Deep Interim Thought
Why don’t any qualified people want the job of interim Erie County Comptroller? Is it the pay, the politics, or something altogether different? This isn’t the kind of job where you just insert some ex-politician or hack as a patronage “thank you”; it requires a genuine and deep understanding of government finance.
Suffice it to say that none of the names you may have been hearing are going anywhere near that job.
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ALFREDA SLOMINSKI
ALFREDA SLOMINSKI
ALFREDA SLOMINSKI
But seriously, someone should recruit native Buffalonian Peter Seitz, Onondaga County’s Deputy Director for Budget Administration. As a consultant I did a budget project there shortly before moving to Buffalo. They have developed an amazing set of tools for analyzing county spending & capital projects, and their budget process regularly wins awards. I realize that a Comptroller and a Budget Director are not equivalent job descriptions, but Seitz’ hands on experience with the nuts & bolts of all things county spending would make him outstandingly qualified, IMO. Plus: while not everything there is all sweetness & light, Onondaga County is what I would consider a “good government” county, and has been attracting attention for progress through city/county cooperation.
Conversations, rumors are not real live resumes of possibly qualified democratic comptroller candidates sitting at ECDC headquarters waiting for John Molloy to review. The problem for dems is that they want someone to plan two annual fund raisings for the position, with the fear of a Republican contender who has money to run (e.g. Phil Kadet last time, former Managing Partner at a local CPA firm). The real problem in November is that the public probably would prefer two different parties in the County exec and Comptroller. Time is running out as deputies may have to stay behind to bolster the office (thank heavens for civil service accoountants who keep things running).