Byron on the Progress Report

Color me unimpressed. The slogan for his campaign should be “equivocating for you.”

Here are the notes I took after my phone call:

1. Albany should stop unfunded mandates and reform. He’s had 3 terms there and done bugger-all. 2-3 minute answer.

2. He’s also concerned about the Indian casino taking property off the tax rolls and ceding land to a sovereign nation, and he agrees that we should amend the constitution to permit localities to decide through referenda as to whether they want to permit casino gambling. He’s had 3 terms there and done bugger-all. 4 minute answer.

3. He thinks what happened to Harvey Garrett “didn’t look good” based on what he read in the media. He is concerned about it, and would “investigate and take appropriate action” if any such accusations of impropriety happened under his administration. He parroted the line that McGurn is just 1/400 of Goin’ South, and that it wouldn’t be fair to reject support from them just over this. But it took him 5 minutes to say it.

I said, ok, but McGurn’s the president or at least an officer of Goin’ South – did you have an opportunity at the fundraiser to pull McGurn aside, and discuss his concerns re: Harvey Garrett? Nope. He didn’t. And that answer took 3 minutes.

4. He was flip when asked a question about patronage; he doesn’t want it to become a bad word. Why, when the president appoints a Supreme Court nominee, that’s patronage, too. Haha very funny. The question for me is: is Mayor Byron Brown re-hiring McGurn as a thank-you for hosting a 400-person fundraiser for him? I think the answer is probably, since he danced a tango to avoid criticizing or insulting McGurn or Goin’ South.

What I can tell you is that the presumptive front-runner is far less of an ideas guy than even Steve Calvaneso, much less Kevin Gaughan or Judy Einach. Brown’s whole demeanor, as well as the substance of what he said, screams “career politician”. I know he’s been endorsed by everyone from the (in my opinion) corrupt IP and CP, but there’s no “there” there.

But if you’re looking for 4 more years of Masiellonomics, then Byron’s your guy.