Senior echelons of the U.N. are clogged with patronage appointees.

Ms. Gelber's friends say she is being punished because she resisted hiring patronage appointees thrust on her by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's office.

People across the state were sick of the slow, confusingly organized system and the patronage appointees - many of them unqualified, unresponsive or corrupt - who filled it from top to bottom.

The main problem now is the continued insistence of member countries on imposing expensive and unsuitable patronage appointees on the Secretariat and U.N. agencies.

The bill would extend anti-retaliation rights to those workers who courageously complained about the politicization of science by patronage appointees, and to airport security workers.

He is a sewer official, a patronage appointee, who gets involved in the troubles of his precinct.

The stunning rebuff of old-guard legislators will weaken their patronage appointees.

Aspirants for office volunteered their services as speaker; wealthy leaders contributed cash, and patronage appointees not only worked for the party but also donated 2 to 5 percent of the salaries.

The elections board acknowledged that the unusual move was part of an effort to project a new image after years of criticism that it was an ineffective haven for patronage appointees.

Thousands of patronage appointees have no idea whether they might be retained in or near their specialties, as often happens with transitions through serendipity, patron connivance or merit.