This should be interesting: The MCC trustees meet again this afternoon, and there's the possibility that they'll vote again on a president.

I suppose it's possible that one of the five who've supported Bill Smith will switch positions, but I don't hold out much hope. Every one of them has strong, clear ties to Steve Minarik's Republican Party. So does Smith, a former County Legislator.

And it's telling that on his application for the MCC presidency, three of Smith's six references are Republican elected officials: Sheriff Patrick O'Flynn, State Senator Mike Nozzolio, and (surprise, surprise), County Executive Maggie Brooks. Three of Kessler's seven references are Democratic officials: Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy, Brighton Supervisor Sandy Frankel, and District Attorney Mike Green.

A fourth could certainly be said to have Democratic ties: former Rochester Police Chief Robert Warshaw, who was one of Duffy's early advisors. Seems to me there's a difference, though: like many people, I'm convinced that local Republican Party leaders want Bill Smith to be the president, and thought�they had set up the process to insure that he would be. Democratic leaders haven't pushed for a candidate. For Smith, the presidency could mean a hefty state pension, and for the Republican Party, more control over contracts and decisions on Ren Square. With Kessler, I can't find a vested interest for the Democrats.

Also telling: Smith's other three references are a retired Batavia business CEO, a political science professor at Xavier University, and a retired New York City attorney. (So much for Smith's strong local connections.) Kessler's�three others are retired RIT President Al Simone,�Simon School Dean Mark�Zupan, and Nazareth College President Daan Braveman. A bit of a difference when we're talking about candidates for a college presidency.

Last week leaders of the Rochester business community - the CEO and the board chair of the Rochester Business Alliance - endorsed Rochester business owner Dennis Kessler, not Smith. The Business Alliance doesn't often jump into this kind of political fray. It's important that it has done it on this issue.

We'll find out later today whether the public pressure has managed to sway any of the Smith supporters. What we'll probably never find out, unfortunately, is what kind of hold the Republican Party has on them. It must be a big one to keep them from doing what is clearly the right thing.