ALBANY — Mayor Dorcey Applyrs’ pick to serve as the city’s top lawyer, who led her administration’s effort to hire a lobbying firm this year, told the Common Council that the process of selecting a firm fell short of the city’s best practices for choosing outside contractors.
Emails from April and May between council leadership and John Reilly Jr., the mayor’s nominee to serve as corporation counsel, show lawmakers had “concerns” about the process, which ultimately resulted in an $18,000 contract for Brown & Weinraub Advisors, an Albany lobbying firm with financial ties to Applyrs’ political campaign.
Under city procurement rules, three quotes for services are required for contracted work costing between $10,000 and $20,000. An April 27 email to Reilly signed by council leadership — a group that includes Council President Kelly Kimbrough, President Pro Tempore Ginnie Farrell, Majority Leader Alfredo Balarin and Majority Whip Owusu Anane — raised a series of concerns about the process…