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Now that we have gotten through the village and school district elections, and the county has determined the new county legislative districts, it's time to move on to the speculation about who is going to run for the several county and town level offices open this fall in New Paltz.
The town seats that are up for grabs include:
Town Supervisor - incumbent, Toni Hokanson
2 Town Board seats- incumbents, JaneAnn Williams and David Lewis
Town Clerk - incumbent, Marion Cappillino
Town Highway Superintendent - incumbent, Mike Nielson
Town Judge - incumbent, Jim Bacon (I think, not too sure on that one.)
The only incumbent I am nearly certain will run again is Toni Hokanson.
Our two county leg seats (with the majority of constituents in New Paltz) are now currently held by Sue Zimet who lives in the town and could run for new district #17, and Hector Rodriguez who lives in the village and could run for the new district #20. I fully expect Hector to run, but the last time I saw Sue she said recently she's being introduced as "our next Congresswoman", but she was non-committal when I probed about what this meant for her future aspirations. Certainly making her district town-only somewhat increases the chances of a Republican or Independent taking a shot at that seat, but not by much. And the county Republicans are in disarray after Robin Yess's departure as chair so candidates cannot expect from a lot of help from that committee.
So, what will be the salient issues in the town elections? Government consolidation? Taxes? How about county leg - what will bring out candidates in the those two elections? Golden Hill? This is a huge issue in Kingston and in county-wide circles, but aside from a few lawn signs, there's been nary a word of it in these parts.
There is not a lot of time for contenders to step up, petition, rally committee support, and start campaigning. Of course, last minute campaigns and write in efforts are not uncommon here and the New Paltz Democratic Committee endorsed village election candidates this year, but not for town races the past few years. Pretty ironic (being kind here) considering the town elections are under their purview, but not the village elections. I'm not sure what date they have set their caucus for, which in political circles is known as the real election given Democrat enrollment numbers. I recently resigned from that committee (a blog post for another day) so I don't know what they are up to - at this point, I can only assume the caucus will be in September.
So,what do Gadfly readers think - who is going to run? (& does anybody care?)
11 comments:
The most energized political group in the town is the Springtown Road insurgency.
It's not clear to me what route they would take, challenging through the Democratic Party and/or forming a third party, or even moving into the moribund Republican Party. If they organize properly and find good, serious candidates and universalize their property rights issue, they could change the unfortunate culture of the town government.
I sure care. First and foremost, I care about having a choice for every seat, which means not repeating the Republican cross-endorsement-fest of two years ago. I know that the local Republican party chair doesn't really care about local elections, so I'm hoping that somebody - ANYBODY - who isn't already running as a Democrat will step up to take the Republican nominations.
I voted for some of those cross-endorsed candidates, and maybe I will again, but I'll feel a whole lot better about my vote if I actually have to give thought to each race.
There is no Republican Party In New Paltz. Never has been and never will be. Just people who want power and influence they can not get from the party that controlls New Paltz
I'm afraid you may be right, 3, but I am going to stay a Republican to keep the hope of a true democracy alive.
First out of the gate - Jon Cohen for Supervisor. He likes running for office I guess!
Oh god.. Susan Zimet for congress? I hope she's joking....
Ready or not New Paltz, here I come... When I am ready to reveal myself I will, but for now - I am an Independent with the vision, servant leadership values base, experience, education, and situational awareness, of which New Paltz residents are begging for…
The Town of New Paltz has endured a nine plus year plague. The affliction I speak of is not frogs, boils, or locust. What I am describing is an overarching problem in New Paltz government and is rooted in:
• Ineffectual or absent leadership
• A misguided vision that can only be described as rivaling 19th Century Marxism
• Inexperience championed by those w/even less
• Education (maybe) but with utter disregard for lessons learned
• Finally no concept of situational awareness or what we the taxpayers, or in their eyes the proletariat, needs and wants.
However, as we see happening across the country, taxpayers are becoming more involved, more informed, and tired of the status-quo. We Huguenots are no different, and though resilient, our patients have run out. Our local representatives, specifically the incumbent supervisor is fundamentally lost. Over time, she has guided the four other lemmings, and by default our town, to the cliff’s edge. The intervention must occur during the upcoming election and the intended/unintended consequences are dire.
When I unseat the incumbent supervisor, I guarantee the following:
• Refocusing the board and returning the local government to its proper role in the community, as servant leaders accountable for and to those we are charged to serve
• Use all available resources, my experience, and education to bring an end to the current irresponsible spending of our tax money, this includes but is not limited to eliminating all unnecessary line items, padding, and special interest serving items – I WILL LOWER ALL PROPERTY TAXES, so locals and their children can afford to live here again
o By the way, my first order of business once in will be to roll back my own salary to the rate paid prior to the incumbent giving herself a raise
• Lastly for this discussion, I will streamline and bring transparency to all town offices; including, easing and simplifying regulations where possible, redefining and repealing over reaching local laws, and facilitating taxpayer involvement in all decisions affecting the town and its most important resource, which is the people who live here
We are all in this together and like you, I struggle every day and can barely afford to live here anymore. If you want to enjoy the experience of being involved in the coming transformation of leadership, government, and our town please look for and support my message; you will meet me shortly. Until then, please get involved. Please go to the town board meetings and question their decisions and their lack of concern for you, your financial solvency, or your property rights.
Update. Jon Cohen was not first out of the gate. According to Toni H, Ray Lunati declared months ago.
Hey Ray Lunati, according to Gadfly3, "There is no Republican Party In New Paltz. Never has been and never will be. Just people who want power and influence they can not get from the party that controlls New Paltz"
That said, you may not want to waste your time this fall. But if you do decide to go for it, good luck. As I am sure you are already aware, Toni H will be sling the mud to keep her death grip on the town, her self inflated salary, town funded retirement, and benefits.
Word on the street is that this year all the positions that are up will be vigorously contested, especially the Supervisor seat. I know of four people already prepping for the campaign trail... It should be a good one considering what is a stake...
So the masked canidate "Bob Gabrielli" will lower taxes and bring back goverment to the people? Is New Paltz Ready for the Tea Party promises that cannot be filled and is running on a platform of special interest?
I'd be surprised if Toni Hokinson can even get the Democratic nomination this year.
John Logan
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