Psssst! Wanna talk some politics? We got lots of it . . .

• County Executive Chris Collins on Thursday made his second trip to New York City in two weeks to appear on the dais of the state Conservative Party dinner in the Sheraton Hotel. For any Republican even dreaming of statewide office, attending Chairman Mike Long’s annual soiree is a must.

It’s just one more sign that the county executive is raising his profile, for whatever may lie ahead.

• Speaking of Collins, state GOP Chairman Joe Mondello acknowledges he’s a fan. As a result, he has put Collins “at the front of the list” of rising Republican figures the party will promote in coming months.

That means the state GOP will feature Collins and others in many of its publications, e-mail blasts and other correspondences as the faces of its future. The GOP will also facilitate appearances by Collins around the state in coming months, and that appears to fit in quite nicely with the county executive’s own agenda.

• Republican county comptroller candidate Phil Kadet hit his first stumbling block last week when he had to answer questions about Collins’ role in his campaign. It all stemmed from Collins For Our Future — the county executive’s political operation headquartered in Ellicott Square— distributing e-mails on Tuesday inviting Collins’ supporters to attend Kadet’s candidacy announcement in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

The link to Collins raised immediate questions among Democrats who claim the county executive’s involvement shows Kadet will not prove an “independent watchdog” — that he is already in the Collins camp.

Collins spokesman Chris Grant responded that nobody should be surprised that the county executive is supporting the opponent of Mark Poloncarz—an official Collins archenemy.

“The incumbent has been a rubber stamp for partisan politics and the status quo throughout his entire term,” Grant said.

Kadet said he knew nothing of the Collins e-mails. He said the county executive wanted to attend the event and “we said no.”

“I’ve tried to be very, very careful with Chris because it’s important to be independent,” Kadet said. “I’ll take help from anyone who wants to give it, but can you imagine someone who’s 66 and retired being some-one’s hand-picked boy?”

• Then there’s the matter of the new office established by Senate Democrats in downtown Buffalo to “bring the message of the conference and its agenda to the area.”

Original plans called for Senate Dems to establish an office with eight to 10 people, but that number is now substantially reduced. The new majority in the Senate says there will be no increase in the budget, but it felt the need to complement the work of staffers in the offices of individual senators.

Former heavyweight boxer Senate candidate Joe Mesi was named several weeks ago to run the new office at a salary of $70,000. Now the rest of the high-level staffers have been appointed.

They include Michael Darby, a former County Legislature candidate who will be lead regional coordinator at $50,000; Joel Feroleto, the son of State Supreme Court Justice Paula Feroleto and another former Legislature candidate who comes out of Sen. Antoine Thompson’s staff on the Environmental Conservation Committee. He will make $40,000 as a regional coordinator.

Also as a regional coordinator, Joseph Malczewski will make $40,000. He was a former aide to County Legislator Tim Kennedy.

• Court of Claims Judge Tom McMahon was known for his unique views on Buffalo politics, and quite often summed it up in one phrase: “It ain’t beanbag.”

Those pronouncements by the judge, who died Monday at 83, will surely be missed.

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