Joe Mesi lands $70K job with State Senate

Posted by Howard Owens on April 14, 2009 - 6:11am
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You all remember Joe Mesi: The former boxer who lost his bid for the 61st State Senate seat now held by Mike Ranzenhofer.

It turns out, he came out of the election OK, according to the Buffalo News.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is handing Mesi a new job for him that pays $70,000 a year and will provide Mesi with a staff of up to 10 people.

“It will serve as a liaison for the majority leader with the local community, working with local community groups,” Shafran said. “It’s another mechanism of community outreach to make sure we’re meeting the needs of the broader community.”

The spokesman for Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith of Queens said the office will serve a different function than a previous operation maintained by Senate Republicans when they held the majority. While the GOP version centered around communications, Shafran said Democrats plan to make it a more representative presence of the majority conference in the community.

Well good for Joe that he made some friends in Albany, but how necessary is it for the Senate Majority office to have a community outreach office in Buffalo? Aren't there already elected representatives there to handle constituent issues?

Posted by Russ Stresing on April 14, 2009 - 6:39am
Maybe Smith felt that Ranzenhofer's staff needed additional support because they were too busy posting to community websites under assumed names to handle much else.
Posted by John Roach on April 14, 2009 - 5:14pm
Seems like there is still money to give away to freinds.
Posted by Onofrio A. Perzia on April 15, 2009 - 12:25am
Congratulations to Joe Mesi. He is a good man with a desire for public service. It's was too bad he didn't get the 61st District Senate seat. He was by far the better candidate. Ranzenhofer is a career politician with few accomplishments and sitting in an Erie County Legislature seat as the county went belly up. Joe will be more useful in Albany than Ranz could ever be.
Posted by Daniel Jones on April 15, 2009 - 1:04am
It's great to see the State Senate Majority looking out for upstate with a coordinator like Joe, good news indeed.
Posted by John Roach on April 15, 2009 - 6:28am
He may or may not have been the best candidate, but I wonder if the people on this site who said they have lost their job feel good about the loser being given $70,000 and a staff of 10, all on the public payroll, for a job not really needed. And remember, our tax money pay his salary and his new staff.
Posted by Howard Owens on April 15, 2009 - 6:56am
You gotta figure the whole operation is costing tax payers at least, at least, $500,000.
Posted by Howard Owens on April 15, 2009 - 7:02am
I just wrote to Malcolm Smith's office and requested a copy of the budget for this office. We'll see what and if any kind of response we get.
Posted by Karen Miconi on April 15, 2009 - 8:03am
Was Mesi hired as a replacement for Ranz? If so, wouldn't Mesi take his spot, or will we be paying for both?
How much will it cost for his 10 office workers, in addition to him? Can the public view their wages too? I guess we must have needed him?, or are we just paying a Babysitter. I'm sure Mesi is a upstanding guy and all, buy where is all the additional $$$ coming from?
Posted by Howard Owens on April 15, 2009 - 10:50am
Karen, it's not really additional, because the Republicans had a majority office in the region, too, when the GOP held the Senate majority. Both sides engage in this sort of thing.

And nothing against Joe. I've no issue with him getting any job he can get, and I'm sure he can do some good for the community in a job like this.

However, that doesn't mean it isn't a waste of taxpayer money. But this isn't really a partisan issue. It's just an example of how politicians (Republican and Democrat) take care of themselves first.