When asked when he will agree to debate me and discuss the issues, he calls me desperate.
When a news reporter posed questions about allegations that members of his administration intimidated people and forced them to run on minor party lines to dilute my support, he didn't answer the accusations, he called me desperate.
I'm desperate for the Mayor of our City to discuss the issues that are important to our residents, such as crime and taxes. I'm desperate for Mr. Tutunjian to debate me on those issues in front of our residents.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Statement From Jim Conroy - Candidate for Troy Mayor
Fighting City Hall
On the surface, the building swap involving Troy City Hall seems like a good deal. The city would move its offices from the riverfront to the former Verizon building at 1776 Sixth Ave., near the county offices. The developer who owns 1776 Sixth Ave. would in turn purchase City Hall, which is in dire need of repair, demolish it and build a mixed-use project in its place. The price would be a wash. The city would have the option to buy the Verizon building for $2.25 million, and the developer would have an option to buy City Hall for the same amount.
So why are some members of the City Council, and more than a few Troy residents, wary? Because they have long memories. They have been through this before, only to see what first appeared to be a golden opportunity turn instead into an economic blunder.
The examples are numerous, starting with City Hall itself. It was billed as a modern office building that would serve the needs of a city for years to come. Today it is in such precarious condition that it makes more sense to sell than to renovate. And then there's the Troy Atrium, which was billed as the answer to reviving the downtown retail economy. It never happened. At least the Atrium occupies a site that had once been an open excavation pit, after the city's highly touted downtown urban renewal program failed to fulfill its promises.
The public has yet to see copies of the City Hall deal, although the city's corporation counsel, Dave Mitchell, says copies will be available in two weeks, as well as an appraisal of the City Hall property by an unnamed company. But why wasn't the appraisal conducted, and made public, long before now? And what if either side, or both, decides against exercising its purchase options?
Little wonder, then, that Jim Conroy, the city's former deputy mayor who is the Democratic challenger to Mayor Harry Tutunjian this year, wants the state comptroller to review the legality of the deal and have the city seek bids from developers other than the owner of 1776 Sixth Ave. And little wonder that other critics find it hard to take at face value Mayor Tutunjian's optimism when he says the deal is "almost to good to be true, but it's real. What they're paying for this property is more than any comparable sale."
Too good to be true? How many times have Troy taxpayers heard that before?
THE ISSUE: Troy may sell its City Hall to a developer.
THE STAKES: Rushing ahead with the deal could be costly
Troy City Council needs to slow down plan to sell City Hall
By FRED LeBRUN First published: Friday, September 21, 2007
Troy wants to sell its city hall, again.
Not Troy exactly. We don't know what Troy wants yet. It's the mayor, Harry Tutunjian, and his corporation counsel, Dave Mitchell, who hatched the idea and now want the City Council to go along with it, and pretty fast.
Since the majority of the council is Republican, as is the mayor, there seems to be a natural receptivity to going along.
Regardless, no matter how good an idea this may be, the City Council should fight the urge for a quick decision, and do its due diligence first. After all, the mayor and corporation counsel do not own City Hall. They are merely temporary residents.
Not that selling Troy City Hall is a new idea, or necessarily a bad idea.
When he was city manager during a tempestuous term more than a decade ago, David Grandeau promoted the same thought. In those highly charged times, anything Grandeau came up with was ripped to shreds by opponents, and even some supporters. But he's being vindicated now. Although perhaps it was an idea ahead of its time, since the value of riverfront property has skyrocketed since.
According to the mayor and others, City Hall's roof leaks, the carpet is stained, the interior is moldy, the concrete downstairs is destabilizing and general restoration would cost upwards of $3 million to $4 million.
Due diligence point 1: How much would it take to restore City Hall into a comfortable working environment for its 100 or so workers? Restoration estimates are at least four years old. If anything, newer estimates would reinforce the need to sell.
No doubt, the property City Hall sits on is incredibly valuable. Everybody says so. Troy would be much better served by putting it on the tax rolls through the hands of a private developer that does a great job.
Due Diligence Point 2: How much is the property really worth? The city assessor came up with $900,000 for the two acres. An independent appraisal is expected today. But shouldn't we have more than one? The mayor insists getting about $1.2 million an acre, which is what his deal would bring the city, is far above anything the city could expect. But how do we know that?
Due Diligence Point 3: What exactly does the favored developer, Judge Development Corporation, have in mind for the site? It has agreed to the $800,000 demolition costs, but no plans are on paper yet for the building of up to six stories that it has in mind.
Shouldn't the city have plans in hand before agreeing to the building exchange?
Due Diligence Point 4: Isn't it simple prudence to seek outside guidance on how appropriate and legal -- these are not the same -- this exchange is? Democratic mayoral challenger Jim Conroy quite rightly raises the notion that a methodical, transparent bidding process, which we don't have here, eliminates even the appearance of impropriety and inside dealing.
The corporation counsel says his approach, which skirts the normal bidding process, is legal. Maybe yes, maybe no. Let the state comptroller offer an opinion. This is not just another municipal building being sold; it's the symbolic first building of the city, no matter how shabby it is.
Which brings us to the other half of the equation, the building that would become the new city hall, the Verizon building on 6th Avenue.
It's actually older than City Hall, but in much better shape, physically, if all you're looking for in a city hall is a plain vanilla office building. Does it say Troy? I wonder. Well, no I don't. Troy is a remarkable little city, charming and easy to walk, full of great little shops, fantastic period architecture and more than its share of good restaurants. I think Troy can do better.
True, unlike Albany with its gorgeous, architecturally significant City Hall just below the state Capitol, and Schenectady's stately old complex that takes up an entire block, Troy has not had a tradition of an impressive city hall. Troy hasn't had a city hall that looks like one since 1938, when that structure burned down. Then Troy didn't have any city hall at all for 34 years until the current one was constructed, or assembled, or whatever.
Now is not a bad time for the City Council to reflect on the image the city ought to be casting as the new Troy. Maybe the city should lease space for a temporary city hall until some hard thought is put into this, and a proper search of available old buildings or potential building sites is explored.
All of which suggests that the City Council should be in no hurry. As more than one City Hall gadfly has observed, if Mayor Harry's deal is really fantastic for the city today, it still will be in six months. But if there's a hole in it somewhere, now's the time to find it, before taxpayers get stuck.
LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Part Time Pizza Maker Insists He Wants To Be Troy's Next Mayor
 | Reported by: Paul Merrill Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com Videographer: B. Sanders Last Update: 5:18 pm |
Twenty-one-year-old Christopher Consuello works part-time at the pizzeria and full-time for Troy's Department of Public Works.
He's running for mayor but his mother tells FOX23 News that he doesn't want the job.
Toni Consuello says, "He was put up to go up for election and he was told that if he didn't do it, he was going to get fired."
The candidate's mother says her son's boss, Public Works Director Bob Mirch, is forcing him to run on the Working Families Party line, specifying that he should not run a campaign.
"In many cases, these minor lines are bought and paid for by political patronage and control and that's exactly the situation we have here in Troy," says Democratic mayoral candidate Jim Conroy.
Consuello beat Conroy on the Working Families Party line by a three-to-two margin.
The Democrat is accusing Mirch of rallying support behind bogus candidates in order to dilute support for those who pose a threat to Republican Mayor Harry Tutunjian.
FOX23 News caught up with Mayor Tutunjian on the streets of Troy after his office initially denied our request for an on-camera interview about the primary candidates.
Tutunjian tells us, "Jim Conroy's a desperate politician that'll say and do anything to try to get votes and make any issue into a political issue so I don't really know what he's talking about."
Conroy says, "I don't take anything away from Mr. Consuello either for his age or anything but if you talk to him, I'll have you make your own assessment."
FOX23 News did talk to Chris Consuello by phone on Thursday.
Contrary to what his family members and coworkers told us, Consuello says he's out of town and unavailable for any interviews about the election.
The 21-year-old who dropped out of high school and later went back for his G.E.D. admits he has little political experience but insists that he does want to be Troy's next mayor.
He says he was not strong-armed by Bob Mirch into running for public office.
Still, the candidate's mother is worried about her son.
"I think it's wrong that Chris would have to be pressured into doing something that he really can't do," she says. "He doesn't have the background."
City workers tell FOX23 News that Bob Mirch is out of town on vacation.
Mirch had not returned a message left on his cell phone voicemail as of 5:00 p.m. on Thursday.
UPDATED 9/21- Conroy and Troy Democrats will work to block City Hall deal until process is reformed
Newspapers
**Fred Lebrun 9-21-07 Troy City Council needs to slow down plan to sell City Hall
**TU Editorial 9-21-07 ..Rushing ahead with the deal could be costly
Times Union
Record
Business Review
Television
Capital News 9
WTEN
Fox 23 News
WNYT
Radio
WGY
SUIT TO BE FILED OVER "HALLIBURTON ON THE
(
"Instead of having a public bidding process, Harry Tutunjian met with six developers in private and chose one proposal. He never asked the people of the City of
"I don't trust Harry Tutunjian to make that decision by himself and I think the people of
Following the public hearing being held tonight (Sept. 19), Troy Democrats will file a lawsuit contending that, among other issues, the City of Troy did not properly obtain proposals for this process or obtain public input.
"Harry Tutunjian has to realize that simply announcing a plan to do something is not enough. To get the job done right, we need professionals in City Hall who care about all of the people of our City, listen to them, and then do things the right way," said Conroy.
"It's time we worry more about putting our plans into action, not just into the newspapers, and showing our concern for all of the people of our City."
TROY DEMOCRATS TO FILE LAWSUIT TO HALT "HALLIBURTON ON THE HUDSON"
NEWS ADVISORY
WHAT: News conference announcing the filing of a lawsuit to block the sale of Troy City Hall because the City did not follow proper procedures for public notification and bidding.
WHO: Jim Conroy, candidate for Troy Mayor, and other local politicians and citizens
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 19
6:30pm (just prior to the 7:00 meeting in City Hall on the issue)
WHERE: Outside of Troy City Hall
1 Monument Square in Troy
WHY: Making plans to sell City Hall without a public notification is, at best, unethical. In fact, significant questions remain as to whether City Hall can be legally sold. Once that decision was made, however, ethical problems were compounded by not opening the process up to public bid and scrutiny.
UPDATED 9/20 - Conroy pleased that BID is moving forward...
Troy Record - Downtown collaborative pushes forward TU - BID organizers look to learn from the past
Conroy Calls for Downtown BID
Press Release
Date: 8/19/07
Contact: Jim Conroy
Troy - Jim Conroy, Democratic candidate for Mayor of Troy today called for the immediate establishment of a Downtown Troy Business Improvement District (BID) to build on the accomplishments of business initiated events such as the Chowderfest, River Street Festival, Troy Night Out and the Victorian Stroll.
"The City of Troy has a very energetic and imaginative business community. Imagine the creative things they could accomplish with the money raised through the BID"; Conroy said.
Troy business owners proposed to establish a BID for downtown Troy in 2003; however, differences of opinion regarding weighted voting and procedural omissions as to tenants participating in the vote prevented it from moving forward.
"Since then, Mayor Harry Tutunjian has failed to move the establishment of the BID from the back burner." Conroy said.
Conroy said; "Any problems with the establishment of a BID in downtown Troy should have been remedied through leadership from City Hall long ago."
"Business Improvement Districts are private-public partnerships in which property and business owners of a defined area make collective contributions to the maintenance, development and marketing/promotion of their commercial district. Both Albany and Schenectady have made very good use of their BID’s to promote commercial areas of their cities;" Conroy said
BIDS are authorized by the local government but have their own Board of Directors and allocate their funds as they see fit. The Troy BID was proposed to extend from approximately the Hudson River to Sixth Ave. and from Ferry Street to Hoosick St. It could fund festivals, events, capital improvements, beautification programs such as flower planting and maintenance, street cleaning and other imaginative projects.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Conroy calls for full and public disclosure of proposed Troy City Hall Deal
Calls No Bid Deal "Halliburton on the Hudson"
(Troy, N.Y.) Jim Conroy, candidate for Troy Mayor, today called Mayor Harry Tutunjian's proposal to sell City Hall to a private developer without a public bid process "a complete and utter disregard for ethical processes and not in the best interests of the people of the City of Troy."
"This is another deal that Harry Tutunjian has cooked up in a backroom without any input and public process. There were no public meetings. There wasn't even a bidding process for the deal. Even if the idea is appropriate, what if the City could get a better deal from another developer?" said Conroy.
"This is Halliburton on the Hudson."
Conroy called on the Troy City Council to hold up the proposal until a full and public process can be conducted.
"I want to do what's in the best interest of the people of Troy. That means that such issues are discussed in the open - not in a backroom of City Hall - and we consider the input and views of a wide range of people, not just the Mayor's friends.
It's time we start running the City of Troy with integrity and with consideration for all our citizens and neighborhoods."