Council meeting a heated affair
Loss of leadership has Schenectady official calling for state inquiry
As it hurtles towards a primary contest, the City Council is embroiled in increasingly heated infighting and political combat.
Relations inched closer towards open warfare on Monday as a councilwoman who was stripped from her committee leadership post last week accused the council president of shuffling committee assignments for racial reasons and called for the state attorney general to probe allegations of “quid pro quo” horsetrading.
“You will use any means necessary at your disposal to selfpromote your future — including gambling with the financial welfare of our city,” Councilwoman Karen Zalewski-wildzunas told City Council President John Mootoovren.
Zalewski-wildzunas called for a vote of no confidence and said stripping her from leadership of the city’s development and planning committee was “woefully inadequate” and a politically motivated attempt to silence her.
Councilwoman Marion Porterfield will now lead the committee.
Zalewski-wildzunas said swapping her out with someone with decades of experience in the banking and real estate sectors for someone who does not is a detriment to the city.
Councilwoman Carmel Patrick echoed calls for the vote of no confidence, and said Mootooveren has “misused” his role leading the body.
“I think we can all agree City Council is a laughingstock now,” Patrick said. “It’s a mess.”
Mootooveren defended his right to tweak the committees and called the lawmakers’ comments a “new low.”
“This is just uncalled for and should stop,” Mootooveren said.
The flap marked an increasingly rancorous relationship between the all-democratic body.
Zalewski-wildzunas stopped short of calling for Mootooveren’s resignation, but said he should step down as City Council president, a post he’s held since January 2020, and called for a vote of no confidence.
Mootoveren’s justification for the committee shifts, meanwhile, has been murky.
The lawmaker told the Times Union last week his decision to reshuffle committee assignments was rooted in two vacancies on the seven-member panel and the need to restore functionality.
He also indicated anger at lawmakers’ refusal to appoint two candidates endorsed by the city Democratic Committee to fill those seats months after they were vacated.
“If the members who are making objections support the appointments of the endorsed candidates, Haileab Samuel and Carl Williams, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he said.
Zalewski-wildzunas opposed seating Samuel and Williams in favor of kindling a Democratic primary.
But Mootooveren told the Daily Gazette the following day that his decision was partially rooted in ensuring a more diverse makeup of the panel.
Zalewski-wildzunas seized upon those comments on Monday.
“With you stating that you felt the need to bring ‘balance and diversity’ to all committees, you are saying I was removed because I am a white woman,” Zalewskiwildzunas said.
Porterfield is Black, Zalewskiwildzunas is white and Mootooveren is Guyanese.
The move led to a brief delay in conducting city business Monday night, including approving a request by Finance Commissioner Anthony Ferrari for a bond anticipation ordinance, a request lawmakers later approved.
Mootoveren reinstated Zalewski-wildzunas to the finance committee in a special session on Friday, but Porterfield will continue to lead development and planning.
Porterfield said she supports Mootooveren and blasted Patrick for comments she made to the Times Union indicating that she needed to be advised on fiscal issues during budget sessions.
A freshman lawmaker counseling a veteran member is “out of line,” she said.
“That was probably an all-time low during my time on this council,” Porterfield said. “I believe that things that come out of the mouth come out of the heart.”
Mayor Gary Mccarthy implored the panel to patch up their differences. “We’re one big happy family whether anybody likes it or not,” Mccarthy said.
Porterfield, Zalewski-wildzunas and Mootooveren are all up for reelection in November.
While all have been endorsed by the city Democratic Committee, the schisms have increasingly spilled into public view, with the three fighting to keep their seats in what’s sure to be a spirited primary that has drawn eight Democratic candidates.
Several committee members are also bucking the endorsed candidates and supporting a candidate who interviewed with the executive committee and failed to gain their support.
All eight submitted signatures to the county Board of Elections last month. But the ballot isn’t settled and must be certified following a timeframe for when signatures gathered during the petition process can be challenged by objectors.