Both political parties in Rochester have dirt on their faces.

It is no surprise that the Republican dominated Monroe County Legislature shot down a Demagogic demand that COMIDA be investigated. This was a result of the I-Square scandal, which is merely the latest example of the Republicans playing footsie with COMIDA, not to mention ROBUTRAD.
The relationship between the Republicans and COMIDA is perverted and incestuous. The Republicans did not want any further investigation into their baby, since COMIDA usually provides open-air, white collar relief for the cronies of high ranking members of the local GOP.
Of course, this flies in the face of County Executive Cheryl DiNolfo's oft repeated intention of creating an Office of Public Integrity. The lady does not want anything approaching real transparency involving county government. Too much would come out that, in Third World countries, would earn she and her cronies places in front of a firing squad.
On the other hand, the MCDC also has been caught with questionable practices involving their finances and juggling campaign contributions. Some of these actions are illegal.
That rogues' gallery consists of:
Ex state senator Ted O'Brien. The committee's campaign contribution's were shifted to O'Brien's losing campaign against now-senator Rich Funke. O'Brien now works for the local office of the State Attorney General and refuses to answer any questions about it.
Ex MCDC chairman Dave Garretson. It was during his ever so brief tenure as chairman that the illegal shifting of funds took place, which couldn't have occurred without his approval.
Stupid little girl Jamie Romeo, current MCDC chairwoman. She was Senator O'Brien's office manager ( for two years ) during his failed bid for re-election and sort of ran his first campaign two years previously, and of course knows nothing.
She never did.
The Republicans are also guilty of this practice. But then, nobody expects any better of the Monroe County GOP.
The best description of this dirt on the Demagogues can be found in the D&C's article by David Andreatta: "Something Fishy in Monroe Democrats' Coffers."
The iconoclastic Andreatta is probably the only well-balanced reporter on the staff of that liberal newsrag, which never used to write anything that would expose Demagogues to too much censure and ridicule.
It is even more ironic when one considers that the Demagogues are always yammering on about campaign reform. They really don't want it any more than the Republicans do.
Both parties suck.

Dave Garretson couldn't hack it as MCDC chairman.

Well meaning oaf Dave Garretson threw in the towel today as MCDC chairman, less than ten months after being elected to the position.
I have stated before that he was ill suited for the position, that he had neither the strength nor imagination to heal the severe fractures within his party: the fratricidal war in Rochester between the Morelle-Clifford faction and the Gantt-Warren clique.
They are still merrily slicing away at each other, to the amusement of the Monroe County GOP.
Garretson's tenure merely made the county Republicans look stronger, and himself look ridiculous.
Nor was Garretson any good at raising funds for the party, or finding decent candidates to run against Republicans this year.
Really, Dave. Choosing two time loser Dick Bebe to run against Fred Ancello again?
His excuse for leaving was family illness rather than abject failure on his part.
Now, everything is undone again, leaving the door open for Molly Clifford's boy toy, Ken Warner, to reactivate his campaign for MCDC chair. Warner stood down last year when it became obvious that their notoriety was more than most Democrats would stand.
They are good at reactivating campaigns, just like with Tom Richards.
It will provide a real circus for Rochesterians of all political stripes to watch over the next few months, complete with shits and giggles.

Who are the Democrats going to run against Doorley?

If anybody.
The pool of Democratic candidates for D.A. is small.
New MCDC chairman Dave Garretson was banking on former D.A. Mike Green running against Sandra Doorley.
That isn't going to happen.
Green said "no," leaving Garretson with egg on his face.
There's no news if Garretson has found any Democrat ( on paper, at least ) to run.
But then Garretson has never been successful in any campaigns he has run for himself or others.
Except for the office of chairman of the MCDC, which has proven to be a crown of thorns.
And he is totally unsuited for the office.
But he has a nice smile.
He'll need it if Doorley wins an uncontested race.

Former D.A. Mike Green might run against Sandra Doorley.

That is if MCDC chairman Dave Garretson has his way.
He is still reeling over Doorley's re-conversion to the Republican Party.
Garretson is hoping that having the former D.A. running against the current one will make the election lively.
He thinks that lively election campaigns bring out the voters, and most people in Monroe County are registered as Democrats.
Which doesn't explain why most of Monroe County is controlled by Republicans, including Garretson's own town of Greece.
It doesn't explain the piss-poor turnout during Rochester's mayoral campaign of 2013, which was lively if depressing.
That campaign was also enlivened by the underhanded tactics of Molly Clifford and her familiars.
What Garretson is counting on is a Green victory to punish Doorley for her defection from the Democrats.
Garretson is not asking the voters to judge Doorley or Green's records as D.A., merely their party affiliation.
The problem is that Green has said nothing about running. Or that he is even considering such a run.
Yet.
Garretson is doing all of the talking.
If Green chooses not to run, it will be yet another embarrassment for Garretson.
Garretson should be accustomed to those by now. They have been coming hard, fast and below the belt ever since he took over as MCDC chairman.
He is the one who needs Democratic victories.

Poor Dave Garretson.

Right about now, Dave Garretson should be wondering why he was so desperate to become Monroe County Democratic Committee chairman.
In the scant three months since he was elected to that post, Garretson has presided over disaster.
Certainly, it has not been his fault.
Garretson inherited the situation from Joe Morelle. Morelle, far more clever and slicker than Garretson, saw the handwriting on the wall and announced that he would not run for re-election.
That left Garretson holding a very large, empty paper bag.
The Republicans regained control over the New York State senate; Democratic sacred cow Lulubelle Slaughter narrowly defeated a Republican unknown; and a few days ago District Attorney Sandra Doorley announced that she was changing her registration to Republican.
To be sure, Garretson wanted to be Democratic chairman. He claimed that he would be a unifying force in the party, which is hopelessly divided here.
Garretson has been no such thing. He clearly doesn't understand the Realpolitik of Monroe County in general and Rochester in particular.
The Republicans control the county towns; the Democrats, the City of Rochester and the town of Brighton.
Garretson's Town of Greece is overwhelmingly Republican. During his tenure as leader of the Greece Democrats, Garretson was unable to win any elected office for himself, nor was he able to run any victorious campaigns for other Greece Democrats.
In LD 7, which is mostly in Greece with a tiny slice in Rochester, Garretson couldn't even find a candidate to challenge the appointed Republican incumbent, a snot-nosed kid still wet behind the ears.
It is hard to see how his lack of leadership skills in his own backyard would translate to effective leadership in the county committee, especially with the political pendulum swinging to the right.
Worse is Garretson's lack of understanding of the Democratic Party's situation in Rochester.
Rochester Democrats are divided into two factions: the white, elitist Morelle-Clifford wing and the black Gantt-Warren wing. Racism, real but covert, is a factor in both wings.
Since Republicans are dead in the water in Rochester, the two Democratic factions are trying to destroy each other.
Garretson mistakenly claimed that he could unify the party. At the same time, he claimed he was a better candidate than another contender because the mayor didn't hate him. He was appealing to faction.
Mayor Warren never openly came out in support of Garretson.
Three months ago, when Garretson was elected as chairman, Gantt's supporters promptly walked out in protest before the votes were tallied.
Gantt, behaving like a spoiled brat, realized that he can never be the power behind the whole Democratic Committee, had to have his little temper tantrum.
Never mind the fact that there were two suburban black candidates for chairman.
This action reflected the racial division within the city Democrats.
Garretson owed his election to the white elitist wing of the party.
This was not a good start.
What is clear is that while Garretson is a jolly, likeable oaf, he is out of his element as chairman.
That can only benefit the Republicans.

Election year 2015.

Every year is an election year for some office or another.
This year, the Rochester area will be concentrating on local offices.
The campaigns won't be very important, interesting or exciting.
That is because the results will be a foregone conclusion in most cases.
Monroe County is unequally divided into two camps: the Republicans, who control most of the county towns; and the Democrats, who control most of Rochester and Brighton.
Incumbents will be re-elected to office. In most cases they will be running unopposed.
In those cases where term limits apply, and the incumbent can't run again, someone from their own party will scarf up their seat.
Of course, this means that there won't be any changes, especially where the City of Rochester is concerned.
The city likes being flushed down the toilet.
The only new factor this year will be Dave Garretson, the recently elected chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Committee.
All Garretson will be providing is a new face.
As head of the Greece Democrats, he has been unable to win any elective office for himself, or run any successful election campaigns against Republicans for anyone else.
As a likeable oaf, he cannot provide any strong leadership for the Democrats this campaign season.

The County Executive Race.

Maggie Brooks has reached her term limit and can't run again. She will be succeeded by County Clerk Cheryl DiNolfo.
DiNolfo has long been understudying for the role.
Republican DiNolfo is prominent county-wide. The Democrats have nobody important or prominent to challenge her.
DiNolfo, a tiny woman, has great stature, which is evident when she marches in every parade wearing three-inch high pumps.
She will be a shoo-in ( or is it "shoe-in?" ) for the office come November.

The County Legislature.

All of the incumbents will win re-election, meaning Republicans will continue to be dominant in the County Legislature, but not having a "super majority" that would permit them to ignore Democrats entirely.
A loose-fitting stone in this structure is LD 26, which is mostly in  Rochester with some slices of Greece and Gates thrown in.
It has always been a swing district, changing hands between Republicans and Democrats every few years.
Its current incumbent is a Republican, who won by the skin of his teeth in 2011.
MCDC chairman Garretson has no suitable candidate to challenge the incumbent with ( Garretson has no suitable candidates to challenge anyone with ), so the incumbent will probably win by default. The fact that the incumbent is a moron will not harm his chances for re-election.

Rochester City Council.

The district incumbents will all win re-election. They will not be opposed by Republican candidates whose party only concentrates on the suburbs now.
Nor does City council have term limits, which has allowed numerous morons to have a comfortable second job for as long as they want it.
The work is easy, a few hours per month,  and they rarely show themselves to their constituents, except at election time.
They might have to fight other Democratic hopefuls during a primary election because the party is divided into two mutually antagonistic camps which hope to destroy each other.
They only question is in the Northwest district.
The rumor is that Carla Palumbo will not run for re-election. It was also rumored that she planned to resign this year and have longtime political ally Molly Clifford appointed to City Council and have her run for the office.
Molly Clifford has established residence in the Northwest, forsaking her expensive penthouse ( really? ) in downtown Rochester to meet eligibility requirements.
This was discussed in depth in the now defunct Smugtown Beacon.
That Clifford is a divisive factor in the Democratic committee is well known throughout Rochester, and her domineering elitism will be sure to provide an alternative candidate from the Gantt wing of the party to challenge her.
It will probably be the only interesting campaign this year.