Has Anyone Seen The Deputy Mayor?

At an Ibero American Action League dinner last Friday, the Master of Ceremony introduced Darryl Porter, the Special Assistant to Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy. Duffy was out of town. Porter represented in his place.

But during the introduction, the M.C. noted that, with the mayor out of town, he'd been told Porter was the person in charge of the City Hall for the moment.

Porter's no Alexander Haig. But doesn't the chain of command in the mayor's absence click down to the Deputy Mayor?

Patty Malgieri would be that person. And whether or not the M.C. misspoke or was unaware of that chain of command, it has not been easy finding Malgieri lately.

We're learning that perhaps there's a reason for that.

Sources are making reference to Duffy's circle of trust on Church Street closing and Malgieri, someone who recruited the former police chief for the job, being outside of it.

We're trying to reach Malgieri for clarification.

The place where we've learned about this also tells us that the member of the mayor's senior administrative staff who has Duffy's ear more than anyone else is Communications Director Gary Walker.

Walker's adamant that no one in the media gets to speak with the mayor unless they go through him. That's his job. But we also understand Walker addresses other political leaders with the same expectation.


Is this perception built on the mayor's manic public schedule and Walker's need to manage it or is it something else?

Let's find out.