Ike was right. Dwight Eisenhower warned of a “military-industrial complex” in his farewell address, that revolving door where military brass joined defense contractors after retirement from the service. But we might have a different door developing right here in Ulster County.

Last week, County Executive Jen Metzger signed a bill that would eliminate the waiting period between when a legislator leaves office and when he or she can be appointed to a position in the executive branch. The bill passed the legislature by a 12-11 vote, the barest of majorities.

It was past practice, but apparently not law, that a two-year period would elapse before legislators took that short walk down the hall between its chambers and the executive suite to cash in on their final years of public service. Eve Walter, a former legislator from New Paltz, was appointed county health director last year after 17 months in the private sector.

Back in the bad old Republican days under county administrators and before that (Republican) legislative government, it was fairly common for veteran legislators to cross over, all the better to fatten their pensions.

Colloquially, it was called the three-year retirement plan. A legislator would serve for say a dozen years at $10,000 a year and then get appointed to management for at least five times as much.

Pensions are calculated on length of service and the top three wage-earning years.

Of course, not every rank-and-file legislator got that career-ending bonus. Minority party members and outspoken critics needn’t apply. Only those with long records of rolling over for leadership would be considered.

Since 2009, it’s been the county executive’s office that doled out those golden tickets. And now, it’s official.

The legislature, which considers itself an equal branch of government, might have given more thought to that vote.

What, some might have asked, has happened to the separation of powers? Might legislators playing nice-nice with the executive in hope of pension sweeteners tip the balances of power even further in favor of the all-powerful executive?

Just asking.

Delgado Finishes Second

In a three-person race.

The Siena College Research Institute’s recent poll on next year’s Democratic primary for governor showed incumbent Kathy Hochul with a commanding lead over two likely opponents, Gotham congressman Richie Torres and former local congressman Lt Gov. Antonio Delgado.

Hochul led the way with 46 percent, Delgado had 11 percent, and Torres of the Bronx was third with 10 percent. To put a positive spin on this, Delgado finished second, albeit a long, long way from the top. My money for governor is on the future mayor of New York, a fellow named Andrew Cuomo.

One of the curiosities about this particular snapshot in time is that while Hochul polls reasonably well among fellow Democrats, the majority of those contacted still preferred “somebody else” for governor.

County Goes to the Dogs

Other than maybe air traffic control officers, it’s hard to find a job more stressful than in a crisis control center. There are desperate people at the end of those lines.

In Ulster, officials are hoping to relieve some of that stress by bringing in a specially trained comfort dog. Named Oliver, the Golden-doodle retriever puppy is currently undergoing training for his first job.

Other than an endearing photo-op of County Exec Metzger hugging the playful pup, and with all due respect for the workers who save lives every day under the most stressful conditions, I think county leaders may have overlooked a few things.

Who’s going to walk this new member of the team? Will he be trained not to bark when calls back up? Will he be trained to take calls, as in “Woof?” “Woof!” “WTF woof!”

How about cats? Cats are great companions, if they agree, and they’re about half the overall pet population. What ever happened to diversity in county government?

Just kidding.

Me, Mario and Marc

The Kingston Trio we’re not, but Friday’s guest in the 8-9 a.m. segment of our Me and Mario show on WGHQ, RRA director Marc Rider, should be chock full of information on solid waste planning.

Rider, executive director of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, will be our guest for a full hour. It’s been a while since Rider appeared on our show and lots of things have changed.

One of the questions we plan to ask our guest is who exactly has the final word on the siting, designing and funding of a county landfill? Is it the legislature or is it the semi-autonomous RRA?

There would appear to be nine legislators opposed to the agency’s initial preference for two potential sites in Wawarsing, but a committee of the legislature defeated that resolution last week. It can still reach the full legislature with a (rare) motion to discharge on March 19.

Tune in for the discussion on WGHQ at 920 AM. To stream the show live, or listen to it later, click here: https://vimeo.com/user173056939