It may sound cliche but — history does tend to repeat itself. Just look through the old archives of the Press Republican and you will see many instances of history replaying itself today. What do the lay-offs of the early 1990’s in th City of Plattsburgh and the lay-offs of March 2007 have in common? The answer: Donald Kasprzak and Cynthia Lasher-Graham.
In the early 1990’s Kasprzak was a city Councilor known for his hot-headed outbursts at Common Council meetings and his personal desire to single-handedly break-up city unions and dismantle the Fire Department. Cynthia Lasher-Graham on the other hand –was the city’s Chief Fiscal officer who had a disdain for men in positions of power. Some describe her as maniacal and manipulative.
In looking back at the layoffs that occurred in the City of Plattsburgh in 1990 and comparing them to the lay-offs of 2007 one striking similarity sticks out like a sore thumb — Kasprzak was a City Councilor during the 1990 layoffs and then Mayor during the 2007 layoffs — Lasher-Graham was the city’s Chief Fiscal Officer in 1990 and was again serving in the capacity as Chief Fiscal Officer on an interim basis during the 2007 lay-offs. Some say the combination of the two together was double double toil and trouble — for city taxpayers that is.
During both lay-offs 1990 and 2007 the Common Council held illegal executive sessions to discuss who would have their positions abolished. The NYS Open Meetings Law prohibits governing bodies from entering executive sessions to discuss layoffs — as the law states the issue of lay-offs is a matter of public concern as it deals directly with how taxpayer money will be spent.
Click on the link below to read an article appearing in a 1990 edition of the Press Republican which details the under-handed approach the City Council took in 1990 when selecting positions for layoff – which was the same approach taken in 2007 under the direction of Kasprzak and Lasher-Graham.
http://cityofplattsburgh.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/pr-1990personnelcuts.pdf
Tags: City of Plattsburgh, Common Council, Kasprzak, Layoffs, Lsaher-Graham, Mayor Kasprzak, Plattsburgh, Politics, press republican, Republicans, wiry, wptz
