At The Gossips of Rivertown, Carole Osterink reports some details of Rick Scalera’s private meeting last weekend at the mansion of embattled Hudson developer Eric Galloway. According to her source, Scalera attempted to make an inventory of “his accomplishments during his many years in office” for an audience largely of new residents, most of them not from Hudson.
A review of Rick’s List would appear to leave many controversial episodes unmentioned. For the next few days, this site will present a few items from past campaigns and controversies, largely from third-party sources.
TAKING A HINT
During the 2007 Hudson election, a flyer was circulated by a group calling itself the Hudson Information Network, or “HINT” for short. Though the group remained anonymous, it was widely assumed that this flyer was created by members of the Michael O’Hara mayoral campaign team.
The HINT flyer challenged Scalera’s claim that Hudson needed his “proven experience.” On page 1, HINT reviewed what it called Rick’s Greatest Hits, taking Scalera to task for one claim after another, making the following allegations pegged to various topics such as:
- Experience: HINT alleged that “Rick Scalera has never written a budget.”
- Fiscal Responsibility: HINT alleged that under Scalera, “the cost... of firehouse consolidation ballooned from $2 million to $3.8 million.”
- Integrity: HINT alleged that Scalera made a key appointment “in violation of the City Charter.”
- Conflict of Interest: HINT alleged that Scalera accepted a water filtration plant bid from the DPW Superintendent's brother’s firm.
On page 2, the HINT flyer from the O'Hara camp levelled even more explosive charges against Scalera:
- A HINT item entitled A Rotting Stinking Mess charged that the “incompetence of Rick Scalera... exposed the City to a liability of over $2 million for raw sewage dumped into the Hudson River.”
- Another HINT item, entitled Fool Me Once, stated that Scalera “brokered the Schroeder Chevy/Cadillac deal” with HUD. Schroeder was said by HINT to have “defaulted” and the City “became responsible for repayment of the $1.4 million.” The flyer also made several hard-to-document charges about a Cadillac said to be driven by Scalera at the time.
- In Can Rick keep the City Afloat, HINT stated that Scalera received a $1,000 donation from the Spirit of Hudson after the company got a sweetheart deal for “a five year lease ($150/yr) for the only municipal deep-water dock in town.” [NOTE: The riverboat at one point sank at the Hudson waterfront, then was repaired—presumably with insurance money.]
The flyer furthermore listed past issues over assessment lawsuits, police contracts, and the Waterfrnt process during Scalera’s previous terms, concluding that “voters do not need to settle for more of the same.”
[NOTE: Yours Truly was not a member of the O’Hara campaign team or HINT, and has merely transcribed the following material from the flyer received.]
