, freezes salaries for two years. But fi refighters are guaranteed 4 percent raises every year from 2012 to 2014.
    The pay freeze allowed the city to avoid laying off any fi refi ghters — for now.
    Hull emphasized that it was only a “one-year solution.”
    He also called the raises “troubling” and said he wouldn’t have agreed to them.
    “Until the city’s financial house is in order, there should be no salary increases,” he said.
Stratton responded by saying that Hull didn’t understand reality.
“The reality of it is, you have to negotiate,” Stratton said, adding, “I’m very proud of what we have negotiated.”
The last contract — Stratton’s fi rst with the firefighters — won concessions over health care. For the first time, every firefighter agreed to contribute to their insurance costs. .....................>>>>..................>>>>............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01002&AppName=1