The guy is an enigma to me.
I am pleased to see he sees through the politics that are these control boards. His clash yesterday with the Erie County Control Board shows that he gets what most people here fail to understand.
He is aware that these control boards are political entities who only exist to perpetuate the political appointments of their staff. In Erie County's case it's at least $600,000 a year. He understands that by borrowing money through the control board he will be locked in and paying that staff until the loans are paid off.
On the other hand if he dosen't borrow through them he pays a little higher interest. The control boards argument is that it will save the county two million over thirty years. If we don't borrow through the control board and it goes soft after four years as Collins intends, we would save $600,000 a year for 25 years. Which comes out to 15 million.
Makes sense to me.
And while he sits on the Buffalo Control board he has questioned some of the "cut of your nose to spite your face" decisions they make. As well as questioning their creative book keeping that they use to justify it.
I think, when he was running for office, he assumed, as most people who don't know how government and patronage works, that these control boards were pure in nature an intent and not just another form of patronage. I am glad it didn't take him long to see it for what it is.
On the other hand his own appointments are often driven by patronage. His reluctance to allow the small raise of six hundred dollar a year to the rank and file, while at the same time trying to increase the salaries of his patronage appointments shows him to be a typical old fashioned politican.
He's tough to fit into any mold.
But I still didn't vote for him, and given the chance wouldn't again.