WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY: Reisman does column on Ryan politics

Reisman does column on Ryan politics.

Phil Reisman, Columnist for the Journal News does a good column on the issue of County Board Chair William Ryan. Reisman is quite correct when he calls him "Boss Bill". Ryan is Andy’s hand picked chair of the County Board. It would have been better to have Andrea Stewart-Cousins as the County Board Chair. Ryan is too political for the job. We need Andrea’s bringing people together & not dividing them.

He locked people like Gordon Burrows & James Maisano out of the process they have been constant critics of Andrew Spano. This is the same way Ryan spurned Rob Astorino, when he was head of the Parks Committee on the County Board of Legislators. Also two GOP Legislators in George Oros & Ursula Lamotte, they were absent for the pay raise vote, but would’ve voted against the power grab pay raise of Ryan.

GOP County Legislator Bernice Spreckman, who voted for the pay raise got a chair committee assignment from Ryan. The only GOP County Legislator to get a committee chair slot was Sue Swanson. Swanson’s committee was supposed to look into the illegal termination of the Late James Wieland from the County of Westchester in 2002. Wieland had worked with Swanson on Wieland's concerns on what was happening at the Westchester County Medical Center. Wieland had warned all of us for the Med Center not to go private. He was right again.

Maisano was very outspoken against the pay raises. But deserves credit for standing up for the citizens of Westchester against Andy Spano’s bloated gov’t. Maisano also asserts that it was ok to against the pay raise if you were a dem, but the GOP were penalized by "Boss Bill".

This had nothing to do with Maisano’s committee not meeting often enough. This was political payback for speaking out against Ryan’s measures & being forceful against our County Executive. As for Burrows, he is suing the County for opening homeless shelter near the children’s hospital in Valhalla. Burrows has also been outspoken against this County Executive. A lesson is don’t speak out against King Andy or there will be retribution against you.

Ryan gives the Dems free rein. While he goes after people like Astorino & other GOP County Legislators. The raise was a disgrace & the County residents & voters should wake up & be angry at the actions of 9 County Legislators to give themselves a raise. This was an issue never discussed during County Legislative races - last year.