Anyone know why Diane Marco is consistently sitting front row (basically center) at all City Council meetings?

Could this be why?  From the followng article, it sounds like the mayor will be needing a replacement for Jordan and his administrative aide!!


SCHENECTADY
Director of operations appears close to retiring
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.



    The city’s longtime director of operations is thinking about saying goodbye.
    Sharon Jordan, who is paid $25 an hour as a city consultant, has been signalling for months that she may be leaving. The City Council doubled the amount of money set aside for her services next year, in case a new director must be hired, and she signed a new contract that allows her to retire at any time.
    “I signed up for this job for six months and I’ve been here seven years,” she said, before stressing that she hasn’t made a decision yet.
    Jordan was Mayor Brian U. Stratton’s campaign manager and started working at City Hall shortly after he won his first mayoral election. At the time, Stratton said she would likely stay for six months to help him reorganize City Hall.
    “And I thanked my lucky stars she was here every day since,” he said. “She’s functioned in every capacity as deputy mayor, she knows the operation inside and out. She is indispensable.”
    Jordan runs her own consulting firm, SAJ Consultants. She offi cially retired in 2002 from the Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority, which she led for 16 years.
    But she couldn’t stop working. In 2003, she ran Stratton’s campaign. Starting in 2004, she began working 30 hours a week, every week. That gives her about $30,000 a year — less than half of what she made when she worked at the MHA.
    She said she’s not looking to fi nd a more lucrative job.
    “I really like it. I love it,” she said of her City Hall work.
    Instead, she’s thinking about settling down. Her main motivation: her three-year-old granddaughter.
    After all these years of refusing to really retire, the little girl has her considering the value of not working.
    “I’m beginning to think about it,” Jordan said.
    She hasn’t made up her mind yet — although she’s close enough to a decision that she warned city officials to put money in the budget to hire her replacement.
    “They’ll have to fi nd someone, and whoever it is won’t do it for $30,000,” she said.
    Jordan was partly able to work for that salary because she receives retirement benefits from her MHA job. The city does not pay her health insurance.
    Stratton said he’ll need to replace her if she leaves. His main administrative aide, Andrea Fox, is leaving because her job was eliminated in the 2011 budget.
    “Andrea and Sharon are my two primary staff people,” he said. “You need someone as an administrative person. Andrea does communication, special projects, correspondence, website maintenance. Sharon is the chief of staff, no two ways about it. You would need someone to fulfi ll that responsibility.”
    Jordan is also the administrator for the development department and runs the weekly staff meetings.
    “I do a little bit of everything,” she said. “I just pick up the pieces.”
    The last mayor, Al Jurczynski, never had a director of operations. But he repeatedly asked for one, and the City Council agreed one was needed. When Stratton took over, he found that Jurczynski had fallen badly behind on essential paperwork, including many appointments which he did not confi rm until months after the appointee had started work.

Last time I checked -- city council meetings were open to the public ... Ms. Marco is part of the public.
No other explanation is necessary.

The other matter is pure speculation at the moment ... thus not worthy of any further comment EXCEPT
I will say that if I were the chief executive of a municipality .... I could think of few persons as qualified,
as dedicated, as hard-working and as community-oriented or whom I would rather have as my Chief of Operations than Ms. Marco

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I will say that if I were the chief executive of a municipality .... I could think of few persons as qualified,
as dedicated, as hard-working and as community-oriented or whom I would rather have as my Chief of Operations than Ms. Marco

Rah-rah!  Go cheerleader...what do you expect in return?

Quoted from clubhouse

Rah-rah!  Go cheerleader...what do you expect in return?

Nothing ...  unlike you and your ilk ... my friendship is freely given.  

Quoted from clubhouse

Rah-rah!  Go cheerleader...what do you expect in return?

Not this. This potential future opening will go to Ms. Fox so she can politic for other DEMS or the ever popular Lumpy Kosiur! Since his holiday camp was just defunded he may be looking for a new gig.

I wouldn't think of Ms. Marco up for the suggested position.  I would think that if someone is going to be running things in the city, they should live in the city.  Last I knew, Ms. Marco was still living in Rotterdam.

Quoted from Kevin March

I wouldn't think of Ms. Marco up for the suggested position.  I would think that if someone is going to be running things in the city, they should live in the city.  Last I knew, Ms. Marco was still living in Rotterdam.

Last I looked - there was no residency requirement for the position.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Last time I checked -- city council meetings were open to the public ... Ms. Marco is part of the public.
No other explanation is necessary.

The other matter is pure speculation at the moment ... thus not worthy of any further comment EXCEPT
I will say that if I were the chief executive of a municipality .... I could think of few persons as qualified,
as dedicated, as hard-working and as community-oriented or whom I would rather have as my Chief of Operations than Ms. Marco

Yes, meeting are open to the public.  But WHY is a Rotterdam resident, and former legislator for the town, who does not own property in the city, does not pay taxes in the city, who is buddy buddy with the mayor and with the prospective job opening attend every meeting.  Attend every meeting and NEVER speak on any issues.  

So, guess this is yet another possible secret by the mayor.   And if she is hired, it will be yet another higher level, high paid person working for the city who doesnot have a clue about life in the city with all it's dangers and high taxes.    And people who don't pay taxes to the city don't have any concern about asking or more money for themselves or their departments.

Quoted from mikechristine1

  Attend every meeting and NEVER speak on any issues.  

When did this start?

My reading of the laws regarding public meetings -- they are open to ALL the public -- no matter where
they reside.   Only a totalitarian despot would object to any member of the public being present at
public meetings.   Pretty soon this totalitarian despot will be calling for the abolition of all political parties
and the placing of him-herself in office as dictator along with his-her thug buddies.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Last I looked - there was no residency requirement for the position.

And last I looked, residency requirements no longer mean anything in this county.  We could start a list, but start with the confidential secretary for our current supervisor, among others.

Quoted from Kevin March

And last I looked, residency requirements no longer mean anything in this county.  We could start a list, but start with the confidential secretary for our current supervisor, among others.

It is the Supervisor's prerogative to appoint whomever he chooses as his confidential secretary.   This has
always been the case - regardless of who the Supervisor is or what party the Supervisor is from.    
And I don't personally object to the practice.

Ms. Marco would fit in well with the city council or county leg elected officials. Someone should recommend to her that as long as she wants to sit in the front row where the camera is focused on 99% of the time, to stop rolling her eyes and making faces when the residents get up to speak!!

Very disrespectful and arrogant and clearly out of touch with 'the people'!

But hell....look at it this way.....at least she'd be out of rotterdam, huh?

no one wants to live where they sh!t.....