New York COs Fired Up at Convention

Council 82 held its annual convention in Syracuse, N.Y., in late September, drawing not only some 500 delegates and alternates, but the state’s political luminaries as well.

Opening up the convention was Gov. George Pataki (R), who received the council’s endorsement in his re-election bid.

“We are proud of you,” Pataki told delegates, “because you, our corrections professionals, the men and women who protect us [from criminals] in our prisons, are the finest professionals in America, and we are extremely grateful for the job that you do.”

Other speakers included the state attorney general, comptroller, the chairman of the state senate’s Crime Victims, Crime & Corrections Committee and AFSCME President McEntee.

Among the business taken up by the delegates of the 28,000-member council was re-approval of the $2 monthly political action fee, which has helped build a $1 million political fund. As every one of the guest politicians attested, Council 82 has clout. It is heard in Albany and throughout the state.