Another Carpetbagger

What is it with Bernardo bringing in people from other counties? Ya gotta ask yourself why she keeps doing this, almost as if she's dancing to a tune only she (and Chapman, and Bonacic) can hear:

Longtime Ulster County Deputy Legislative Clerk Karen Spinozzi has retired, effective immediately, and Legislative Chair Terry Bernardo has chosen Greene County's former IDA Director Alexander "Sandy" Mathes to replace the 40-year county employee. Bernardo said Spinozzi actually retired in 2007, but was helping out on an hourly basis.

"While I would love her to say, I fully understand her desire to spend more time living life outside the office," the legislative chair said.

She said she chose Mathes as replacement to fill Spinozzi's role as a means to "focus on providing economic development and finance advice, something he is highly qualified to give."

Great. So what kind of "qualifactions" does Mathes have? This kind:

An assemblyman’s inquiry into state authority employees’ bonuses revealed the executive director of the Greene County Industrial Development Agency received $175,000 in performance bonuses in 2009, while 23 employees of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency shared $26,100 in longevity bonuses.

In a press release, state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Elmsford, said he began an inquiry into bonus payments to authority employees after learning nearly $3 million had been paid to two employees of the Fulton County Economic Development Corp. He said initial data shows bonus payments ranging from $1.5 million to $3,500.

“Some of these payments are obviously unacceptable and some may have reasonable explanations,” Brodsky said. “The initial data is all self-reported and it is simply unclear what the full extent of the problem may be.”

$175,000 in performance bonuses for Mathes, while the underlings starve. Nice work if you can get it..

Sounds like Mathes will fit right in to the Bernardo Gang.