CARLTON FLETCHER: Postell served citizens of Ward VI fiercely, honorably

“So keep well, keep well, old friend, and have another drink on me. Just ignore all the others, you’ve got your memories.”

— Elton John

Hopefully, the city of Albany will honor Tommie Postell for his service while he is in well enough health to appreciate the gesture.

Postell, a retired educator, has served on the Albany City Commission for 16 years, his curmudgeonly presence providing a potential lightning rod for, well, almost anything with every meeting he attended. Sadly, declining health has made that all too infrequent over the final year of his tenure with the commission.

But boy, was it a fun tenure.

Postell has been called everything from a racist to a mud-stirrer to a divider by his detractors over his years on the commission. I covered most of the meetings during which he served, though, and my take is different. What I saw over those years of service was a man who cared, and cared deeply, about his community and his constituents.

Many remember Postell for his gaffes, his malapropisms as he sought a certain degree of eloquence in speech (my favorite Postell-ism is “fruitition”) and his hard-line questioning of individuals who appeared before the commission, many of whom he left on the verge of tears. What you got with Postell around the commission table was the public persona that could rankle the coolest of cucumbers.

Most didn’t know the private Postell, a man who was as tame as a pussycat, a congenial host in the lovely home he shared with his beloved wife of 54 years Irene and their son Tommie Jr. He told me one time during a visit to his home that “it’s no longer about me but about the people in Ward VI and in Albany” when he took his seat at the table.

When people talk about Postell, they remember his remark about how all people with the surname Patel “must be kin,” how he jokingly said “all white people look alike to me” during a commission meeting and had his comment blown out of proportion by some media members eager to generate meaningless sensationalism. They remember his successful fight to create an ordinance banning “saggy pants” (which ought rightfully be renamed the Postell Ordinance), how he fought fiercely to have the city’s Water, Gas & Light (now Utilities) Commission stripped of its autonomy, how he sparred openly with fellow commissioners who drew his ire.

But some of the things I remember most about Postell is listening as he tearfully talked about his love for Irene shortly after her death, watching his face grow animated as he recounted tales of growing up in Albany and, sadly, watching as his health deteriorated rapidly in the wake of Irene’s passing.

I wrote a column a couple of years back saying it was time for Postell to step down from his commission seat, to leave behind the stress of the position and focus on his health after he’d had a particularly rough go of it. When Postell announced that he’d be back for the next commission meeting, several city officials told me privately, “He’ll take the opportunity at some point today during the meeting to get back at you.”

But when I walked into the commission meeting room that early morning and found Postell sitting at his seat at the commission table, I walked over to tell him how glad I was to see him.

“Fletcher,” he said in that gruff voice that helped make him such a commanding presence. “I read what you wrote, and I want you to know I ain’t mad. I know It’s about time for me to give this up, but I want to make sure we have someone ready to step in who’s going to look after my ward.”

Someone else will represent that ward starting next year, the November municipal election qualifying period having passed Friday with Postell’s name conspicuously absent. And, with time’s inevitable passage, Postell’s name will fade into those quaint memories that so many of us will hold onto. But for many of us who were there when Postell served, Ward VI will be “Postell’s Ward” long after he’s no longer on the scene.

Here’s wishing you godspeed, Post, with a prayer for peace as you complete your earthly tenure. Rest assured, those of us who knew you and watched you serve the people of your ward know where your heart lay. And we salute you for that.