Dems to announce slate

Party downplaying any dissension in Schenectady

City Democrats will huddle over the weekend to endorse their preferred slate of candidates for mayor and City Council.

The full board of about 45 neighborhood or ward leaders — there are a few vacancies — is expected to rubber stamp the executive board’s recommendations.

Headlined by Mayor Gary Mccarthy, the Democratic ticket features incumbent City Council members Ed Kosiur, John Polimeni and Leesa Perazzo as well Carmel Patrick, a political newcomer.

City Lawyer Carl Falotico got the nod for the City Court judge post even though Mccarthy wants to eliminate the post.

Kosiur, who is out of state on vacation, said Tuesday he was working to head off a possible move being led by Polimeni and David Bouck, a Democratic committeeman, to remove Perazzo from the ticket.

“My ultimate goal is to talk some sense into these folks and unite everybody for the full slate that we’ve endorsed,” he said about his emails and text messages to the pair and party bosses. “The bottom line is that she’s done a good job for us, a good job for the city, and she’s a fellow Democrat.”

On Tuesday, Bouck and Polimeni rejected Kosiur’s claim. “I fully expect to carry petitions for the endorsed candidates, of which I am one of them,” Polimeni said.

On Tuesday, Perazzo said she had heard the rumors but was not aware of any real push to get her off the slate. But that if it happened, she said she “would certainly consider” a primary.

The maverick Bellevue Democrat has over the years locked horns with Mccarthy, Polimeni and Kosiur over everything from the municipal budget to bullying allegations from some blue collar workers against their bosses.

Schenectady Democratic Chairman Dick Naylor also downplayed the rumors Tuesday, saying he expects the endorsed candidates will win the full board’s approval.

“As in the past, we’re expecting that will be honored and our candidates will be certified and that we will have a unified front,” he said.

The meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Stockade Inn.