https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Kosiur-12917459.php
Schenectady City Council president: Disagreement, mutual respect make good politics
Updated 10:20 pm, Tuesday, May 15, 2018
SCHENECTADY — Five months into his tenure as City Council president, Ed Kosiur cited as one of his early successes his brainchild, "Coffee with the Council," where residents on second Sunday of each month can discuss city business with local leaders and city officials.
"I'm enjoying the role of council president. We're doing some things a little differently with respects to reaching out and being a little bit more accessible to the public," he said. "I would give myself at least a B minus. I not going to say A. I'm certainly not perfect, and I'm still learning as I go along."
But a small vocal group of constituents, angry over newly adopted guidelines on public comments during meetings, contends the rules infringe on their freedom of speech, and they are pushing to have him removed from the leadership role.
The Woodlawn Democrat has also been criticized for screaming at a female staffer over proposed funding cuts to a pet project.
On Tuesday Kosuir countered that the revisions to the city charter are not intended to curb the public's rights to comments but instead to ensure the public is respectful of elected officials and audience members and avoid personal attacks.
Marva Isaacs, president of the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association, described Kosiur as a bully and dictator.
He said it was disheartening that Isaacs and others were bad mouthing him when he's tried to unify the community. He also touted his close relationship with the mayor, something he's quick to point out that his predecessor, Leesa Perazzo, didn't have when she was council president.
Kosiur and Perazzo have clashed on a variety of issues, including the city budget and adding language about bullying in the Schenectady's workplace violence-prevention policy.
Earlier this year, an outside firm found that Kosiur violated that policy after raising his voice at a city employee over funding for a project he is involved with.
Despite that finding, Kosiur maintains that he raised his voice and didn't yell at or disrespect the female staffer in the development office who no longer works for Schenectady.
"I apologized twice because I knew my voice was loud, and that's what I learned from it, not to be as intimidating with a loud voice because I didn't realize it when it was happening unfortunately," he said.
Perazzo conceded that Kosiur does get along better with McCarthy than she did, but that's in part because she "recognizes the fact that council is the checks and balances for the mayor."
"I am happy to work with the mayor to move the city in a positive forward direction, but the function of the mayor and function of the council are two different functions, and the council doesn't serve at the pleasure of the mayor. I think that is a very important thing for the council president to embrace," she said.
Perazzo said she didn't see any problems with old rules on comments from the public and the changes should have also included prohibition on the council president interrupting speakers with the admonition to wrap up as it gets closer to the end of the allotted time.
She said that although she tries to maintain her professionalism, it becomes difficult when Kosiur and his allies who constitute a majority on the seven-member board effectively take control of issues she brings up for deeper discussion.
"I'm not fond of the fact that the majority sometimes does not take my voice into consideration because they've already decided where they're going to go with something. I also don't like the fact that some of the items that I've brought to the table for discussion have ended up in somebody else's committee that I'm not even on," she said. "Although I think Mr. Kosiur works really hard and has the city's best interest at heart, I think he could be more fair, more inclusive and more professional."
Councilman Vince Riggi, the only non-Democrat on the council, said Kosiur has met with him privately a few times to discuss important issues, including the changes related to the public comments.
"I would be the first one to stand up and holler if I thought people were being restricted at the privilege of the floor since I spent about 18 plus years on that side of the rail before I was elected to the City Council," he said harkening backs to his activist days. "He has been more inclusive with me that past council presidents."
Beyond that, Riggi said, Kosiur has asked him to do the prayer during the gatherings.
Mayor Gary McCarthy, when asked about Kosiur's performance, criticized "chronic complainers who just complain about things that in the grand scheme of things are not major issues."
He declined to elaborate but emphasized that Kosiur is doing a good job. "Ed has the support of the working majority, and you have to have that to be council president," the mayor said, adding Perezzo didn't have that support from the base.
Kosiur said he plans to attend municipal meetings in Albany and other places to see if they are doing anything that can be replicated in Schenectady to enhance the meetings. He said he routinely reaches out to his colleagues to find out how they feel about an issue.
"We all have the respect for each other, but at the same time we all have disagreements, and I think that's what makes good politics," said Kosiur.
