The Schenectady City Council has entered into a second week of stagnation, the continued paralysis of the legislative body comes amid even more controversy.
Monday marked the second time since Jan. 1 that the Schenectady City Council has been unable to conduct official city business during its weekly meeting.
That’s because the council, for the second straight week, could not reach a consensus on a new council president. A vote to choose a new leader held during the meeting Monday resulted in a split, with three members voting for Councilor Carl Williams and two voting for Councilor Doreen Ditoro.
Four votes are needed to claim the presidency.
Mayor Gary McCarthy, who is temporarily presiding over the council, subsequently adjourned the meeting, and no other business was discussed.
Julianna Radigan is a 33-year-old Schenectady resident who attended Monday’s meeting.
She is frustrated.
“We don’t have a functional government, in a time where we need a functional government, I mean you always need a functional government, but especially right now when everything is particularly chaotic,” Radigan said.
Radigan says she is displeased with the mayor.
“It’s very frustrating and demoralizing to see this pattern continue beyond just the previous city council. I know the mayor likes to blame all of the issues on the City Council for things not getting done but the reality is is that the City Council is supposed to check his power, not just agree to everything that he says he wants to be done,” Radigan said.
The council’s inability to function marks the latest in a myriad of road blocks the Electric City’s government has faced since former Councilor Joseph Mancini resigned in August.
The 2026 budget was finalized late, and Mayor McCarthy vetoed the council’s choice to replace Mancini with Justin Chaires.
The council moved ahead with their appointment despite the veto and is now involved in a lawsuit brought on by McCarthy.
The mayor says people should direct their frustrations at the City Council.
“That’s where the problem is,” McCarthy said.
As for the council’s inability to act, McCarthy says its actually not affecting the city all that much.
“It hasn’t generally impaired any of the city operations, there’s a little bit of maneuvering within the city council, I assume that will resolve itself in a reasonable amount of time,” McCarthy said.
Amid a lawsuit and disagreement over who should serve as the council’s president, Ditoro filed a police report and Human Resources Department complaint against fellow-member John Mootooveren. The two reports allege that Mootooveren called Ditoro several contentious names. That’s according to reporting by the Times Union.
Mootooveren declined a request to comment Monday night, and Ditoro did not immediately respond to a separate request.
McCarthy says an “outside entity” would have to be brought in to review the HR complaint.
“The one with Human Resources, we have protocols to deal with workplace violence because it’s the legislative body and an independently elected individuals the follow up would be different than what we would normally do with an internal complaint,” McCarthy said.
As for the police report, McCarthy does not believe there will be much follow up.
While Williams said he recognizes that the city’s day-to-day operations are still functioning, he says McCarthy’s notion that the council’s paralysis is having minimal impact is not “entirely true.
“Are we able to accept any grants moving forward, no. Are we able to pass any resolutions, no. There was recently a deceased member of our community and we weren’t able to even accept or move a ceremonial resolution just honoring their work within a city. I truly think that discrediting or devaluing the importance of our discussions around the table calls into question why we even exist,” Williams said.
