Inside Buffalo: More Rumors on Rumore (Phil)

Even those trying to follow the NYSUT soap opera are emailing asking me wtf is going on because I seem to be nothing more than confusing them. But that is my job. Here is another dispatch from a credible source on the Buffalo Teachers Federation leader Phil Rumore's relationship with Dick Iannuzzi and why Rumore is leaning toward the Revive NYSUT/Mulgrew/UFT slate, which if you read some of my posts (Buffalo's Rumore Taking Stand in NYSUT Split? and  Is Iannuzzi Toast?) makes no sense given that when Rumore led Buffalo teachers in resisting the crap with no outward support from Mulgrew or Iannuzzi.

So Rumore is pissed at Iannuzzi for reasons pointed out in this comment:

When the NYSUT Representative Assembly met a few years ago in Buffalo the Buffalo Teachers Union walked out when commissioner King spoke to the assembly. President Iannnuzzi specifically told the delegates not to join in with our 'Brothers and Sisters" from Buffalo as they walked out. The commissioner had made some very harsh cuts to their education funding and the BTU wanted no part of King. Here is a reason for the lack of support for Iannuzzi.

This points to other political issues between them:

Another reason Phil Rumore is pissed at Slick Dick stems from a little power play Iannuzzi pulled on an endorsement here for a state senate candidate last time they ran. Rumore wanted to give it to Betty Jean Grant, a local party hack and hanger on, and Dick for whatever reason, possibly the intervention of a particluar WNY apparatchik named Steve Pidgeon was interested in endorsing Tim Kennedy, a South Buffalo party hack and up and coming hanger on. [SEE Links below]

From what union HQ insiders tell me the protocol is to allow the local President to make the call but for whatever reason Ianuzzi stuck it to Rumore and they threw their support to Kennedy. I wonder if it's somehow a payback for BTF people led by Rumore walking out on King as he took the podium here at whatver the NYSUT event was. 

Iannuzzi openly begged members not to support Phil, BTF and walking out on John. So it appears to boil down to a Game of Egos once again. Phil is horrifyingly uninformed on issues and didn't even seem to know anything about TFA when it was proposed they invade our schools last year. He also happens to be personal pals with Robert Wilmers the CEO of M&T Bank who not only paid the stipend for TFA to come here but also paid for the search that brought us the most disastrous and devastating Super Buffalo has ever seen in the form of one James Williams. 

When someone mentioned Wilmers at a BTF gathering as an enemy of city schools Phil became testy and said to lay off because he and Wilmers were buddies. It's time for Phil to ride into the sunset but he has been very careful not to groom a successor. I am glad you mentioned his sudden interest in the NYSUT race. He knows he doesn't like Dick and I fear that's as far as his rigor goes in the debate. 

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It is also worth publishing this comment:

Excellent forwarding Yonkers Federation of Teachers president Patricia Puleo said her union's delegates are free to decide for themselves who they'll vote for in April, and she questioned whether new leadership would make a difference in how the state Education Department goes forward with implementation of the Common Core standards. But she recognized that the city's teachers have grown frustrated. “People are so upset that they are willing to make whatever changes they can,” Puleo said. Kevin Ahern, president of the Syracuse Teachers Association, said his delegates aren't sure how they'll vote. “We have to do what is best for our local, and we are waiting until we have thoroughly discussed where both slates are at in terms of what will work best for us in the long term,” Ahern said. Thanks a lot with great wishing on The Battle for NYSUT: Ebbs and Flows 

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And finally, little more background on the Rumore/Iannuzzi Grant/Kennedy flap below the break called: Noose tightening around Kennedy
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Mike Blake's Unbalanced Opinions

Monday, January 6, 2014

Noose tightening around Kennedy

2013 could very well be Tim Kenned's Swann Song. He's quickly running out of allies.


2013 was a bad year for State Senator Tim Kennedy. He showed his true colors in three separate incidents, each one more pathetic than the next. Much like in 2006, when he sided with the Republicans on the County Legislature (after the anti-Lenihan Democrats told him he had to), Tim proved once again that he is incapable of being a leader, much less someone you can trust. Just check out these three examples, and keep in mind, this post is about issues, not name calling, and demonstrates how Tim Kennedy's morality is for sale every day in Albany.

1.) Why do they hold the Buffalo School Board election in May (when nobody shows up) instead of having it in November to coincide with every other general election?

I'll bet you didn't know this, But Tim Kennedy was the only member of the WNY delegation to vote in favor of keeping this election in May. From a Buffalo News article...

 All Western New York senators voted for the bill, with the exception of Tim Kennedy. It's ironic because Kennedy previously co-sponsored the bill and voted for it twice.
His critics say pressure from the teacher's union caused him to flip flop. NYSUT donated $10,500 to Kennedy over the past year.

Holding a separate election in May is not only an incredible waste of money, but serves to keep voter turnout down. You know who will show up to vote on an 80 degree day in May? Buffalo teachers. And this is exactly why the New York State Teachers Union gave Timmy a $10,000 donation/bribe to keep the election in May. They don't want people to show up to vote, unless they know they are supporting their agenda. I have great respect for all teachers, but suppressing the vote is wrong, no matter who it benefits.

Remember, every other WNY Representative knew this was wrong, refused to take this bribe, and voted against it. Timmy has absolutely no problem selling you and your children out for the right amount of money. He's counting on the fact that most people don't pay attention to such things. Guess again, Timbo. The Blogger is back in town.

2.) Governor Cuomo's Safe Act

When Andrew Cuomo tells Timmy to jump, Timmy says how high?

 I'm not a hunter or a weapons owner, but I can tell you this piece of legislation is nothing but fluff. Reducing the number of bullets rural hunters can have in their chambers doesn't even begin to address the real issue. Drive by shootings are not caused by licensed gun owners in the town of Sardinia. They occur in the inner cities by unlicensed pistol-packing gang bangers. If Cuomo was serious about reducing crime, he would call for stiffer penalties for illegal gun owners and the people who sell them on the black market. There is no real effort underway to get guns off the streets. 

And before the legislation was passed, Timmy assured 2nd Amendment advocates to their face, that he would never vote for the so called Safe Act. Needless to say, Tim was offered something by the Governor's office to go back on his word and surprise surprise, he did. I know at least one prominent South Buffalo attorney who is furious over this. Tim's mistake? These people from SCOPE will be organized and will mobilize against Andrew's little puppet in 2014. They will have signs on their lawns and will be manning the phones during the September primary.

3.) In 2013, Tim showed us he is 100% Pro Life, unless Prince Andrew asks him not to be. This one really attests to his lack of character.

Tim loves to tell local priests and elderly Catholics in his district that he is Pro Life on the issue of abortion. In 2013, Governor Cuomo was two votes short for his Women's Equality Act, a piece of legislation which includes the right to third Trimester abortions. You would think that no Pro Life candidate with any kind of backbone would support it. Wrong. After some prodding by Governor Cuomo, Tim actually brought this vote to the floor!
http://hudsonvalley.twcnews.com/content/news/634558/debate-over-abortion-re-ignited-with-cuomo-s-women-s-equality-act/

Now, this post is not about being Pro Life or Pro Choice. It's about how a politician can claim to be one and actually be hypocritical enough to vote for the other. Again, Tim is using the timeless scam of hoping voters simply won't notice. He would never let a small thing like INTEGRITY get in the way of his career.

I can guarantee there will be at least one other South Buffalo candidate this September. I'm also hearing reports of a Cheektowaga candidate emerging soon. Tim loudly supported fellow Yes-Man Chris Fahey during his quixotic campaign against Mickey Kearns (when he was told to). He also supported a Cheektowaga candidate against fellow South Buffalonian Patrick Burke (when he was told to). He angered many Hamburg voters with his negative campaign against Jack Quinn. He ran a negative campaign when he ran against Paul Sullivan a few years back. He leapfrogged over Mark Schroeder, to unseat Bill Stachowski, and ran a very negative campaign against him. It looks like this time, the cookies may be in for Little Tim. He's shown time and time again that he's willing to bypass doing the right thing, if it serves to further his career. The problem is, what benefits him in the short term, is going to cause his demise in the long term. And all the king's horses and all the king's men, won't be able to put Andrew's puppet back together again. The sound you hear is the noose slowly tightening around Tim's neck.