POLITICS & ELECTIONS

News about Government and Citizenship in Central New York

Syracuse, NY -- Four Onondaga County employees were arrested today on charges stemming from a payroll-padding scheme at the county courthouse where they worked as custodians.

Matthew F. Sindoni Jr., 53; Jerome Bowens, 45; Louis J. Hill, 65, and James Racona, 47, all are facing a felony charge of first-degree falsifying business records. Sindoni and Racona are also facing petit larceny charges. Bowens and Hill are facing additional charges of attempted petit larceny.

According to court papers, Sindoni, the custodial supervisor, is accused of allowing the other three custodians to leave work early and of then using their county-issued swipe cards to clock them out of work later in the evening.

Sindoni also is accused of submitting documentation that overtime was needed for work that was never performed. The prosecution contends the scheme allowed the employees to obtain compensatory benefits and inflated payments to which they were not entitled.

Racona surrendered to prosecution investigators this morning with defense lawyer James Hopkins and was arraigned before City Judge James Cecile. Racona was released on his own recognizance and the case was adjourned to await possible grand jury action.

The other three were taken into custody this morning and were being held in the Justice Center jail this afternoon awaiting arraignment in City Court.

Denise Williams-Harris, of Syracuse, a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, delivered a speech Wednesday seconding the nomination of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president of the United States.

Continue reading "Syracuse woman nominates Hillary Clinton" »

Denise Williams Harris, of Syracuse, a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, delivered a speech Wednesday seconding the nomination of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president of the United States. Continue reading "Syracuse woman nominates Hillary Clinton" »

Denise Williams Harris, of Syracuse, a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, delivered a speech Wednesday seconding the nomination of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president of the United States. Continue reading "Syracuse woman nominates Hillary Clinton" »

Jim Rowley apparently impressed County Executive Joanie Mahoney so much during this spring's Clay police merger campaign that she's ready to appoint him to one of the county's top jobs.

Mahoney called a news conference for 1:30 p.m. to introduce Rowley, Clay's town supervisor, as her choice as the county's next chief fiscal officer. If confirmed by the County Legislature, Rowley would succeed Joe C. Mareane, who is leaving the CFO post at the end of October to become Tompkins County administrator.

While plans call for him to assume the county job on Oct. 1, Rowley said he would continue to consult with the town board and his successor as supervisor to make sure Clay taxpayers receive the savings he promised while advocating that the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office absorb the town police department.

Continue reading "Mahoney wants Clay's Rowley to be Onondaga County's finance chief" »

Sen. Hillary Clinton gave her national audience a lesson in Upstate's history in women's rights and anti-slavery during her highly anticipated speech Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Toward the end of her well-received address, Clinton pointed to the first convention on women's rights in Seneca Falls as a defining moment in the nation's history. She noted also that Tuesday was the anniversary of women winning the right to vote.

Clinton then tied that backdrop to the inspiration of Harriet Tubman, the Auburn woman who helped many who escaped slavery along the Underground Railroad.

Here's an excerpt:

I'm a United States senator because, in 1848, a group of courageous women, and a few brave men, gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights...
(APPLAUSE)

... to participate in the first convention on women's rights in our history. And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter, and a few sons and grandsons along the way.

Continue reading "Clinton salutes history-making Upstate, CNY (video)" »

I stayed up late the last two nights watching the Democration National Convention which opened Monday in Denver, Colo.

I was moved by the speeches delivered by Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady who lost her bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination to Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

I think both women put to rest some of the concerns that their critics had regarding their role in the presidential race.

Many thought Clinton would be a sore loser and not wholeheartedly embrace her former rival. How could she go from saying he wasn't ready to be president during the primary and then support him in the presidential election?

But that was the primary season. This is the general election. As a leader of the Democratic Party, Clinton has to support the standard bearer.

She stated that strongly Tuesday night when she called on her 18 million voters, especially her sisters in the "traveling pants suit,'' to support Obama.

A vote for Republican John McCain, she said, would be a continuation of another four years of George Bush's presidency. Read more.

"Barack is my candidate and he must be our president,'' she said. For more on Clinton's speech and the Democratic convention, go here.

A 79-year-old Pennsylavania woman who supported Clinton told NBC's Andrea Mitchell that Clinton convinced her to support Obama.

"I feel Hillary was an inspiration to women,'' she said.

In the months and weeks leading up the Democratic Convention, some independents and Republicans questioned Michelle Obama's patriotism. Earlier this year, Republicans criticized Michelle Obama when she said "she was really proud of her country.''

What Obama was trying to say is that she was proud of her country for the progress it had made in racial politics by supporting a black presidential candidate.

Others accused her of being intimidating and aggressive. What they are basically saying is that she's opinionated, accomplished and strong.

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson wonders why nobody was clamoring about Cindy McCain's performance at the Republic convention when she brought money into her marriage. She's just as opinionated and assertive as Michelle Obama.

"Is it that she more closely fits some agreed-upon notion of what a political spouse should look like?'' Robinson asked about Cindy McCain. "I suspect that's the case, and I suspect there's a generational issue in addition to racial issue.''

I agree with Robinson that in American society "strong gets turned into a pejorative when applied to black women.'' The word is used to imply "intimidating,'' he said.

I've had my share of experience with that perception, and I know so many black women who deal with that perception every day. They're are viewed as being intimidating and threatening simply because they have a different point of view and don't sound like some of the people who don't look like them.

Read what people are saying about Robinson's column on Michelle Obama's speech.

The woman who could be the nation's first black first lady told a cheering crowd Monday evening that she and her husband share America's core values and belief in a dream of a better future.

"I love this country,'' she said. She told the crowd that she and her husband have a sense of obligation to "fight for the world as it should be'' to ensure the promise of a better life for their daughters and all children.''

Michelle Obama tried to reassure skeptical voters to look beyond her husband's unusual name and background Listen to Michelle Obama's speech.

Many tears were shed when Clinton and Obama spoke. Even the pundits agreed that Michelle Obama had silenced her critics and that Hillary Clinton removed any doubts and fears about her support for Obama.

The Democratic Party, the pundits said, is now united. Is that true? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts.

Former President Bill Clinton is expected to address the convention today. Democrats will also hear from Sen. Joe Biden, the Delaware senator who is Barack Obama's running mate. Obama will accept his party's nomination Thursday and deliver a speech.

What do you think about Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton's performance at the convention. How do you think the Democratic National Convention is going?

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