Unfortunately,
Mr.
Runion’s nearly 10-year tenure as supervisor has been plagued by
scandal, rising property taxes and an obsession with secretive
government. As part of that secrecy, he has been concealing cuts to
paramedics, police and other services while protecting his own pay
raise.
Runion-Murley Connection
On election night in 1999, Runion credited the wife of the town police chief (Jim Murley) for his victory. He told the Altamont Enterprise, “Without Debra Murley, the results would have been just the opposite.”
His police chief, Jim Murley, was convicted of official misconduct. The chief admitted to visiting a Syracuse casino 53 times while on the town clock. This misconduct took place from February 2001 to August 2004. No action was taken against Mr. Runion’s longtime political ally until 2007 when the chief was forced to resign.
Serious sexual harassment allegations concerning the chief and, more importantly, how the town dealt with them, remain unresolved today.
In 2008, Mr. Runion’s chief political operative, Don Csaposs, was caught doing political blogging while on town time. Both Mr. Csaposs and Mr. Runion signed time sheets indicating Mr. Csaposs was working at the time. Mr. Runion told the Enterprise, "I can’t tell you what people are doing here every second of the day."
Secretive
Government:
Though “open government” was a hallmark of the Guilderland Democrat
message in the 1990’s, Mr. Runion abruptly adjourned a town board
meeting in 2008 when his administration was being criticized. He has
prohibited any minority party representation on a police review board
that recommends appointments for police officers. He voted down a
motion asking town department heads to come before the board to discuss
town business. Incredibly, he refuses to accept e-mails from two other
Town Board members. View the clip below:
Assessments:
Nearly 600 people filed grievances over their town tax assessments in 2005 following a town-wide reassessment. There remains a widely held belief that the town assessment process is unfair.
Traffic:
Traffic, a persistent concern of residents, has gotten substantially worse in the Runion era.
Taxes and Spending:
Town spending under Mr. Runion jumped 70 percent from 1999-2005, the percentage increase was more than twice as much as neighboring Rotterdam and four times as much as the town of Colonie. Read more about Ken Runion on taxes and spending.
More Contradictions:
Mr. Runion made contradictory statements about sales tax revenue in Guilderland. A similar contradiction surfaced involving funding for Guilderland Community Caregivers.
Mr. Runion has been a Guilderland town employee for more than 20 years, serving in positions such as zoning board attorney and town attorney over the years.
All content is posted by Warren Redlich, a Guilderland Town Board
member, and
is not subject to the approval of Mr. Runion or the Town of
Guilderland.