 | Reported by: Paul Merrill Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com Videographer: B. Sanders Last Update: 5:18 pm |
One of the employees at Jimmy's Pizzeria in Troy is hoping city voters will deliver him to the mayor's office in November.
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.
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.
