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Changing majority?
At tonight's City Council, the most contentious item that actually saw a vote was a measure to increase the budget of law firm Harris Beach in the work they did defending the city in the matter of the DEC fine.
There was some debate over the merits of spending that much money on attorneys, and some questions about whether the law firm had truly done that much work (about 240 hour's worth).
At the end of the debate, the measure passed with a party-line vote: Republicans Johnson, Ivins, and Scirocco voted "yes," Democrats Kim and Franck voted "no."
Later, while discussing a budget resolution brought by Ivins, Franck and Kim once again seemed to hold the same view. While there was no vote on the item, it was clear that both the Democrats would have been on the same side of the issue, if there had been a vote. Although, it was looking like Scirocco would have also voted their way, and Johnson said he would abstain.
Why is that significant?
While this council has seen a significant number of 3-2 votes over the past several years, many of them have seen Scirocco and Kim forming the minority, with Franck joining the balance of the Republicans in the majority.
It's getting to be election season, and some have suggested that the city Democratic committee doesn't want to endorse John Franck. So, I wonder if it's possible that this shift in allegiances represents a signal of contrition on Franck's part, a signal that he's ready to play ball with Kim, in hopes of an easier election cycle.
Who can blame they guy? He wants to keep his job, but the prospect of a primary can't be too appealing.
For his part, Kim said he was willing cooperate when Franck brought forward a discussion of coin-drop fundraisers. Kim had previously raised objections to coin drops, on the grounds that he felt they violated a state law, but after Franck presented a legal analysis to the contrary, Kim said he would favor seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General, and would work with Franck to reach an interim decision on coin drops.
John Franck said to me over the winter that if the Democrats put their internal issues aside, they could repeat their 2007 sweep of city elections. Perhaps this is the first sign of the party circling the wagons.
There was some debate over the merits of spending that much money on attorneys, and some questions about whether the law firm had truly done that much work (about 240 hour's worth).
At the end of the debate, the measure passed with a party-line vote: Republicans Johnson, Ivins, and Scirocco voted "yes," Democrats Kim and Franck voted "no."
Later, while discussing a budget resolution brought by Ivins, Franck and Kim once again seemed to hold the same view. While there was no vote on the item, it was clear that both the Democrats would have been on the same side of the issue, if there had been a vote. Although, it was looking like Scirocco would have also voted their way, and Johnson said he would abstain.
Why is that significant?
While this council has seen a significant number of 3-2 votes over the past several years, many of them have seen Scirocco and Kim forming the minority, with Franck joining the balance of the Republicans in the majority.
It's getting to be election season, and some have suggested that the city Democratic committee doesn't want to endorse John Franck. So, I wonder if it's possible that this shift in allegiances represents a signal of contrition on Franck's part, a signal that he's ready to play ball with Kim, in hopes of an easier election cycle.
Who can blame they guy? He wants to keep his job, but the prospect of a primary can't be too appealing.
For his part, Kim said he was willing cooperate when Franck brought forward a discussion of coin-drop fundraisers. Kim had previously raised objections to coin drops, on the grounds that he felt they violated a state law, but after Franck presented a legal analysis to the contrary, Kim said he would favor seeking a legal opinion from the Attorney General, and would work with Franck to reach an interim decision on coin drops.
John Franck said to me over the winter that if the Democrats put their internal issues aside, they could repeat their 2007 sweep of city elections. Perhaps this is the first sign of the party circling the wagons.
posted by The Saratogian City Desk at
9:50 PM
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