Hughes under review
Opinions vary on job done by mayor of GloversvilleBy KAYLEIGH KARUTIS, The Leader-Herald
GLOVERSVILLE - City and local officials have a variety of opinions on Mayor Tim Hughes' four years in office, ranging from praise to condemnation, but Hughes himself said he would go back and do it all again if he could.
Hughes was sworn in January 2006 as a relative newcomer to the political scene. His re-election bid was derailed when fellow Democrat Judy Marcoux won the democratic primary in October, 278 votes to Hughes' 99.
Over the past few years, City Hall has been fraught with controversy after controversy, from the firing of long-time city clerk Gary Margiotta, to the removal of former police chief John Harzinski, to allegations of improper personal and business dealings by Hughes. Through it all, though, Hughes said his record of bringing down the city's deficit and paying off $1 million in debt is his most important contribution.
"We had a huge deficit when I took office," he said. "[In my term] we have paid off the deficit, paid $1 million to the school district and the county, paid off a couple of $100,000 grants and put $1.5 million in the bank."
Regarding the city's current budget gap - a $1.4 million gap between revenues and expenditures in the proposed 2010 budget - Hughes said it's common across the county.
"It's a sign of the times. Everyone is dealing with [deficits]," he said.
Hughes said he kept a close eye on the city's finances throughout his term and in doing so was able to bring down spending in a number of city departments.
"We really tightened up everyone's spending, especially in the [Department of Public Works]," he said. "We updated the fleet, not with new equipment but it was newer than what we had. It goes back to that saying, that you can't drink champagne on a beer budget."
Finance Commissioner Bruce Van Genderen agreed with Hughes' self-assessment as having kept a close eye on finances.
"He was a no-nonsense type of CEO," he said. "He was a big proponent of the revenue sharing agreement with the town of Johnstown. The more I worked with him, the more I realized he had a lot of business savvy."
Despite this, though, Van Genderen said the city possibly should have made some different financial decisions.
"In retrospect, and hindsight is always 20/20, we may have looked at a small tax increase as opposed to a small drop [in past years]," he said.
Van Genderen said he thinks certain issues and the way Hughes handled them may have hurt him.
"I feel as though [Hughes] did a good job, but there were certain things he could have been more open with the council on," Van Genderen said. "The issue with Red Carpet ... was perhaps poor judgment on his part."
Controversy surrounded the selection of Johnstown building Red Carpet Housing as the sole building for the city's first-time homebuyers grant program earlier this year. City officials and residents said Hughes favored Red Carpet because the builder built his own home, and failed to disclose additional bids from other potential builders for the project.
Others have many positive things to say about Hughes' term. Transit Manager Al Schutz praised Hughes' support of the transit department.
"We've made more strides in transit during his administration than during the other years I've been here. We've won two state awards and we're a highly recognizable system," Schutz said. "[Hughes] has always been a protector of transit. He's been behind me all the way."
Second Ward Councilman John Castiglione also credited Hughes with moving the revenue sharing agreement forward.
"He worked hard on the agreement," Castiglione said of Hughes. "It's certainly something that will benefit the city tremendously."
Castiglione said the controversy surrounding the city may have been avoided if the city had been a bigger proponent of open government.
"There were things that could have been handled better," he said.
Fulton County Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Wally Hart said he believes Hughes lost a number of opportunities to move the city forward.
"He had an opportunity to come in as an outsider, someone not part of the political machine," he said. "I think that while in most cases his intentions were for the best, a lot of the potential was squandered, especially because of the multitude of controversies. I had hope Tim Hughes would be different."
Hughes said the controversy the city dealt with during his term are not unique Gloversville.
"If you look back, this has happened to every mayor. There is a honeymoon period, but when it's over, it's over," he said. "People can say it's a black eye, but they weren't really there, they weren't involved, so I don't pay much attention to that."
Hughes added he was surprised and disappointed by the invasion of privacy he experienced.
"I met a lot of nuts. We all know who they are. They stalk you," he said. "Everyone has rights, I have rights. The bad part of politics is anyone with an opinion can say whatever they want and some of the roads people go down, you think, what the hell are they thinking?"
Former city councilwoman Cynthia Morey, who served part of her term under Hughes, said she has ultimately been disappointed by Hughes' term.
"In the beginning, I had high hopes, but toward the end of his first year it became increasingly clear that I was going to be disappointed," she said.
Cynthia said while there is a level of privacy that should be afforded to public officials, they must be aware that their private life reflects on the city.
"Although he had some good ideas, he was too impatient ... which appeared to cause a lot of the dissatisfaction, the hard feelings and ultimately the lawsuits," she said.
Former city clerk Gary Margiotta, who was removed from his post, which he held for 16 years, in December 2006, with no explanation from the city. Margiotta was recently awarded $125,000 after filing a wrongful termination suit against the city.
Police Chief John Harzinski was placed on paid administrative leave by Hughes on Dec. 6, 2007. He took the city to state Supreme Court in an attempt to be reinstated.
Harzinski said he was suspended for an alleged act of insubordination, while Hughes said it was done so attorney David Grandeau could conduct an investigation into the police department. According to court documents, part of Grandeau's investigation involved looking into allegations made against Harzinski.
The case was settled by the two sides in 2008. The reason for Harzinski's firing was not made public.
Regarding the future of the city, Hughes said he has high hopes for incoming mayor-elect Dayton King. He also said he has some advice for the incoming mayor: develop a very thick skin.
"I think [his election] is good news for the city. He has some fresh ideas," he said.
King said he believes City Hall was too inaccessible during Hughes' term. He cited the inability of local media to reach Hughes as something he wants to change when he is sworn in. King said being inaccessible or unavailable is not a quality a mayor should have. He added the blame for the difficult financial situation the city is in now cannot be placed squarely on Hughes' shoulders.
"Once [anger regarding a public official's inaccessibility] starts to happen, it snowballs," he said. "The city didn't get to this [financial] situation in just Hughes' term, in the last 2 or 4 years. This is something that has been coming."
As he looks back on his term in office, Hughes said right now he cannot see anything he would change about his term.
"The steps we took were for the best interest of the city," he said. "There were a lot of sacrifices made. The city is never actually out of the woods. [The city] has to grow."
He said he is unsure if he would ever run for office again because of the aggravation and stress the position brings with it. He said he plans to return to the private sector and is exploring a number of opportunities.
"I have met a lot of nice people," Hughes said. "But I think four years is enough for anybody."
Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com
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residentdmg
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11-24-09 8:35 AM
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As of 10/14/09, $1532.30 has already been expended for vacation buyout in the Mayor's office, according to figures shown on the proposed budget for 2010.
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JohnSteady
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11-24-09 8:32 AM
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Yes, Cruella that's the same "Missing" laptop I was talking about. We see how honest he was in his bid for re-election. So we can guess that those emails the former clerk was talking about were in fact on that laptop. Westielover...Nice!!! I missed the fact that Queen Robin wasn't quoted in this article!
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BWolf2
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11-24-09 7:36 AM
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Clo would be another mistake !
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IndyJones
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11-24-09 7:18 AM
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Cynthia---heard from a good source that Clo is out as City Attorney. A new attorney is being talked about to take over and from what I understand is a no non-sense person. Would be interested to know who takes buyouts before year end???? Hope their are controls in place to protect the treasury!
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Cynthia
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11-24-09 12:10 AM
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BWolf2, Let's see if King will also reappoint Atty Clo . If I were a betting person I would guess YES
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cruella
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11-23-09 4:11 PM
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JohnSteady, What missing laptop??? You mean the one he accused the estranged wife of taking and sent an officer over there to accuse her of it? That laptop? Hummmmm, I`ll bet it was never taken by anyone but you know who!!! They will never find it now, they should have search his home on Freemont that is, at the time it was missing. But with everyone afraid of him, he had no worries about it.
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BWolf2
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11-23-09 1:57 PM
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King is making a big mistake keeping VanGendren. The man goes whichever way the windblows in his favor (VanG). First we are doing great, then we've got a $million deficit, and we will die without Walmart. Maybe he should have found other sources of revenue for the past few years. Isn't he the finance guy ? Bad choice Mr. King.
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JohnSteady
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11-23-09 1:48 PM
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If King Butts heads with Queen Robin...then I'll back him. I wonder if the "Missing" laptop will surface now????
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JohnSteady
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11-23-09 1:46 PM
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Bye Bye Timmy...GoodBye! I noticed the article left out the crime timmy is being charged with. Funny how we were doing so well before the election and now Bruce is all Doom and Gloom if Timmy's new employer "Super Duper Wally World" doesn't build because the evil empire of the City of Johnstown didn't fall into the same stupidity as Gloversville's worthless leaders. Gee the transit boss thought timmy was great...well maybe he should spend more time training his drivers so we wouldn't have another lawsuit against the city. Lack of training on how to secure a wheel chair and then to blame the handicap for failing to notice they weren't starpped in right. Maybe if her head turned like Linda Blair's did in the Exorcist she would have noticed. Follow those transit buses and count the number of moving violations including the famous Right on Red at the Four Corners...funny I remember that being posted No Turn on red. I didn't vote for Hughes nor did I vote for King.
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Preacher
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11-23-09 11:19 AM
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A-al HA! I'll be posting under the same screen name and you people will be someone else. I don't even know that that means. That is about the dumbest thing I heard.
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uzreason
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11-23-09 8:53 AM
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Good riddens slim
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BWolf2
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11-22-09 8:00 PM
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"I have met a lot of nice people," Hughes said. "But I think four years is enough for anybody." It sure was enough for us Tim. Better think real hard about running for office again. You may not even get 99 votes next time.
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BWolf2
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11-22-09 7:56 PM
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The headline should have read : Hughes Under Review.........AND Indictment. He kinda left that out under his "accomplishments" didn't he ? I wonder if he'd do that all over again too !
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Adirondackal
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11-22-09 7:07 PM
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I'll be listening for you Hilltopper and AreaResident in a few years. Of course I'll still be posting with the same screen name and you wonderful people will be someone else.
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Hilltopper
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11-22-09 5:45 PM
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AreaResident : Great Post !!!!
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Hilltopper
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11-22-09 5:21 PM
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Do the same thing over and over and expect different results. Its called sour grapes, and they make a very bitter whine.
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AreaResident
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11-22-09 4:00 PM
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Somebody please tell Al that the election is over and that he can stop campaigning now. We need solutions to our problems now. The scrimmage was fun, but now we have to face some real competitors who seem only to have their own best interest in mind. Is King young? Finally, an optimistic and popular leader with energy and ideas. Was he chosen by Hughes? I picked him, too, and so did 1,100 other city residents. For four years you complained that Hughes was corrupt, insular, and dictatorial. Kind projects professionalism, openness and a willing to work out tough issues in a confident and mature way. What are your answers to our city's problems, Al, aside from shoveling the poor into ovens? In the years I've read your posts here and elsewhere I've never heard a single solution from you.
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Forthecommunity
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11-22-09 2:22 PM
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Al, its called stupidity and Gville is in trouble all over again...or still. It makes me sick that people cannot see it happening all over again.
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Adirondackal
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11-22-09 2:05 PM
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I seem to remember Mr. Hughes getting elected mayor. A man with no local ties except his spouse and her family, who lived here less than six years, was supported by a group of behind the scenes politicians and promised to keep working his regular job. That worked out so well that the voters of our fine city decided to try it again with a guy who was endorsed and supported by Tim Hughes. Do the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome? What's that called?
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cruella
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11-22-09 12:40 PM
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Thats petitions, thanks.
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Discobulous
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11-22-09 10:24 AM
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Let's start working on the future and hope something positive happens in spite of the queen's continued irritations.
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cruella
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11-22-09 9:41 AM
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What a bunch of bologna, hope your arm is not broken from patting yourself on the back! You would do it all over again if you had the chance? What is that telling the people? Hopefully you don`t ever get another chance! You have met a lot of nuts? Look in the mirror and you`ll see another nut just like the rest of us! Rememember your RIGHTS THAT YOU CLAIM YOU HAVE AND THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS the next time you pick up a pen and sign someone elses name to your pititions or anything else that requires a signature thats not your own! And you are taking steps for the best interest of the city, where were your sacrifices made? By taking your buy-backs, you and the city att.? Heard that you just took another in Sept. or Oct. That right there tells the story...
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westielover
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11-22-09 9:08 AM
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I guess the leader needs a lot of hits to their site today, otherwise, this article is worthless. And what????? No comment from Wentworth? Now that's news.
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residentdmg
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11-22-09 8:37 AM
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In my opinion, good character and public trust go hand in hand. His lack of regard for Laws, proper policies and procedures, the civil rights of employees, and lack of moral principles are what led to the defeat of Hughes.
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