Republican official calls for more oversight
I just want to really quickly note that state Sen. James Alesi, a Perinton Republican, has submitted legislation that would provide more open access to the documents and goings-on of local development corporations, which are frequently employed by municipalities to conduct official town, city or county business.
The legislation would, I believe, apply to three development corporations that involve the local sports scene: The Greater Rochester Sports Authority (GRSA) and the Greater Rochester Outdoor Sports Facility Corporation (GROSFC), both of which govern the operation of Frontier Field; and the Monroe Community Sports Centre Corporation (MCSCC), which oversees the ESL Centre.
According to an article by Gannett's Dan Osburn published in Monday's Democrat & Chronicle, Alesi's bill "would increase access to documents of local development corporations under state Freedom of Information Laws."
Osburn's article also refers to a study by the Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research that identified at least 16 local development corporations in this area and asserted that such companies need greater public oversight.
Governments create and use development corporations ostensibly to streamline operations, increase efficiency and reduce costs. Or at least that's what they tell you.
But, in reality, governments create development corporations to hide government business from the public, and officials know they can do that because, as Alesi points out in the Gannett article, Freedom of Information laws are ambiguous and vague when it comes to development corporations. That allows government officials to dodge FOI laws and deny the public access to their documents and meetings.
That's already happened a couple times with me. Jack Driscoll, the chair of the MCSCC board that governs the ESL Centre, told me I can't attend their board meetings or have access to their minutes. And the secretary of the GROSFC board said I can't have access to that board's bylaws. (On the other hand, GROSFC's minutes and other documents are available to the public online, and we'll have to see what happens when I try to attend the next GROSFC board meeting.)
As a final note, I have to admit surprise that Alesi, a Republican, has apparently had the cohones to break away from the tightly-controlled (by Steve "Worship me!" Minarik) Monroe County GOP machine, which adamantly supports the use of development corporations and, as a result, loathes petty, stupid civil liberties like public access to government. The Monroe County government has for many years been controlled by Republicans who have fostered the creation of various development corporations.
I've heard talk that Minarik's little kingdom has been slowly crumbling, partially because local GOP officials have gotten tired of his strong-arming and bullying. So maybe Alesi's action is just a reflection of that.
As I've said before, local Republicans aren't inherently bad. They just act badly because Minarik orders them to. Maybe Alesi got sick of that (either that or he was eyeing re-election or higher office).
The legislation would, I believe, apply to three development corporations that involve the local sports scene: The Greater Rochester Sports Authority (GRSA) and the Greater Rochester Outdoor Sports Facility Corporation (GROSFC), both of which govern the operation of Frontier Field; and the Monroe Community Sports Centre Corporation (MCSCC), which oversees the ESL Centre.
According to an article by Gannett's Dan Osburn published in Monday's Democrat & Chronicle, Alesi's bill "would increase access to documents of local development corporations under state Freedom of Information Laws."
Osburn's article also refers to a study by the Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research that identified at least 16 local development corporations in this area and asserted that such companies need greater public oversight.
Governments create and use development corporations ostensibly to streamline operations, increase efficiency and reduce costs. Or at least that's what they tell you.
But, in reality, governments create development corporations to hide government business from the public, and officials know they can do that because, as Alesi points out in the Gannett article, Freedom of Information laws are ambiguous and vague when it comes to development corporations. That allows government officials to dodge FOI laws and deny the public access to their documents and meetings.
That's already happened a couple times with me. Jack Driscoll, the chair of the MCSCC board that governs the ESL Centre, told me I can't attend their board meetings or have access to their minutes. And the secretary of the GROSFC board said I can't have access to that board's bylaws. (On the other hand, GROSFC's minutes and other documents are available to the public online, and we'll have to see what happens when I try to attend the next GROSFC board meeting.)
As a final note, I have to admit surprise that Alesi, a Republican, has apparently had the cohones to break away from the tightly-controlled (by Steve "Worship me!" Minarik) Monroe County GOP machine, which adamantly supports the use of development corporations and, as a result, loathes petty, stupid civil liberties like public access to government. The Monroe County government has for many years been controlled by Republicans who have fostered the creation of various development corporations.
I've heard talk that Minarik's little kingdom has been slowly crumbling, partially because local GOP officials have gotten tired of his strong-arming and bullying. So maybe Alesi's action is just a reflection of that.
As I've said before, local Republicans aren't inherently bad. They just act badly because Minarik orders them to. Maybe Alesi got sick of that (either that or he was eyeing re-election or higher office).
posted by Ryan Whirty at
5:45 PM
2 Comments:
Did Alesi say this before he "broke" into a new-built house and fell off the ladder and broke his leg? Classic - how much did he have to drink that night? (re: catch him at Moe's Havana Lounge on East Ave. some night - whoa).
ps - looks like Minirk is in rare form with the MCC President selection...
By
Anonymous, at 6:30 AM
Looks like someone beat me to it. I did see him at Havana Moe's last year. He was absolutely HAMMERED.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the rest of the Republican party distancing themselves from their monroe county members. Or it's just another way to get his name in the paper...
By
Anonymous, at 2:54 PM
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