Bob Duffy has gone with the flow quite a bit since taking office, remaining out of direct spotlight whenever partisan issues come up, if possible. I’ve been critical of that many times, especially since the partisanship is actually hitting Rochester and Monroe County where it hurts with things like the FAIR plan.
But apparently, the MCC situation has gotten under his skin. H/T to RochesterTurning for bringing this video to my attention, wherein Duffy lays out in stark terms his displeasure with the nakedly partisan politics – and money grubbing, let’s not lie – of the MCC situation. He even goes as far as to say that the “spirit of cooperation” is cosmetic, which in political terms is quite harsh. Duly so, of course, but harsh nonetheless.
He points out that 25% of MCC students are City residents, and that gives the City a large stake in resolving the issue of the MCC president appointment. Moreover, he goes as far as to threaten that Governor Patterson can even play a role in this by appointing members of the board of the Renn Square project that perhaps the Republicans might not like.
“We’re impacted, I’ve never been asked to submit a name for the board,” he said, “But we have a new governor. And the governor has the ability to put people on the board and Governor Patterson is a true partner with us and I will be in touch with Governor Patterson.”
He says “a lot of things pass through this office,” and that he’ll use as many as he can to change the situation.
