We’re having a bit of a dust up over the new Rochester Mayor, Lovely Ann Warren. Lovely is a protege of the awful David Gantt, and she apparently learned a few bad habits from him. Lovely went around civil service rules to hire her uncle to head the first-ever security detail for a mayor here, based on some threats she received. Then, her uncle was stopped while driving her, doing 97 in a 65 zone, but for some reason wasn’t ticketed.
This raised a number of questions, all neatly summarized by local TV reporter Rachel Barnhart. The word in Rochester is that if you want to know what’s happening in this town, just follow Rachel on Twitter. Anyone living in Rochester knows that Rachel is like a fucking bulldog when she gets on something, and she’s definitely all over this story.
Yesterday, Lovely held a hastily-arranged press conference. Rochester isn’t a very big media market, so if there were a dozen reporters and photographers at that conference, it was a full house. Rachel was one of them, and Warren refused to take her questions. Here’s Rachel’s report on that shit show, where Lovely spent time dickering about how fast her uncle was really going, and it includes possibly the worst picture of Lovely that I’ve ever seen. When asked why she wouldn’t take Rachel’s questions, Lovely’s answer was “I’m the mayor”. Here’s Rachel’s response this morning, proving once again that local reporters just don’t take shit the way the DC press corpse does:
I'm the reporter. #ROC
— Rachel Barnhart (@rachbarnhart) January 14, 2014
A couple of hours after the press event, the city council announced that they’re starting an ethics investigation. That must be some kind of record: in office for 13 days, and now the subject of an ethics investigation. It’s going to be an interesting year for Ms Warren.
Keith G
When these instances pop up (as they often do), I wonder how these morons have missed the message that public office holders hiring family usually raises more issues that it will solve.
JPL
The fed is still investigating fund raising tied to Michael Grimm nytimes
A Texas woman was arrested for illegal campaign donations and Grimm’s lawyers released a statement
Republicans don’t have a war on all women, it appears.
maximiliano furtive, formerly known as dr. bloor
I don’t think Gantt has “proteges.” I think “spawn” is the word you’re looking for.
c u n d gulag
Well, you can’t really blame the new Mayor for being an asshole.
I mean, imagine growing up with a name like “Lovely!”
That’s not nature or nurture – that’s torture!
rikyrah
She better get hip, and quick that her azz better get a good lawyer. She is being hung out to dry. The kind of dry that makes you unemployable, or sends your azz to JAIL. IF she is delusional and thinks that Gov. Krispy Kreme is looking out for her……….
Bytch, WAKE UP
She’s got FOUR CHILDREN and her azz is doing anything BUT what will keep her WITH THEM.
Bytch, WAKE UP
……………………….
Aide Fired by Christie Is Called Loyal Team Player, Not Rogue Operative
By DAVID W. CHEN
January 13, 2014
Bridget Anne Kelly is devastated that Gov. Chris Christie denounced her as stupid and a liar — but she also is distraught over how much her actions have damaged him politically.
Unheard of a week ago, now a caricature of a political attack dog, Ms. Kelly, the deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie who was fired for her role in the retaliatory lane closings at the George Washington Bridge, has described her ouster and vilification as surreal, like an “out-of-body experience,” according to her close friends.
The experience has been so traumatic, they said, that Ms. Kelly fled her Bergen County, N.J., home, leaving behind her four children, as reporters continued staking out the residence and that of her parents. And with more subpoenas expected this week, the next time Ms. Kelly appears in public could well be under oath.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/nyregion/aide-fired-by-christie-is-called-loyal-team-player-not-rogue-operative.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytmetro&_r=1&referrer=
rikyrah
James Earl Jones To Cameo on ‘The Big Bang Theory’
James Earl Jones is set to make a guest appearance on TV’s No. 1 comedy.
The actor and his “Star Wars” co-star Carrie Fisher will both cameo as themselves in an upcoming episode of “The Big Bang Theory,” reports TVLIne.com.
The pair — who played Darth Vader and played Princess Leia in “Star Wars,” respectively — will cross paths with Sheldon (Jim Parsons).
http://www.eurweb.com/2014/01/james-earl-jones-to-cameo-on-the-big-bang-theory/
rikyrah
California police officers found NOT GUILTY of murdering a homeless man by piling on top of him while he screamed for air
Manuel Ramos was acquitted of second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter
Jay Cicinelli was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force
Ramos became the first Orange County officer ever charged with murder while on duty
37-year-old homeless schizophrenic Kelly Thomas died five days after the brutal 2011 confrontation
By Associated Press
PUBLISHED: 19:58 EST, 13 January 2014 | UPDATED: 04:25 EST, 14 January 2014
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2538966/California-police-officers-NOT-GUILTY-murdering-homeless-man-piling-screamed-air.html#ixzz2qNg2qRfe
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
rikyrah
Texting leads to Tampa theater shooting; retired cop charged
man and his wife were shot at a Wesley Chapel movie theater after an apparent argument over texting Monday afternoon.
Chad Oulson, one of the victims, lost his life as a result of the incident, and his wife, Nicole is at a local hospital after being shot in the hand, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco updated Monday evening.
Sheriff Nocco also identified the shooting suspect as 71-year-old Curtis Reeves, a retired Tampa Police Officer.
It happened at Cobb Theater’s Grove 16 & CineBistro on Monday afternoon. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office says two couples were sitting in front of each other, getting ready to watch the movie Lone Survivor.
According to Nocco, Reeves and his wife were sitting behind Chad and Nicole Oulson, when Reeves became agitated with Chad for being on his phone and texting before the movie began.
An argument broke out between the couples, and reports say Reeves then took out a gun and shot Oulson and his wife.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20140113/NEWS01/140113009/Texting-leads-Tampa-theater-shooting-retired-cop-charged?nclick_check=1
aimai
@rikyrah: What an article! Thanks for posting it. I think you can see just how isolated and isolating politics/catholicism/republicanism had become for this woman. She is not going to snap out of it–she’s got no independent voices explaining to her that she’s just a cog in Christie’s wheel. He has already abandoned her and she has nothing to fall back on. I am amused by the fact that she got a divorce lickety split when work got too hard–so much for good catholic girl sending her children to the “same catholic schools” she went to. But she has no one else to fall back on now that Governor/surrogate family has kicked her to the curb.
rikyrah
Bipartisan spending bill comes together
01/14/14 08:46 AM—Updated 01/14/14 08:47 AM
By Steve Benen
About a month ago, in a minor miracle, budget negotiators from the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate reached a budget agreement, which actually passed Congress. But the budget is only a blueprint – the next task for congressional lawmakers dealt with specific appropriations bills, which are more complicated.
Indeed, in recent weeks, a complex task was made even more challenging by policy “riders” sought by far-right lawmakers, covering everything from abortion to the environment to campaign finance. If a deal failed to come together, Congress ran the risk of – you guessed it – shutting down the government again.
But last night, negotiators reached another compromise.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/bipartisan-spending-bill-comes-together
Fuzzy
Maybe we should ship all these political hacks to Toronto and let them face a real election pro. It would be the ultimate spectator sport with continual pressers and journalist’s easy chair’s and cocktail waitresses.
rikyrah
Pot calls the kettle ‘partisan’
01/14/14 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
In politics, when officials are caught doing something wrong, it’s only natural to wonder whether they’ve engaged in similar misconduct before. Were the misdeeds the exception or the rule? Is there a pattern of transgressions or a lone incident?
When it comes to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) bridge scandal, it’s clear the governor wants the public to believe that the misconduct was a rare lapse, completely at odds with the above-board way in which the governor’s team generally operates.
The problem, of course, is that Fort Lee wasn’t the only community targeted for political retribution. Yesterday, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop (D) produced emails documenting what happened after he failed to endorse Christie’s re-election campaign. As Rachel explained on the show last night, the governor’s team, led by none other than Bridget Kelly, arranged a series of meetings for Fulop to meet with department heads and state agencies to discuss his community’s needs: “The state commissioner of transportation, the state treasurer, the guy who’s heading up post-Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts for the whole state, the commissioner who handles all local government issues, the head of the economic development authority for the whole state. They’re all going to come to Jersey City to meet with the new mayor.”
That is, right up until the Democratic mayor says he’s not going to endorse the Republican governor’s campaign. Within an hour, agency heads cancel their meetings with Fulop without explanation. Within a few days, literally all of the meetings between Jersey City’s mayor and the state officials – discussions that had been months in the making, dealing with departments in state government that had nothing to do with the campaign – were off.
Christie aides would later boast that they were maintaining “radio silence,” ignoring the mayor’s request for information, treating him the way they treated Fort Lee’s mayor after the governor’s office imposed crippling traffic that paralyzed the community.
It’s simply implausible to think the non-endorsement and the silent treatment are unrelated. Yesterday, however, a Christie spokesperson responded to the story.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/pot-calls-the-kettle-partisan
raven
wtf?
Ash Can
@rikyrah:
@aimai:
It also makes me consider the possibility that Christie fired her so unceremoniously precisely because he figured that, due to her extreme, unquestioning loyalty, she’d never make trouble for him in response. Given this story, I can now envision her lying under oath — and getting caught doing it, and getting sent up the river, bringing about exactly the separation from her kids that rikyrah is talking about.
rikyrah
The Rachel Maddow Show / Health
ACA enrollment reaches 2.2 million
01/13/14 04:59 PM
By Steve Benen
We had a pretty good sense of ACA enrollment numbers shortly before New Year’s, but the Obama administration fleshed out the details in a new report (pdf) this afternoon. The topline looks pretty good for the law’s proponents, though the data is not without caveats.
Nearly 2.2 million people have selected plans from the state and federal marketplaces by Dec. 28, 2013 (the end of third reporting period for open enrollment), Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today.
A new HHS report provides the first demographic information about enrollees. December alone accounted for nearly 1.8 million enrollees in state and federal marketplaces. Enrollment in the federal Marketplace in December was seven-fold greater than the combined total for October and November – and eight-fold greater for young adults ages 18 to 34.
Remember, this only refers to consumers who signed up for coverage through exchange marketplaces, and doesn’t include another 3.8 million Americans who took advantage of Medicaid expansion or became insured through other “Obamacare” provisions.
Also note, the White House assumed all along that enrollment would escalate quickly as Jan. 1 approached – and once healthcare.gov functionality was on track – which is precisely what happened.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/aca-enrollment-reaches-22-million
Amir Khalid
I am amazed at Lovely Ann Warren’s story. Weren’t there any warning signs during her campaign for mayor?
Ash Can
@rikyrah: Drip, drip, drip…
rikyrah
About the local reporter, thank goodness that most towns have one – the bulldog that’s been around forever and has decided where they are is where they’ll be. Since they don’t care about ‘ ruffling feathers’, they get down to the business of telling the truth.
White Trash Liberal
@rikyrah:
Well, perhaps if she hadn’t polluted the work environment with her estrogen, poor Governor Christie could have become aware of her mendacious ways.
“Bridge closing smells like honeysuckle”
OzarkHillbilly
@rikyrah: I can’t wait. Seriously.
C.V. Danes
How lovely :-)
rikyrah
Kennett Area Dems @KennettDems
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One Down 49 to Go: New Mexico Progressives Kick The Koch Brothers Out of Their State http://bit.ly/1m3At15
3:05 AM – 14 Jan 2014
rikyrah
Roger Simon ✔ @politicoroger
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Letterman: “Bill DiBlasio eats pizza with a knife & fork. Who cares? Tubby over there in Newark shut down a damn bridge!”
10:56 PM – 13 Jan 2014
dpm (dread pirate mistermix)
@Amir Khalid: She was elected by a few thousand voters in a primary in a city of about 150K voters. The city’s real mayoral election is the Democratic primary — there is little or no Republican opposition. Warren mobilized her supporters to turn out, while the incumbent, Tom Richards, didn’t. Because New York is a multi-party state, Richards was still on the ballot on a couple of other minor party lines, but he chose not to run as a spoiler, in part because his son was dying of cancer at the time. Democracy in action.
geg6
Lovely? Seriously? Lovely?
I’d have guessed some backwoods town in Alabama or Mississippi might have a woman of that name, but fucking Rochester?
Amir Khalid
@geg6:
Actually, Lovely isn’t the strangest name for a woman that I’ve come across. For a moment, though, I thought it was this woman who had gone into politics.
Suffern ACE
May her career be short.
Citizen_X
@rikyrah:
I’m gonna file this one under “People not fucking paying attention to whom they’re working for.”
Fuzzy
If you guys think Rochester has a grip on “I’m the mayor” politics then take a look at Oakland CA. It is expected that any new mayor appoints all relatives and close friends to meaningless jobs so they get on the city payroll (or paid leave) long enough to get lifetime pensions and health insurance even while ethics investigations continue. This is why race relations continue to be a big problem.
WereBear
@Citizen_X: “Sure, he treated other people like garbage, but not ME!”
boatboy_srq
… and all those poor folks who thought they were voting for Lesley Ann Warren are suddenly, bitterly disappointed.
Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937
This warrants an ethics investigation but I sympathize with a black woman who is getting threats (and you know that is happening). I would defer to her choice of security as long as they are qualified. I’d hire my brother to perform that role in a second.
mak
@rikyrah:
Perhaps I’m reading too much into it, but from the Bridget Kelly piece I don’t see just a blindly loyal underling. The references to her not being “rogue” and following the “chain of command” indicate that she didn’t cook this thing up on her own. If anything, the reference to her working for Stepien and enjoying administering political payback while working with him would suggest that the shutdown was his idea, if not Christie’s. There are still subpoenas to be served and deals to be made. We shall see.
GHeyduke (formerly lojasmo)
@rikyrah:
These walls of text take up a ton of space.
joel hanes
We don’t want Democrats like this.
Villago Delenda Est
@rikyrah:
She did what she did on Christie’s orders.
You’re absolutely right. She needs to get a lawyer, fast, get a deal, and spill on the asshole.
BruceFromOhio
Ah, Rochester. You’re not the same town I remember.
p.a.
@rikyrah: Remember when Bush had to face a real reporter/journalist from, I believe, Irish TV? He ended up looking like a pissed off dolt. The Village reaction was “That was very disrespectful.”
Trollhattan
@boatboy_srq:
Thread now declared won. Many thanks to all the entrants.
someguy
A white mayor would get away with this and nobody would blink. The double standard is alive and well. C’mon, Jeb… get the torch. We got us a lynchin to attend to.
ruemara
@someguy: This. Oh, mighty Isis, this. After 6 years working in a town about the size as Rochester and noting the incredible coincidental confluence of last names in certain positions, ABSOLUTELY THIS.
Ella in New Mexico
As the victim of a former “New Mexico Governor Who Liked to Speed Without Impunity” who will remain unnamed, this is almost a non-story.
I’d rather the City Council of Rochester get to the task of cleaning up their police force in general, especially in regards to this recent event. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/04/charges-against-ny-teens-will-be-dismissed/3868097/
Central Planning
@Commenting at Balloon Juice since 1937:
Supposedly the threats she received were never reported to police.
She could very well have been threatened. But gauging the seriousness of the threat should be part of it too. “You won’t be here long” could be a death threat, or just an observation. At this point I’m leaning towards the latter based on her behaviour.
Scott
Second article in two days on your mayor. Here’s another one.
http://dianeravitch.net/2014/01/13/new-rochester-mayor-pledges-more-charter-schools/
BTW, Diane Ravitch’s blog is a very worthy one to follow. Especially if you have kids in school.