Nanda Palissery for Controller-the interview

I had a chat with Republican Luzerne County Controller candidate Nanda Palissery on Thursday. Nanda emmigrated with his family from India to Wilkes-Barre when he was 2 years old and has lived the American dream like many other immigrants. Hard work and a good education pay off. He graduated from Wyoming Valley West High School then went to Texas A&M (go Aggies) where he got an Engineering degree. He then went on to Temple University Law School.

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He is a New York Yankees fan but I will forgive him for that.

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Why should you be the next Luzerne County Controller?

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A couple of things that I think that are important. One is that I always believed and was raised to believe that if you want something to be done right, do it yourself. Among the candidates that have submitted their names in this election to run I think I am the most qualified for a couple of reasons. One is that I have a business background, I’ve had various businesses in the area including my own law practice for 15 years. I’ve been fairly successful with that. Two, in addition to a business background I have a legal background and I think a lot of what the Controller does is legal in nature. That is interpreting contracts and appropriateness of spending and so on. I think for those 2 reasons if nothing else I think I am the most qualified candidate. And third I’ll you that, not to be boastful, that I am a hard worker. I work all the time, as of right now in fact my wife and kids are on vacation. They went to Florida, I did not. I’m here and working, I have to work that’s who I am. Being a hard worker is a quality that I think that is important is this race as well.

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Will you be a full time Controller?

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I know that there has been talk about that. I’m going to be a 24/7 Controller. That is I will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for any issues that come up. A lot of the work that has to be done in this case is not a matter of being in the office 8 to 5 because that’s not what this is about. What this is about is reviewing expenditures, reviewing contracts and so on and understanding what the Controller does. He doesn’t necessarily have to be there 8 or 9 hours a day but I will be available whenever the office requires me to be there.

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The last time I heard you speak you said you knew a lot about the operations of the office and they were behind on audits. I don’t know how it’s staffed but what kind of people would you be looking for such as your deputy and auditors. The type of people not necessarily names?

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One of the things that is happening in the office as I understand it is that there are several people on the Controller’s staff that actually don’t do work for the Controller that should be reassigned to the Treasurer’s office. They do some work for the Controller’s office but not enough. So there is a lack of auditors in the office and we need more of those. So one of the first things I want to do is propose to the commissioners a reallocation of the people in the office so we can get more auditors on board so the office can do one of the things it has to do. That is to complete the audits of all the magistrates’ offices and municipalities and so on. So that’s one of the first thing we have to do.

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When Steve Flood took over the office he made a point of hiring a deputy that with a CPA that was from out of the area and no political ties. Are you willing to do something similar?

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I think it’s obviously important having a CPA as our deputy, there is no doubt about that. Having CPAs as much as we can available in the office is important. As far as political ties are concerned, I am absolutely for someone who is independent and without ties. The problem is a practical matter. If you can find somebody who is qualified, who doesn’t have political and will relocate from outside the area then great. I don’t know if those persons exist, if they we will seek them out. And another thing I want to bring up as well because we talking about whether I will be a full time Controller. One of the things you have to consider is that in order to do this job effectively you have to be beyond reproach and that’s what I am. I’m not doing this for the money as I said before and I’m also not doing this for any other advantages or whatever benefits that may come from it. It’s a matter of doing it for the right reasons and being beyond reproach means being financially beyond reproach as well. That is what I am, I’m not easily bought. If the public is looking for a guy who is going to be there from 8 to 5 and give up whatever he does for a living to do this then the public is going to get that. There going to get somebody who is striving to get a $35,000 a year job. Or if you want to have somebody that is beyond reproach I believe that you have to have someone who has a life and who has the ability to not cave to money offers and whatever else might come along if it did. And that’s who I am, I’m beyond that. I’m not for sale is my point.

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A few years you ran for Judge. Why run for Controller instead of Judge this time with a couple of seats open?

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That’s a good question. The reason is I don’t think a judge can do what needs to be done in this county to start bringing fiscal responsibility back to the county and to bring transparency to the government and so on. Those are things I’m running on. A judge can’t do that, a judge is limited as to what he can promise to do. He is limited as to what his role is in government because he doesn’t have a role in government. He’s in a different branch, the judicial branch. As a Controller we have a voice on the Pension Board and Salary Board and those are things that I can bring some order to and bring some regularity to. As well as what I call normalcy, that is being beyond being bought. I think I could do a great job as judge I really do. Maybe someday I may reconsider it. As of right now Controller is a position that I think we can make a change in our government that we need to make at this point.

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You were recently endorsed by the Luzerne County Republican Party. What has that gotten you?

As this point I’m very proud to have been endorsed. What has it gotten me so far? I’ve had discussions with the party concerning advertising and so on. Obviously I can advertise in my campaign that I am the endorsed Republican. But I think what’s important that the people know that there was an endorsement procedure and of the people who were up for endorsement I was the one who was selected. And it was a matter of qualification. What it does is that is gives me the ability to say that I’m qualified for this position and not only do I think so but so does the Republican Party of Luzerne County.

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A little nuts and bolts about campaigns. How are you financing? Are you doing it yourself, are you asking for donations?

At this point the bulk of the money that has been promised so far is from me. As far as donations are concerned we haven’t had… any… So when I say the bulk…

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You’re it.

I’m it. But I’m expecting there will be some financial contributions. We want to do a fundraiser maybe 2. The main part of our campaign at this point is going to be mailers targeted to super voter Republicans and targeting people who are most likely to vote in this election. We need to put money together for that reason. In addition to that obviously I’m going around to different events and introducing myself to people who do not know me. I have a small breakfast scheduled for tomorrow just for a select group of people that I’m hoping that will be able to help me financially as well.

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Other than mailers are you planning radio or TV?

Radio and TV are in the schedule and I just ordered signs today, some cards to hand out and stickers to wear and so on.

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Around here people make a big thing about the ethnicity of politicians. You don’t look Irish.

(laughter)

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You don’t look Irish. If someone thought I was Irish I would have to tell them I was from the southern most tip of Ireland. No I don’t, I thought it would be an issue in the campaign when I ran in 2003 but I don’t think that it was. If it was it was a small issue. At this point I don’t think that it’s an issue at all. And I’m really happy to say that for a couple of reasons one is that it’s good to know that people aren’t looking at your skin color as the issue or your ethnicity as the issue. The issue is am I qualified to do the job. I forget what blog I read it on but someone said, maybe it was Gort42, if we can have a President with a strange name we could have a Controller that has one too.

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I wrote that.

I loved that, it was a great line.

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Palissery almost sounds Italian.

It does, if I just changed the y to an i, I would be Italian and change Nanda to Nando.

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I forgot to ask him about Home Rule in our sit down so I called him to ask. This is a paraphrase.

I want to see the plan because they could come up with something worse than what we have. It’s important that people with a knowledge of how government works be elected to the Study Commission. Kingston Mayor Jim Haggerty is a good choice for the commission.

I have 2 questions from my fellow bloggers. I don’t know if you a familiar with Wilkes-Barre Online.

No I’m not.

This goes back to the full time thing.

In a county mired in countless political corruption scandals, a county near overwhelmed by crushing outstanding debts, a county where recent, unrealistic budgets amounted to red ink ultimately paid for up by even more future outstanding debts, should the newly elected County Controller put his or her chosen career on the back burner for the time being and take the taxpayer’s financial bull by the horns?

One of the misconceptions is about the actual role of the Controller and that’s something that people need to understand that there is not a lot of discretion that the Controller has. The Controller does not have discretion over what items are to be paid or funded. All I can do as the Controller is to say is hey look this was supposed to be approved by the commissioners before it got paid. Just like I said before Dr. Vita is my example having collected $1.2 million since 2001 that was never approved by the commissioners. That’s what the role would be. As far as budgets and so on I will do and say whatever I can say as far as they accept input from the Controller. But I don’t have a lot as a Controller that I can do about the budget there is not a lot of discretion that I exercise in that regard. What I am saying is the time that I’m going to make available will be anytime they need me to do anything. I don’t necessarily need to put my career on the back burner to do that.

And bloggers being wise guys Norton wants to know what cigars you like?

There is whole bunch of cigars I like but for the most part I’m generally a Maduro smoker.

That’s it. Anything you want to add?

Just to say I firmly believe I think I’m the best candidate for this job, I really think I am. I don’t just say that to be boastful I just think that I am. I don’t know if anybody can do a better job than I can. Because I will work as hard to as I need to… to get this job done right. I have absolute confidence that’s going to be me.