Weasels of the Week: Steve McLaughlin & Richard Crist

We are a week away from Election Day as I write, and, once again, the local chapter of Geezers on Parade are, in the words of ESPN icon Chris Berman, rumblin', bumblin', & stumblin' to the polls.

Three weeks ago, Tom Reale, Republican candidate for Mayor, suspended his campaign. At the time, he claimed it was about "family concerns". On Monday, he was singing a different tune as he announced he was reinstating his campaign with a week to go. In his absence, the Geezers, led by County Executive Steve McLaughlin and chief operative Richard Crist, threw their support behind Rodney Wiltshire, who, as an independent candidate, was defeated by current Mayor Patrick Madden in 2015, and, this time, is flying the flag of the Green Party, which keeps getting bamboozled by the bigger parties.

Now, according to published reports, it's been revealed that McLaughlin & Crist put some heat on Reale to drop out of the race, because these idiots thought throwing their allegiance to Wiltshire would be a game changer.

Now, why would the local GOP turn on one of its own? That remains a mystery that not even Nancy Drew would be able to solve on a week's notice.

I've joked that voters went with Madden four years ago because of his resemblance to TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw, and couldn't tell the difference. On Madden's watch, the city has closed its pools, and have been slow to affect repairs such that they hemmed, hawed, and stalled until they realized there wasn't enough time this summer to open the pools before they'd have to be closed again. McLaughlin has his own issues as County Executive, a position previously held by Madden's sister, Kathy Jimino, including allegations of sexual misconduct, which have been swept under the rug in recent months.

Tomorrow, Reale, Madden, & Wiltshire will be in a televised debate on Spectrum News, airing on same-day tape delay. Six days later, Troy residents will go to the polls to separate the real candidates from the poseurs. Meanwhile, for undermining their own candidate with schoolyard bully tactics that don't belong in politics, McLaughlin & Crist each receive not only a set of Weasel ears, but also Dunce Caps, because their tactics may have already gift-wrapped the election for Madden.