We asked for a traffic cone … to prevent this …

The New Baltimore Highway Department Created a Dangerous Situation

We asked the New Baltimore Highway Department to at least provide a traffic cone to mark this dangerous piece of work done by New Baltimore Highway Department employees under the direct supervision of Superintendent of Highways, Mr Denis Jordan. Mr Jordan has so far refused to provide a marker to prevent injury or damage due to this deep hole he calls a storm drain!.

We Asked for a Traffic Cone
to prevent this! *

The maintenance of this drain took about 17 years to take shape. New Baltimore Deputy Superintendent of Highways, Mr Scott vanWormer, stated as much when his crews had to dig around to find the storm drain, buried for years under several inches of dirt. When they finally found it they replaced the entire culvert and this created this unusual construction that poses a real hazard and is already collecting the eroded stone from the improperly placed road patching materials. Nice job, guys!

Here’s how big the hole is in which the bike wheel is caught.

WE filed a demand for production of documents under the Freedom of Information Law (F.O.I.L.) for documents showing Mr Denis Jordan’s qualifications, education, courses and training he may have taken in order to qualify for the position of New Baltimore Highway Superintendent. Mr Jordan has only a high school graduation to his credit. He has not participated in any special training, has not participated in any continuing education, and has no college or other qualifications. Why is he building our roads and why is he in the position of Highway Superintendent with no qualifications. The only qualifications he has is how well he wastes taxpayer dollars and how he can screw up any road and any drainage problem.

We observed the New Baltimore Highway Department crew doing the work and, because it became obvious they didn’t know what they were doing — and it’s obvious Mr Jordan doesn’t know his anus from his armpit — we asked the town board to stop the work until a site meeting could be held to discuss the work. They ignored that request, too.

So we demanded in a FOIL all documents, including:

Documents, including but not limited to regulations, guidelines, laws, specifications, data sheets, etc., consulted by employees of the New Baltimore Highway Department or members of the New Baltimore Town Board in the pre–planning, planning, description, reporting, planning, design, execution of the work performed.

and

Documents relating to preliminary studies, field data collected, site–visits, site reports, site descriptions made to the proposed work site in advance of the planning, design, execution of said highway work;

The Town of New Baltimore could not produce a single document in response to these two requests; Mr Jordan did not provide a response. We must therefore conclude that Mr Jordan and his New Baltimore Highway Department did not do the work in compliance with New York State Department of Transportation regulations, guidelines, standards, etc., and that no preliminary studies were done of the site to determine the best way to proceed. Totally amateur. Totally idiotic. Totally incompetent.

Think about it this way: Your barber or hair stylist has to train and attend specialist school to cut hair, and then has to take examinations in order to qualify for a license. That’s just to do a $20 haircut! Your local funeral director has to attend specialist mortuary science school, do a 1 year residency, and then take state and national board examinations to get a licence to bury dead bodies! How is it, then, that some dumbass can get elected to be a Highway Superintendent with no education, no training, nothing at all, and then gets to play with hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars?!? Go figure!?! Oh! Excuse me. He was elected! By YOU!

In the figure above, (A) is the drain found when the several inches of dirt and vegetation had been removed by the New Baltimore Highway Department crew. According to Mr Scott vanWormer, he hadn’t ever seen that drain in some 17 years. (B) shows the replacement drain, rather hole, that the crew installed after replacing the culvert. We’ve never seen such a thing as this piece of work put in by Mr Jordan! It’s insane. (C) shows a tape measure indicating that the hole is 17 inches deep. (D) is a tape measure showing the hole to be approximately 2 feet long, and (E) shows the hole to be approximately 30 inches across, lip-to-lip. The grate is sort of cemented in place by the asphalt but the top is full of sharp edges. Just right for ripping flesh or tearing up tires. We asked for a traffic cone but haven’t seen one yet.

Square Peg in Round Hole?
New Baltimore can do that. Just ask Denis Jordan, he’ll manage it!

* Dramatization for illustration purposes. Special thanks to LP-3 for the use of his bike and his body.

 

 

New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways and Board to be Sued – AGAIN!

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At the regular meeting of the New Baltimore Town Board, a public statement was read into the record by resident H.W. Vadney, who rebuffed and rebuked the New Baltimore Town Board and Mr Denis Jordan, especially, for failing in their duties and obligations under the law, and their dereliction and abuse of public office. At one point during the public statement, the agent of the New Baltimore resident whose property was severely damaged by surface water runoff due to the failure of the New Baltimore Highway Departments failure, under the personal and direct supervision of Mr Denis Jordan, New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, served the resident’s Notice of Claim on New Baltimore Town Supervisor Nicholas Dellisanti and New Baltimore Town Clerk Barbara Finke. Mr Denis Jordan was to have been served at that time but he failed to appear at the meeting, most likely in hiding once he got word that a public statement was to be read and town officials served with the Notice of Claim. Read the public statement here: Public comment re NB Hwy Dept.

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It’s incredible, but true. Three Town of New Baltimore Supervisors later and still the same dumbass in the Highway Superintendent’s office! Last election, New Baltimore Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan was re-elected by one vote over his opponent, 25-year department veteran, Alan vanWormer. Residents just shook their heads in disbelief but that was how the election was won — after the fact, of course, New Baltimore Republicans stood there pointing their fingers at George Acker and his Independence Party mob for not getting out the Independence Party voters. And, YES, the Greene County Board of Elections is a corrupt band of political hacks who dance to the tune of their own messiahs playing “Jack my Beanstalk” on their skin flutes. Crude? Yes. But frustration and anger chip away at poisonous PC.

What do you think goes through the mind of a potential buyer or developer when …

Like it or not, the condition of our town streets and roads are a factor in our property values. What do you think goes through the mind of a potential buyer or developer when they drive through the Town of New Baltimore and see poorly maintained roads, culverts that are demolished or that disappear into nowhere, erosion along the roadside, potholes filled with water? What is the sense of having a so-called National Historic District if its streets are about as damaged as the national political parties, as broken as local government. How is it that local voters continue to elect incompetent, uneducated, corrupt people to head our town highway departments, when those very people have reputations for corruption, ignorance, and incompetence? What does that say about you, Mr or Ms New Baltimore Voter, property owner? Not much, you can be sure. But that’s how you made your bed, and now you have to sleep in it. But that’s not necessarily so because there is a way, it’s called a Notice of Claim followed by a lawsuit.

Madison Ave East and New Street Drainage

Well, Denis Jordan has done it again. He’s attracted another potentially damaging lawsuit for his incompetence and arrogance. This time for extensive property damage to a residential structure on New Street in the National Historic District of the Hamlet in the Town of New Baltimore. After neglecting New Street literally for years, one resident got fed up and demanded that the Town Board investigate Why? the drainage installations on New Street hadn’t been touched for at least 3 years! Why was water draining everywhere but in the storm drains. Everyone could see it. Everyone, that is, but the Town Board and the Superintendent of Highways, who was busy as a beaver, “chasing beaver out of conduits” according to his “notes” produced in response to a FOIL demand.

The Grand Tour of Neglect and Incompetence

After having received demands for the production of documents under the New York State Public Officers Law a.k.a. the Freedom of Information Act, the New Baltimore Town Board finally woke up and smelled the burning coffee, all the water had run into a local resident’s foundation and the building was collapsing, now there was only the sickening stench of burning coffee and a looming lawsuit. So, in response to the resident’s demands to make a site visit to view the New Baltimore Highway Department’s indifference and neglect, and their incompetence, Mr Nick Dellisanti, New Baltimore Town Supervisor, and Mr Jeff Ruso, New Baltimore Deputy Supervisor, appeared unannounced on New Street, prior to the scheduled site inspection set for June 20, when Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan and his minions were to be present, and the resident gave them the Grand Tour of Incompetence and Neglect.

The Grand Tour of Incompetence and Neglect was almost complete when the advance group approached the concerned residence and the resident pointed out the erosion trails crossing New Street to the other side of the road, and pointed out the piles of stone that had washed down and had built up in front of the garage doors, when Mr Ruso pointed out the end of a culvert that appeared to be crossing the road but didn’t seem to come out anywhere. Even a bit of digging and scratching and the end could not be found. Even New Baltimore Deputy Highway Superintendent Scott van Wormer was surprised and stated that “In twenty years he never knew that culvert was there.” We have to ask the burning question: If the regular maintenance inspections were done as required by the law, wouldn’t the New Baltimore Highway Department have known about this situation? This led to further examination and it was ascertained that the poorly maintained drainage on New Street and the buried culvert drains were obviously conducting water into the foundation of the affected building!!! It was thus determined that the fact of the buried culvert, the drainage ditches that had not been cleared for years, and the resulting re-routing of runoff to the foundations of the building were the actual cause of the damage. That was on June 19, 2016.

On June 20, 2016, Mr Dellisanti, Mr Ruso, Ms Shelli van Etten (NB board member), Mr Denis Jordan and his deputy (his brother) appeared to do the actual inspection. The same results were determined. Mr Jordan just made excuses and grinned stupidly.

Denis Jordan’s Playpen

A couple of days later, a road crew appeared with excavation equipment and dump trucks filled with stone, and they proceeded to dig up the buried culvert and to replace it with a plastic culvert. When asked why they were replacing a culvert that appeared to be quite OK — it was obviously buried so long that it was actually protected — the answer was that it was found to be damaged. But, countered the resident, you didn’t do any tests or flush it out. How did you know it was damaged? Then the excuses flowed like the Hudson during Spring thaw. But the question wasn’t answered. Tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars squandered because Mr Jordan didn’t ask the Fire Department to flush the culvert. Mr Jordan preferred to squander tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars rather than rent a camera for a couple of hundred dollars to view the inside of the culvert. New Baltimore budgetary and fiscal accountability at work.

WHAT A MESS! Tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars squandered by indifference, negligence, incompetence and ignorance!!!

The resident was observing the screwing around disguised as highway maintenance and became concerned that more damage was being done than problems solved. He then notified the town board and the New Baltimore Highway Department that work should be stopped until a site visit could be made and the plans discussed. Mr Dellisanti, Mr Ruso, Ms van Etten, Mr Jordan all ignored that request and the work continued. WHAT A MESS! Tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars squandered by indifference, negligence, incompetence and ignorance!!!

It appears that Mr Jordan doesn’t have a clue about contracts, handling money, keeping records, or acceptable hiring practices

And the result? The Town of New Baltimore and the Town of New Baltimore Highway Department, and Mr Denis Jordan are being served with a Notice of Claim — You can read or download a redacted copy of the Notice of Claim by clicking here — but in summary, the resident is demanding that the Town of New Baltimore pay compensation for the repair of the building or, if the building cannot be repaired, to foot the bill for demolition and remediation. In addition, the resident is seeking compensation for other expenses such as loss of revenues and loss of use of the property as purchased. What is really important, though, is that the resident is demanding that the New Baltimore Highway Department be investigated, audited and examined for irregularities in recordkeeping, accounting, hiring and retention, and other areas of concern. It appears that Mr Jordan doesn’t have a clue about contracts, handling money, keeping records, or acceptable hiring practices. Like you don’t hire your brother and then make him your deputy highway superintendent. And you don’t hire a husband and wife etc. Recordkeeping is non-existent so there’s not a chance of a snowflake in hell to defend against any claims of indifference or negligence. The resident is also demanding that steps be taken to remove Mr Jordan from office and to hire an interim replacement. The Notice of Claim also demands that those employees found to have been involved in misconduct or negligence or abuse of public office be prosecuted and made to reimburse the people of the Town of New Baltimore for the costs of the lawsuits.

Several Days after Jordan’s Pothole “Repair” on New Street

The bottom line is this: For years residents have known about Denis Jordan’s incompetence. At least three previous New Baltimore Supervisors and town boards have received complaints about how Denis Jordan was abusing his elected office; his corrupt practices are practically common knowledge if not legendary in local circles. Now his wife, Diane Jordan, is right in the Office of the Town of New Baltimore Town Clerk, so he’s got a mole there who can tip him off almost immediately when something turns up that involves him or his irregular operations in the New Baltimore Highway Department.

As for New Baltimore residents and friends of Denis Jordan, you are just as much to blame for the damage Jordan has managed to do in the Town of New Baltimore as anyone. So don’t get all uppity and smug, pointing the finger at anyone! You dumbasses caused this problem by electing your own dumbass to be Highway Superintendent. If his incompetence is costing the town money in defending against residents’ lawsuits and the damage done by an incompetent Highway Supervisor who has no qualifications, doesn’t get continuing education, avoids meetings with other Highway Superintendents, and knows nothing about highway planning, design, engineering, or regulations. Denis Jordan’s main qualifications are that he takes care of his friends and knows how to avoid work.

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Take a Little Tour of New Street With Us

Here’s a nice family activity for the weekend. Take a little tour of New Street in the National Historic District of the Town of New Baltimore and learn how not to do highway maintenance.

If you’re a friend of Denis Jordan or the New Baltimore Highway Department club, or just a skeptic, come on down to New Street in the National Historic District in the Hamlet of New Baltimore. See real-life examples of what we’re bitching about.

As you come down Madison Avenue East, approaching the corner of Madison Avenue East and New Street, look to your right and see the botched up storm drain (which was partially buried until it was cleared around June 20, 2016). A couple of feet more and look to your left and examine the culverts. Nice job, right? If you’re driving or on foot, be very careful making the right turn onto New Street, you might end up going over the unmarked, eroding ledge created by the New Baltimore Highway Department about 4 years ago, when they installed the storm drain and the culverts at the corner. They never bothered to mark the drop-off for safety!

Now turn onto New Street and as you go along ask yourself, Why are all the manhole covers covered and sealed with asphalt? How to you open them if necessary? Denis Jordan would tell you with a straight face that that is a common practice, and that the NB Sewer Department wanted that done to keep water out of the sewer lines! We don’t get it! Do you?

Moving along New Street, we’d like you to notice the erosion at the edge of the road and that the road slopes significantly downhill, to the South (New Street runs approximately North-South). Keep your eyes on the erosion at the edge of the street as you walk along New Street.

About halfway down the street, note the entry steps to the house on the river side of the street. What is that high mound of asphalt doing right at the top of the steps? Imaging that in the Winter, covered with snow and ice, and the dangerous situation caused by the New Baltimore Highway Department!

So far you should have been noticing the not only the erosion but also the so-called drainage ditches. They vary significantly in depth, some stretches deeper, others shallower, some level with the road. Hold on! If they’re level with the road, they’re not a drainage ditch! Right? Right. Why are the ditches not running continuously and at a reasonably constant depth? Ask Mr Jordan. We’re certain he’ll have a story for you.

The best is yet to come. While still noting the so-called drainage ditches and the erosion, you’ll come to a garage on your left and you’ll need to stop here. Note the washed down road covering all built up in that garage driveway and in front of the doors. but standing in front of that garage, look down and to your left and you’ll see a deep hole with a grate in it. That’s a storm drain. Imagine your car tire meeting that hole. Or, imagine you’re walking down New Street and you step into that thing! Another dangerous situation created by the New Baltimore Highway Department in June 2016, when they “repaired” the drains. By the way, that’s the end of the “dead-end culvert” discovered by Mr Ruso at the time of the site visit. Look across the street to the “drainage” in front of the green house. Jordan’s crew dug up the end of the driveway and installed an new culvert and the square grate. What’s supposed to go down that grate, anyway? They never opened the ditch or a ditch.

Now, from where you are standing you can see the erosion dirt in front of the garage and you may be able to see the erosion and runoff tracks crossing New Street to Guess where? Right into the foundations of the blue-gray house! But note how Jordan has “fixed” the drainage problem. Note also the resident’s own concrete barriers and sandbags marking the area. But more importantly, look at the damage done to the foundation of the house! All due to Mr Jordan’s negligence and failure to maintain the drainage on New Street as required by the law.

About 50 feet more and you come to the end of New Street, to the corner of New Street and Washington Avenue. Look to your left, on the river side (But be careful not to fall into the ditch on your right. The road is crumbling into the ditch and the ditch is overgrown. You might never be found if you fall in!). Note the “drainage ditch” if you can find it. it’s an embarrassment to any competent highway worker. But note the makeshift wooden wall there. That’s supposed to do What? That house was condemned by the Town of New Baltimore about 5 years ago because it was structurally unsound due to Guess what? Water damage. The owner repaired it. It’s been vacant ever since and the owner can’t sell it. Wonder Why?

So this is where your tour ends. That’s just one street in New Baltimore. Can you imagine what the rest of the town’s like? We hope you get the point.

In summary, you should know that before the “repair” and “maintenance” work was finished, the resident was concerned about what was being done and asked the Town of New Baltimore Board to stop the work until a site meeting could be held. The resident wanted Mr Jordan to explain his plans and design, and why he was doing what he was doing. It didn’t seem right. Something was wrong and needed to be fixed.

Neither Mr Jordan nor the New Baltimore Town Board responded. That’s how the situation got to where it’s at now.

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We want to hear from anyone who knows anything about Denis Jordan and his corruption and incompetence. Most importantly, if you have already made a complaint, filed a lawsuit, or if you have served a Notice of Claim on the Town of New Baltimore and are planning a lawsuit, we want to hear from you. You can either leave a comment on this blog or you can contact us at rcs.confidential@gmail.com.

In the meantime, you can read the latest Notice of Claim against the Town of New Baltimore and Town of New Baltimore Highway Department by clicking the link below:

Notice of Claim for Publishing

You’re On the Spot Now!
Shame on you!

 

High Marks for the RCS Community Library

The RCS Community Library under the direction of Judith Wines is doing a pretty fantastic job of getting some really interesting programs out to the community. In fact, when requested, we published the public information on an unusual but apparently very interesting and needed program that’s found a home at the RCS Community Library, Thanatology Café, a program that offers the opportunity to talk about death, dying, grief, mourning and death-related subjects.

We’ve read a pretty nice post on the Thanatology Café blog that is complimentary of the RCS Community Library and it’s staff, and we really think RCS should take note of the fine work the RCS Community Library is doing for the community.

Our more than 300,000 readers know well that we have no qualms about being outspoken when it comes to our community and the Ravena News Herald, but truth be told the Ravena News Herald and editor Melanie Lekocevic apparently have been generously supportive of the library and the Thanatology Café program, if our observations are correct. Fair is fair and when the News Herald is on the up and up, we want to be the first to say Nice job! Thank you!

BUT…

Churches, Funeral Homes, First Responders

We do have some disturbing information though and we have verified it factually. Here we have an innovative program, Thanatology Café, sponsored by a reputable and highly-respected community organization, the RCS Community Library, and even getting the support of the Ravena News Herald but WTF!!!!! We have information that about 100 information packets were sent out to local churches and public service organizations, including fire departments, EMS, first responders, and police departments, including the Coeymans fire and rescue squad, the Ravena Hose Company, and the Coeymans Police Department, just to name a few, and it appears none of those organizations responded.

Local churches have their hands out for stipends whenever a local dies but almost every church in the area does not offer a bereavement education, a death awareness, or death education program…

What’s even worse is that the organizers (for the record the RCS Community Library hosts the program but does not organize it) invited local churches and pastors to announce the program and to post the attractive flyers to inform their congregations of the availability of the thanatology program, yet, according to the spokesperson for Thanatology Café, not a single one responded and there is no evidence that anyone from any of the local RCS churches bothered to attend the inaugural event. That does seem a bit strange to us and we’d like to hear from members of the congregations of local churches whether they even heard about the program from their so-called pastors. We find that strange because local churches have their hands out for stipends whenever a local dies but almost every church in the area does not offer a bereavement education, a death awareness, or death education program. We would think they’d jump at the opportunity to learn more about the program from the get go!

Why didn’t the local death businesses — Babcock Funeral Home, A.J. Cunningham Funeral Homes, W.C. Brady’s Sons Funeral Home respond?

And you’d think that the local businesses that make a bundle of money from local deaths, Babcock Funeral Home and A.J. Cunningham Funeral Homes, both right down the street from the library, would seize the unique opportunity to join in the death education opportunities offered by a program like Thanatology Café but apparently Sharon Babcock and the A.J. Cunningham staff had better things to do than join in a community educational program. We’ll be keeping an eye on our local death industry, you can be assured of that. Both Babcock Funeral Home and A.J. Cunningham Funeral Homes were provided with special packets along with W.C. Brady’s Sons Funeral Home (Coxsackie) and several other regional funeral homes were provided with special packets and invitations. We have the documents and we have the questions, too, Why didn’t the local death businesses respond?

People are more aware, more interested and willing to discuss the subject, the options and the choices…death and dying, living wills, advance directives, and funeral and memorial options

We’ve done the online research and find that Death Cafes, Death Salons, discussion groups about death and dying, hospice and palliative care organizations, healthcare organizations, special interest groups dealing with infant death, suicide, traumatic death, etc. are thriving and growing because people are more aware, more interested and willing to discuss the subject, the options and the choices, and are not waiting til the last minute to learn as much as they can about death and dying, living wills, advance directives, and funeral and memorial options.

Are they scared that Thanatolgy Café might rock their comfy little boats…get people to ask the important questions?

Can our churches, first responders, funeral homes be so petty as to get involved in small-minded turf wars at your expense?

Petty, stupid turf wars?

So we’re getting interested now, too, but especially why local churches, who are constantly preaching about death and whatnot, and local first responders and rescue squads, who frequently have to deal with death, and in particular, why the three main death businesses, Babcock Funeral Home, A.J. Cunningham Funeral Homes, and W.C. Brady’s Sons Funeral Home are so silent when an important program comes to the area. Are they scared that Thanatolgy Café might rock their comfy little boats, stir up some good and reliable information in the community, get people to ask the important questions? Maybe. We have learned that the Thanatology Café program will be providing a lot of information on pre-arrangements, available options and choices, how to go about creating your living will or Advance directive, funeral and memorial choices and recommendations, and much, much more. Stuff you need to know no matter what your age and information you’re not likely to get anywhere else.

Don’t you think you’d be getting a better deal from church, rescue squad, senior center and funeral home if they were better informed about death, dying, surviving, and the choices and options you should have? Can our churches and so-called pastors, our community funded first responders, local funeral homes, who cash in on the community’s ignorance and lack of information, be so petty as to get involved in small-minded turf wars at your expense? Looks like it. But keeping their heads tucked up a dark, wet spot won’t do them any good. Let’s hear from them. Let’s hear from our readers.

Town of Coeymans and
Town of New Baltimore

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Town of Coeymans

No, we haven’t gone AWOL on our watch. We’re working on a story about how the Phil Crandall/Youmans/Dolan mob are screwing town of Coeymans taxpayers. Didn’t we hear Phil Crandall say something about cutting the costs of local government, blah, blah, blah?

Well, apparently disgraced former village justice Phil Crandall, Psycho-bully Youmans and Dithering-Tom Dolan don’t think that cost containment applies to their cronies they imported when they took office. We’re talking specifically about the alleged overtime Crandall’s administrative clerk Nita Chmielewski is collecting hand-over-fist. It seems that old Nita is incompetent and doesn’t know what she’s doing — as if she ever did; nothing seems to change in the in-crowd in Coeymans — and she’s collecting a bundle for her incompetence and ignorance. Wonder if Mr Crandall, Mr Youmans or Mr Dolan can explain why their cronies get the overtime, while the Coeymans Police Department is consistently saving on costs, economizing, and coming in under budget under the professional supervision of a competent chief?

A contributor has demanded the production of certain documents that will prove the corruption in Coeymans town hall and the hypocrisy of Mr Crandall and his cronies

Stay tuned for the fireworks!

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Town of New Baltimore

There’s word out that something’s cooking in New Baltimore about the New Baltimore Supervisor of Highways and the Highways Department and indifference, negligence and dereliction of duty and responsibility.

Thanks to the double-dealing of the Greene County Independence Party Committee chairman George Ackerman and co-chairperson, Irene Beede, and their mismanagement of a very worthy candidate, Mr Alan vanWormer in the elections last November, Denis Jordan was re-elected by a single — Yes! 1 vote! — and despite the known corruption, crookedness, incompetence and ignorance that is the hallmark of his department, he didn’t go to jail but kept his office. But that’s New Baltimore and screwy-Louie politics run by incompetent political committees.

Do you actually think YOU elect these bozos?

We have information that a pretty big law suit is in the brewing that will be brought against the town of New Baltimore, the New Baltimore Highway Department and Denis Jordan for incompetence, negligence, and indifference by dereliction of duty and violation of applicable state laws. Seems Jordan’s friends get all the highway department services while others get the finger, and can watch their property values collapse because of poor road and drainage maintenance.

A collaborator is getting the information together and talking to the aggrieved parties and we’ll be the first to release the information.

One crook is going to cost an entire town a bundle. Go figure!

The Fickle Finger is Pointing to YOU, Dumbass!
The Editor

 

Think Before You Vote. Or Pay the Price Later!

Jim Youmans and Tom Dolan are Losers!

WOW! This just in: We’ve acquired a copy of the October 26, 2015, Coeymans town board meeting. We will be publishing extracts of that meeting so that you can be aware of the stupidity of Youmans and Dolan, and you can hear for yourself what idiotic scoundrels they are. Or, you can go to Coeymans town hall and ask to listen to the recording, and decide for yourself! You be the judge! You’ll also hear residents telling Youmans and Dolan off for being such jerks, and for misleading the community. Tom Dolan, especially, gets a good whoop’n from one resident. You gotta hear the tape!

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We’re Here to Tell You What They Don’t Want You to Know!

Politics is all about character, or should be. But all we, as voters, get to see is the big smiles, hear the big promises, and get the nice-guy treatment. But what you see is not what you get. Let’s take a deeper look at what’s available next week in the voting booths. And you thought the Walking Dead was scary? Read on!

Give me [your brain, and then] your vote!

We’ve already covered the Coeymanazi bunch of recycled politicians running for election or re-election in the town of Coeymans. Anyone with the memory of a cockroach would steer far away from these accidents looking for a place to happen:

We’ve already reported in considerable detail on the terrible choices the Coeymans Dumbocraps under Tom Dolan have this November 3. If you missed the article, you can read it at   Go to the article link above for The Crandall, Dolan, Touchette Connection: Wanna Be Sick?

Phil Crandall: We’ve already pointed out his problems — we’ve already written about them — so we won’t go into that again here. Just go to the article link above for details.

Rick Touchette: A charter member of the Crandall “do-me-a-favor” club. He’s a loser, too. Ran last election time and lost. Why would you want to have him again? Check out the link above.

Jim Youmans: This guy is the proverbial “used car salesman” with a lousy personality. He’s mean, nasty, and most people in Coeymans town hall want nothing to do with him. He joined the losers’ club when he lost his bid for re-election to town supervisor a couple of years ago. And didn’t Youmans show his true colors when he stomped out of the October 26th town board meeting. Jim Youmans is now publishing CONFIDENTIAL town information on FACEBOOK (obviously Tom Dolan is leaking this CONFIDENTIAL town information DESPITE the town attorney’s (a Democrat!) caution not to publish it yet. Youmans received a copy of the confidential draft document from Tom Dolan, and now Youmans is wrongfully publishing the information on FaceBook, in order to sabotage the town and to take advantage of the Dolan leaks. Youmans lifted the copy of the CONFIDENTIAL document from Tom Dolan’s table at the October 26th town meeting. Isn’t that theft?

While Jim Youmans is a bully, he did a lot of his damage using his tool, Touchette. Was Touchette willing to be Youmans’ tool or was it just that Touchette was easy to use. Either way, it doesn’t speak too highly of Touchette, not that anyone or anything would.

And Why? hasn’t anyone yet asked about Jim Youmans arrest record. He’s a well known bully but hasn’t anyone but a very few, including his victims, questioned his fitness for public office with an arrest record for harassment? Our information and reliable sources indicate that he and perhaps his wife also, were arrested for harassment. Sort of goes along with the reputation as a bully, doesn’t it?

Tom Dolan: This dimwit has kept the lights in Coeymans town hall dimmed for years now. He has a long history of scandal and questionable behavior regarding votes and voting, and misusing his position with the Choices program in Ravena-Coeymans. He’s Dithering Dolan, the political failure who, when he’s not exchanging benefits for votes from ghetto residents, he’s renaming the town. This guy is useless and a member of the Crandall “do-me-a-favor” club, and one of the crooks who got Crandall canned from his job as Coeymans town justice and part-time Ravena village justice for violating the NYS Judicial Laws Check out the link above. And didn’t Tom Dolan leak a confidential draft from the Comptroller’s report on the audit done this year, clearly labeled “CONFIDENTIAL“? Can’t Dithering-Dolan read? And you can thank Dithering-Dolan for the fine choices he’s provided in terms of unelectables on the Dumbocrap ticket; Old Tom Dithering-Dolan is the Coeymans Dumbocrap chairman and picks the Dumbocrap candidates. Just buddies helping buddies out –it’s called political cronyism a.k.a. corruption!

If you don’t think Touchette and Youmans are losers, ask anyone in Coeymans town hall who were unlucky enough to have had to work with them when they were in office before! Ask people like former Coeymans town supervisor Henry Traver, who was so abused by Youmans and Touchette, that he had to ask the Coeymans police to be present to prevent mahem at town executive sessions. Traver was terrified of Youmans, and Touchette, sneak that he is, backed Youmans’ lousy and cowardly behaviour. Youmans was a bully and nothing has changed. Just what we need back in Coeymans town hall and the county legislature, more thugs.

We don’t want to mention the dirty politics that went on when the Coeymans democraps were collecting signatures or the scandal about the absentee ballots. How can a Dumbocrap sign a Conservative petition and have the signature witnessed? Ask his dishonor, Phil Crandall and his son-in-law, Anthony “Tony” Walsh.  We won’t mention the fact that Crandall’s son-in-law Anthony “Tony” Walsh, Jenna Crandall’s husband, falsely witnessed the illegal signatures on Crandall’s petitions. Basically the same ethical violations for which Crandall was brought up on charges. How can Crandall’s son-in-law witness his father-in-law’s petition signatures — without being present when the petition was signed? Walsh signed as a witness but, according to reliable witnesses, allegedly wasn’t with the candidate, his father-in-law, when going door-to-door; you have to be either a notary or member of the party, but Walsh, a registered Conservative, just let Crandall go off and do what he wanted. Van Buren Street in Ravena, absentee-ballot capitol of the world, seems to be home base for these crooks.

The Phil Youmans mutant. If you see this, go Republican!

Now here’s another juicy bit of news: Mike Albano was caught red-handed by Joe Vitello, candidate for Albany County Executive, tearing down Vitello’s campaign signs;  Mike Albano is Phil Crandall’s father-in-law! Albano was caught red-handed by Vitello himself! We’ll be interested to see if any charges are pressed. Go figure.

Phil Youmans, a Phil Crandall–Jim Youmans mutant, goes around putting his signs right in front of Stephen Flach’s signs so that Flach’s are not visible. Seems that Dan McCoy Supporters are doing the same thing to Joe Vitello’s signs, so that they can’t be seen. Doesn’t the RCS school district have places for retards like Youmans and Albano? Yeah, it’s called special ed kindergarten. Or Albany County Jail. You choose.

And we don’t want to mention insider Nita Chmielewski, former failed town supervisor,she’s hot for Crandall. Wonder if she’s got her beady crossed eyes on a job as “confidential” secretary? Well, if she does you know one thing for certain: With Crandall’s record of unethical conduct and Chmielewski’s character, nothing will be safe, much less confidential! Or maybe Nutty Nita has her eye on the budget office. Be careful here! Remember Nita Chmielewski resigned as town supervisor over the flack she got for publishing a 10% budget increase. But do we have to mention that that 10% was an error resulting from Nitas problem doing simple math? Maybe it’s just best to keep Nutty Nita and her buddy disgraced ex-judge Phil Crandall as far away from Coeymans  town hall as possible. What do you think?

Peter Masti: Masti’s been taking up space on the Coeymans town council and that’s all he’s been doing. No, wait a minute, he likes to write letters to the editor of the Troy Record. Troy Record! Why doesn’t he put his opinions in the local rag, the Ravena News Herald? Well, Coeymans voters, if you haven’t figured it out yet, this California-transplant unbeliever-turned-bible-thumper from Hippyville-California doesn’t have much use for you, unless it’s as a stepping stone. Maybe he’s trying to keep his crazy ideas away from the local voters because they’re too “California-crazy” and wants to have his say but far and away.

Learn more about these characters and why you need to stay clear of them in the voting booth by visiting our article at The Crandall, Dolan, Touchette Connection: Wanna Be Sick?

Matt-the-Mutt Miller Has His Beady Eyes on a County Legislature Seat

Don’t Let that Happen!!!

This blog has alerted the RCS school district, RCS taxpayers and RCS parents a number of times about Matthew J. Miller’s a.k.a. “Matt-the-Mutt’s” questionable morals and conduct. Matt Miller is a CROOK! We alerted RCS taxpayers about Miller’s deal with certain now extinct members of a former Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk board of education (under the Deluca mob) to be paid tens of thousands of tax dollars as “energy manager” for the school district. In other words, he told people to turn off the lights. This wouldn’t have been so bad if he weren’t DOUBLE-DIPPING! You see, he was also being paid FULL-TIME to teach, which he wasn’t doing either (see below). We guess that makes him a TRIPLE-DIPPING CROOK.

Matt-the-Mutt Miller is a Loser!

If that’s not bad enough Matt-the-Mutt Miller allegedly told his RCS students that he’s an ATHEIST. Being an atheist is not big deal but telling impressionable and sensitive young people about your problem is a big deal. Parents: Do you want your teachers telling your kids about their personal beliefs? You’re trying to teach your kids to have values, morals, maybe even be good Christians, Jews, or Muslims, and their teacher is telling them he’s an atheist. So, Mr Miller, what do you do when it comes to the pledge of allegiance? Remember “One nation under God”? Do you refuse to pledge? Or do you make believe and pledge? Or the US dollar, “In God we trust.” Do you get paid double-dipper dollars or in rubles? You’re worse than a simple hypocrite, you’re a crooked hypocrite.

Iff you check out Miller’s LinkedIn page at Matt Miller you’ll have to wonder if his campaign head shot isn’t 25 years old at least. Compare Miller’s LinkedIn photo with the photo from 2014 and you’ll have to ask when he got his facelift? But Matt-the-Mutt’s face really isn’t the issue here. The issue is whether he’s fit for elected office and that is a no-brainer: He’s not. He arrogantly lists on his LInkedIn page that he’s been 14 years Local Union president, 3 years Union Treasurer/PAC chair (PAC is the RCS “political action committee”), 6 years District Energy Manager he means the RCS school district, during which time he was double- or even triple dipping for at an average rate of $8,000 a year, stealing tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars!). He seems to be real proud of his teachers union connection; he says more about that than he does about the RCS central school district. But that makes sense; he’s probably used the district as much as he can and now wants to move on. Like now we thinks he’s going to get a seat on the county legislature for the 39th district. Only if real fools vote, and only then.

Matt-the-Mutt (2014)

Matt Miller (2015)

Matt-the-mutt wrongfully and improperly, Yes! cowardly, encouraged students to be uncivil and disrespectful when sending comments to a local blog, this blog, when he didn’t have the balls to comment himself. That’s what your tax dollars are paying for with Miller: an education in how to be  uncivil, disrespectful and deviant. Just like Matt Miller.

For years Matt Miller has been the local NYSUT (New York State United Teachers) sockpuppet in the RCS school district. He’s the teachers union representative in the district. But here’s where he gets he dubious distinction of being a triple-dipper at taxpayer expense: He is paid a full-time teacher salary but has a reduced teaching load so he can do his union work! So, do you think his union work is in your interests or the kids’ interest? Guess again! He works for the union and you’re paying for it! Triple-dipping crook Miller.

So, now Matt-the-Mutt Miller wants you, the town of Bethlehem, to elect him to be an Albany County Legislator. That’s just what the already crooked, corrupt Albany political machine needs like a hole in the head: another corrupt crook! So, go ahead, put the atheist, double-triple-dipper, union lackey Matt Miller in a legislator’s chair in Albany. You don’t have to be a nuclear physicist to guess whose interests he’ll be serving there: the union’s and his own!

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Pope Paul VI: “The smoke of Satan has entered the church through a small crack.” In Ravena’s St Pat’s RC, that’s a mighty big crack

And then we have Saint Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Ravena, the favorite watering hole for the Ravena-Coeymans Incest Club and the Coemanazi Coalition. St Pat’s is where “Dirty Hands Jerry” Deluca and Bottle-blond fitness club failure Cathy Deluca hang out. It’s where Phil Crandall, Rich Touchette and other “good Catholics” go to collect political capital and play the hypocrite in saint’s robes. It’s where Crandal, Touchette, Dolan and their kind go to hand out holiday turkeys as if they were their own, and getting credit for the generous gifts. Pope Paul VI made the famous statement that “The smoke of Satan has entered the church through a small crack.” In Ravena’s St Pat’s, that’s a mighty big crack that lets in the likes of the Crandalls, Touchettes and Delucas. And you wonder why churches are avoided by the honest and good people of the community?

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New Baltimore

Does anyone know any of these people running for office in New Baltimore? Does anyone know anything about these people who

Who are they?

are asking for your votes? We’ve lived here practically our entire lives and those names might as well be from Kansas! Well, pretty close: Arthur Fullerton is from Arkansas. Really!!!
Let’s start with the candidates for New Baltimore supervisor. We have the incumbent, Nick Delisanti. Delisanti is a pussy-cat in a business suit but is doing a sincere,  honest and decent job in town hall. Actually, the worst thing he has done since voted into the supervisor’s office is make the stupid statement, “Republicans appoint republicans.” We think he’s paid enough for that stupid remark, and if he’s smart he’ll be grateful for the non-Republicans who put him where he is.

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This just in: At the October 26, 2015, town council meeting Mr Delisanti and his team passed the preliminary New Baltimore town budget with no net increase and no more deficit; it’s balanced! (There is no longer an operating deficit as there was in 2012, 2013, 2014!). Only 1% pay increase to hourly-wage town employees. A slight increase in health benefits for employees and retirees, which was due to the insurer, not to any action by the board. Again, Delisanti and his team have kept the town budget under control. The final budget is slated for discussion and for final approval at the November 9, 2015, town board meeting.  Thank you!

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But Delisanti and his team have cleaned up New Baltimore Town Hall and have put policies in place to ensure transparency and accountability. Some people don’t like that. They call themselves New Baltimore Dumbocraps and they take their orders from witch-on-a-stick Diane Louis.

What Delisanti has done together with his team is clean up the crooked and incompetent mess left by two dumbocraps, Louis and O’Rorke, and their dumbocrap friends. Remember when the most recent dumbocrap, Susan O’Rorke, left town hall, all the computers were wiped clean of data, records either disappeared or were locked up tight and no one seemed to have a key. (We still wonder why those responsible for that didn’t end up in jail.) That’s an example New Baltimore dumbocrap transparency and accountability with town dumbocrap chairman Diane Louis’ clique. Those of us who watch the New Baltimore dumbocraps know what sneaks and crooks they are. New Baltimore Dumbocraps don’t do their business in New Baltimore town hall, they do it at (or under) the bar at the Boat House (the New Baltimore Dumbocrap HQ and town hall).

Arthur Fullerton is a Loser!

This is a good place to deal with another phoney running for public office: New Baltimore’s answer to Coeyman’s Jim Youmans: Arthur Fullerton. Some character with a mega-ego, Arthur Fullerton, another unknown, has been put up for New Baltimore town supervisor by the New Baltimore Dumbocraps, and is another Louis sockpuppet. Fullerton is from Arkansas (Bill Clinton’s state) and is a recent implant, a carpetbagger as they were called in years past, in New Baltimore. Fullertons’s big on stealing credit from others and using it to make himself look real pretty. Just look at his gimme-your-vote card we all got in the mail. Nothing about Fullerton just about his ancestors. Big deal!

Fullerton’s website is just as big a pile of bullshit as Fullerton is; full of rhetoric and lies and little real information for voters. Did you expect anything else from a Diane Louis lackey?

We said earlier that Fullerton doesn’t really represent anything substantial and his website says it all: He has a tab, a section on “Issues.” (click here to read Fullerton’s “issues“). The self-proclaimed communicator and consultant Arthur Fullerton apparently has no understanding of what issues are but he has enough issues of his own. His issues page is about as empty as Fullerton’s credibility chest! And if we rely on Fullerton’s press releases (go to “Press Releases“) to get some idea about Fullerton and his plans for New Baltimore, all we get is Fullterton’s concerns for cell phone reception and the New Baltimore town newsletter. Are those the biggest issues facing this town, Mr Fullerrton? Well maybe in Fullerton’s empty dumbocrap head. Some of us have bigger fish to fry (right now it’s keeping corruption and idiots out of New Baltimore town hall, starting with Arthur Fullerton!).

The problem with Arthur Fullerton is that he can’t get his facts straight or is an outright liar. Probably both. One example is the propaganda he’s been putting out about the New Baltimore town newsletter. Fart-face Fullerton claims on the website “Bring Back the New Baltimore Town Newsletter” but incorrectly and inaccurately that, “New Baltimore had a great informative town newsletter for many years. The current administration choose to kill it.” WRONG! That’s an example of Fullerton’s version of incorrect facts. It was actually the O’Rorke administration that eliminated the New Baltimore town newsletter, not the Dellisanti administration. It was Fullerton’s own party-partners, Diane Louis and Susan O’Rorke and their cronies who eliminated the New Baltimore town newsletter. So let’s get that little bit of misinformation corrected like yesterday!

Fullerton is not strong on issues. Actually, Fullerton hasn’t really said much about issues in the town of New Baltimore, has he? Well, except for the bid lie about the newsletter and that’s got to be one of the biggies we all are losing sleep over. Isn’t it? What’s Fullerton’s stand on getting Mr Denis Jordan to comply with the law and with town policies about spending and approvals for contracts? How about that one? But it’s unlikely Mr Fullerton will be much interested in stuff like that since Mr Denis Jordan is a party-pal.

Mr Fullerton is really a big bag of wind blowing warmly from Diane Louis’sagging butt. Fullerton is a paid-in-full, dyed in the wool member of the misinformation party, the give-it-all away party, the me-mine-it’s mine party, the New Baltimore Dumbocraps. So, if you like being misused, left out, and if you want to give away what little you have left to the New Baltimore incest club, Fullerton’s your man. Can you live with that?

Denis Jordan

Driving through New Baltimore you can almost guess where you’ll see a “Denis Jordan for Highway Superintendent” campaign sign.

And you can pretty much assume that where you see a Denis Jordan campaign sign that the property owner is on the Denis Jordan gift list; that’s the gift list that Denis Jordan has for people he likes to do special favors for at taxpayer expense. Most of us are on the Denis Jordan blacklist; the list of residents that Denis Jordan refuses services to despite the fact we pay taxes.

If you have a Denis Jordan sign on your lawn, you’re probably getting favors from him for your vote!

Denis Jordan has been a Dumbocrap fixture for years and has been misusing and wasting New Baltimore money and resources since he’s been superintendent. He refuses to obey the law when he makes purchases for the highway department. He makes deals with his friends. It’s easy to be a dumbocrap fixture if you’re stone ignorant and corrupt.

Jordan flatly refuses to comply with town of New Baltimore purchasing and contracts policies, which were put into place to provide voters and residents as well as auditors with transparency and accountability. These policies were put into place by the Dellisanti team when, to their horror, they found that previous administrations didn’t have any, ignored them if they had them, or just looked the other way when Jordan played his unlawful games with taxpayer money. After all, how was Louis and O’Rorke going to get their driveways plowed? And wasn’t it Jordan who refused to plow out the fire department’s driveways and parking lots? What does that tell you about Jordan?

Not enough for you to consider Alan VanWormer to replace Jordan? Read on…

Here are some snippets you’re probably unaware of about Mr Jordan:

• Denis Jordan has about 17 years with the New Baltimore highway department (Alan VanWormer has 25+).
• Jordan demoted Alan VanWormer from his position as deputy superintendent as soon as Jordan found out VanWormer wanted to run against him. We guess that Jordan is a big fan of fair play. NOT!
• George Acker, Independence Party county chairman, gave Alan VanWormer a promise of support and backing from the Independence Party; Denis Jordan’s signatures were thrown out. Denis Jordan failed miserably in the primaries.
• Denis Jordan has no respect for highway department employees (ask them!). For example, one employee had a heart attack, was transported to the hospital by ambulance, in hospital and Jordan throws a fit because the employee can’t come in. Another employee is diagnosed with thyroid cancer, on chemotherapy, has side effects and can’t come back to work as planned. Jordan asks him if he wants to keep his job. Is that the kind of guy you’d like to work for?
• Jordan orders highway department employees not to speak to a certain community leader if they see him. Jordan obviously never heard of the First Amendment or of common courtesy. We’re not surprised, he’s a dumbocrap.
• The famous Jordan-Halstead truck deal: A couple of years ago (during the Louis administration), Halstead bought some trucks from Denis Jordan. Halstead then sold the trucks back to the town. Smell any corruption here?
• According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, in an audit the Comptroller found that Jordan’s department was in violation of the New York State General Municipal Law regarding highway spending, contracts and quotes required for purchases. According to our information, Jordan is pulling some illegal tricks and is still not complying with state laws.
• When summoned by the New Baltimore town council to answer questions on his spending and purchasing practices, Denis Jordan fails to appear but sends his attorney, Maeve Tooher, recently resigned (August 24, 2015) from the NB planning board, to respond for him. Tooher, in an outrageous display of ignorance and defensiveness, defends Jordan’s violations!
• Jordan submits to the New Baltimore town council a bogus corrective action plan.
• Jordan, together with former Dumbocrap Louis-lackey Susan O’Rorke decide that they are not going to plow the Medway Grapeville fire department property. Marylyn Woodhall, a close friend of Denis Jordan, together with Jeane Horne are on the Fire Board. The fire departments have had to get outside companies to plow. Fire district funds down the chute!
• Denis Jordan, while refusing to plow fire department property, still plows New Baltimore Conservancy dumbocraps’ parking lot for $1. (Still Wondering why the New Baltimore Conservancy is supporting Arthur Fullerton and Denis Jordan? The Conservancy is on the Jordan gift-list!)
• When we talk about Denis Jordan’s gift-list friends you might want to ask some residents on Washington Avenue why their buildings are collapsing because of poor roadway and drainage maintenance! Or ask a couple of New Baltimore residents why they still don’t have the collapsed culverts repaired (Ask Bernie Jones or Patty Hildebrandt, for example, what the response has been from Mr Jordan and his department).
• Since the 2013 Comptroller’s audit, the O’Rorke administration provided Mr Jordan with a computer so that he could comply with the New York state purchasing and contracts laws, look up bids, etc. (See the O’Rorke administration’s bogus Corrective Action Plan in response to the Comptroller’s audit. The Comptroller’s 2010 audit found the same issues as the 2013 audit. Nothing changed!). But Mr Jordan is still 100% computer illiterate. Why is that?
• We have foiled public access information from Denis Jordan’s highway department and have found that Jordan does not keep complete records! No records for drain or drainage work on Madison Avenue East or New Street in the National Historic District. None at all!
• Mr Jordan has a very special relationship with Peckham Materials (road paving materials etc.), but they’re not even in Greene County! But why would Jordan pay more for materials from Peckham than he would have to pay locally? Why does Jordan refuse to get bids and quotes for the materials? Answer: Because Jordan is incompetent, corrupt, and doesn’t know the first thing about contracts!
• Finally, even though the New Baltimore town council under Nick Delisanti has purchasing policies in place to ensure compliance with the law and to provide responsible management of taxpayer dollars and to provide taxpayers with transparency and accountability, Jordan is fighting them tooth and claw. He refuses to comply with the law and with policy. He’s even breaking down purchases into multiple orders and invoices to avoid having to get approval for the amount of the whole purchase. What’s the problem Mr Jordan? Got something to hide?

Denis Jordan is a Major Loser!

That’s why Denis Jordan needs to go on November 3. Jordan needs to be replaced by Alan VanWormer, who has more experience, has been with the New Baltimore Highway Department longer, knows the business, and will provide the  transparency and accountability we all fairly expect from an elected official but can’t seem to get from Denis Jordan.

We may never be able to uncover all of Denis Jordan’s corruption — there’s just too much and it’s been going on for far too long —  but at least with someone new in the job, we can keep an eye on what the new guy does in the highway department right from the start..

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VanSlyke vs Linger for Greene County Legislature:

Mr Jim VanSlyke is running for re-election to the Greene county legislature. Mr Pat Linger is opposing him. We think a statement made by Mr vanSlyke at a recent New Baltimore town board meeting sums up Mr vanSlyke: “As a county legislator we get some money that we can give away. I have to give mine to Catskill, Cairo and Windham, because there aren’t enough organizations in New Baltimore who ask for it.” (paraphrased by informant). We expect Mr vanSlyke to have his finger on the pulses of the communities in his territory and that he should know who they are and if they need support; vanSlyke should announce the availability of the funds and organizations could then apply for them. What’s wrong with you, Mr vanSlyke? What in hell are you doing, anyway?

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You can stop corruption! The Editor

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George Acker, Greene County Independence Party Chairman: “We never forget.”

New Baltimore in Focus or In Our Sights. You Decide.

Looks like the New Baltimore Re-pubic-an Incumbents on the town board are in for a scary ride this time. Nick Dellisanti and sidekick Jeff Ruso seem to have done a classic job of pissing off the Independence Party hierarchy and may have lost some much-needed support.

The Independence party supported Nick Dellisanti (R) and his group last election but Dellisanti turned around and screwed with the Independence party candidates when the voting was done. Dellisanti’s suicidal statement: “Republicans appoint Republicans” is turning out to be a poison pill for him and anyone running alongside him.

While the Independence party may have an axe to grind with Dellisanti, the past two years have been really disappointing overall. Dellisanti and his group don’t seem to be able to set any milestone accomplishments. What they do seem to have excelled in, however is distortion, deception and misrepresentation. Seems also that they don’t have the wherewithal to fight battles, within town hall and outside of town hall, because they don’t understand the local culture.

But what can you expect from outsiders, anyway?

The Dellisanti group fails in leadership

New Baltimore town supervisor Nick Dellisanti (R) and town board member Jeff Ruso (R) behaved unethically, using local supporters and disposing of them ungratefully after the voting was done — after all, according to Dellisanti, “Republicans appoint republicans,” (for example: Barbara Finke (R) to be town clerk, Kathy Rundberg (R) to be planning board chair, etc.). We’d like to see appointments by merit and for the good of the community as a whole, not just for party cronies, Mr Dellisanti. But their failings don’t stop there. The Dellisanti group fails in leadership and does not respond affirmatively nor decisively to residents. Moreover, Dellisanti and Ruso have the bizarre tendency to ignore residents’ offers of participation in local town affairs, ignoring correspondence on a number of occasions. Rather than calling them liars outright, Dellisanti and Ruso have their own versions of facts, too. Where’s the transparency, accountability, collaboration we were promised?

On the Democrap side your have wicked-weasel-momma Diane Louis; generally disliked in just about every circle but this wicked-weasel-momma that she is, she has staying power (probably because she eats her young, despite the fact that she’s vegetarian). Very nasty piece of work.

Arlene McKeon is Louis’ sidekick and has an ego to match. You can be certain of one thing: Louis and McKeon have the interests of Louis and McKeon at the top of their priority list.

On the Re-pubic-an side you have another wicked-weasel-momma, Jean Horne, who has a listening problem but likes to give orders. Ever hear the story why we have two ears and one mouth, Jean? Jean is going to have to do some puddle-jumping to keep her feet clear of the doggy-doo piles being left by her darlings Dellisanti, Ruso and others. Horne will also have a problem with New Baltimore highway superintendent Denis Jordan who can’t seem to cooperate with town hall, can’t seem to handle the job he’s expected to do as highway superintendent (more on Hamlet streets in an upcoming article), but has plenty of town-time to take care of special locals — sort of favors for votes. But isn’t that illegal, Mr Dellisanti? You know about it but you haven’t done much about it. Why is that? Jordan has to go!

And then there’s the question of the money being paid to New Baltimore animal control officer Joe Tanner who works full time elsewhere and can’t possibly respond to animal control calls until he get off his other job. That’s why he conjures up undocumented investigations and why his favorite line is “sign a complaint.” Signing a complaint gets him off the hook and the complainant has to do the work. Nice scam for an additional $3-4,000 a year for nothin’. But isn’t that illegal, too, Mr Dellisanti? And what about you, Mr Ruso, isn’t animal control one of your committees? You know about it but haven’t cleaned house yet. Why is that? (But then neither did democraps David Louis or Susan O’Rorke.)

The wicked-weasel mommas stay behind the scenes and like to call shots and bark instructions. They like to pick candidates so they have someone to be their sockpuppets. They also like to play dirty behind the scenes and let others take the crap. That’s their wicked-weasel staying power game.

Do Louis and McKeon take the pill?

So what are the wicked-weasel-mommas going to do now that their wicked-weasel candidates can’t expect to run only with democrap or re-pubic-an backing, and they have to get the backing of the next major party, the Independence Party? You guessed it: They grovel and crawl to George Acker, while they wave their insincere, phoney plastic olive branches, begging the Independence party for support and endorsement. But…

George Acker: “The Independence party never forgets.”

Well, now that Dellisanti and Ruso have pretty much sewn themselves into a potato sack and are just waiting to be thrown into the Hudson, Arlene McKeon is going to have to do some fancy steppin’. Why? Because the Independence party will be a hard nut to crack for the repubics. Irene Beede, Independence second-in-command, recently told New Baltimore’s Dellisanti that they’ll “need more signatures” to get Independence backing. Translation: You’re dead in the water. Take a walk. According to Independence party chairman George Acker, “The Independence party never forgets.”

Then there’s wicked-weasel-mamma Diane Louis who is begging the Independence party to endorse her new sockpuppet, Arthur Fullerton. We’re researching Fullerton but if the adage, “birds of a feather flock together,” proves true, we have some grave concerns. The very fact that Louis is pushing Fullerton already taints him as being cut from the same cloth as a David Louis or a Susan O’Rorke. We’re looking at him in those terms until some really persuasive stuff comes our way.

Who this Arthur Fullerton is is a bit of a mystery but that’s always the case with the democraps and has been the history of any democrap town hall: keep it in the back room. That’s not to say that the re-pubic-ans don’t have their own secret agendas but,  obviously, when Diane Louis sees something in a potential sockpuppet that alone should put the fear of the Lord in all New Baltimore voters from the get-go! Think David Louis. Think Susan O’Rorke. That’s Diane Louis at work.

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First of All, We Have to Take Control of Ourselves!

An editorial aside

Voters in New Baltimore and everywhere must stop letting others think for them. Our whole American culture has become a nation of sheeple. Turn on the TV or the radio and listen. You’re being told what to think, what to buy, what you need, what you want, what you should be thinking, what not to think, what you don’t need. They’re even filling your heads with fear and anxiety. What you should be fearing today. Whom you should fear today. Anxiety and fear are very effective methods of controlling populations (remember Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pho Pot?). Another way of keeping populations under control is to isolate them. Isolation is used in prisons to control populations and it’s used on the general population, too! How? You may very well ask! By creating a self-focused society. A ME!-first society. By destroying institutions that unite people, starting with the family, the church, communities. Isolation. Distractions are also very effective: more toys dominating your attention and you won’t notice what’s going on around you. How about keeping people poor? If you’re worried about your bills and survival, you’re likely not to pay very much attention to politics. Right? Very few people today actually think independently; most are simply robots doing what the media tell them to do. Are YOU one of them? Don’t think for a minute that political party leadership in their conventions, caucuses and whatnot have your interests in mind. They first look at electability. Can we get this guy or gal elected? They’re looking for numbers. And they’re looking to put through THEIR agendas. It’s a power trip for them. It’s an ego trip for them. It’s disaster for us!

One lesson we can learn from recent events in Greece, the birthplace of democracy: when governments are screwing you, take to the streets and change it. Good for you, Greece! Democracy is alive and strong in Greece. It’s all but dead in the USA (maybe it never arrived in the USA…maybe it’s all just a big propaganda spoof and you all believe it)!

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For the past two decades or so the town of New Baltimore has been merely a feeding ground for incompetent amateurs feeding their inflated egos with hard-working citizens’ votes. We don’t need Harvard M.B.A.s or healthcare administrators to run this town. We don’t need democraps or re-pubic-ans either, since at this level they are DINOs (democrats in name only) or RINOs (republicans in name only) and they’ll change their party affiliations in a flash if it serves their perverse ambitions. And we don’t need political parties or widked-weasel-mommas to select their cronies and tell us whom we are going to have to vote for. Enough already! We don’t need any more outsider amateurs who want a town they can play with. What we need is some dedicated, community-oriented, sincere, honest people who can respect the local culture and respond to local needs and concerns, while having the balls to take a stand and to tell the downstaters and carpetbaggers that this town of New Baltimore belongs to the people of New Baltimore who make their homes here. What we do need is for native New Baltimorans to wake up and take New Baltimore back. We need neighbors and friends to start running the town and tell the cliques and egomaniacs to take a hike.

Anyone who arrogantly tells another citizen resident that his or her chances of working for the good of this town depends on his or her party affiliation and not on his or her merit; in other words, that “Republicans appoint republicans” does not deserve to be in public office — here or anywhere else.

Fullerton, Dellisanti, Ruso, etc., Will you survive?

Any candidate running in this town of New Baltimore from this point on will have to pass the acid test, will go through a baptism of fire, before he or she makes it to the ballot. We call upon all citizen residents of New Baltimore to start taking responsibility for this town and to join us in telling Diane Louis, Arlene McKeon, Nick Dellisanti, Jeff Ruso and anyone else that this town is still a democracy and is not a party-political machine shop. Any candidate’s priority must and will be the single common good of the community of New Baltimore and nothing less than that.

We’ll be reporting more on this issue as we move closer to the campaigns. We’ll also keep our ears to the ground and pick up any vibes, do our research, collect our facts and report responsibly to the community. We also need to inform the community of New Baltimore town superintendent of highways, Denis Jordan, and his attempt to stay in office to maximize the damage he can do to the town while banking his pension. There’s an alternative brewing that may be the town’s chance to save itself. Stay tuned!

Let us know what you think. Please leave a comment using the comment feature below. We’d like to hear from you whether you agree with us or not. Be heard! Be heard here!

The Editor

 

32

 

Tuesday, October 14: Let Your Voices Be Heard!

He Died So You Could Speak, Participate in Your Democracy!
Don’t Waste His Sacrifice! Don’t Waste Your Freedoms! 

 

Your Elected Officials Try To Exclude You From Participation

They do this in many subtle and sometimes unlawful ways: They hold secret meetings, they quietly (very quietly) invite the public to “public” hearings, they sometimes lie outright. But Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk’s elected officials have found a far better way to do their mischief: They schedule important meetings on the same day at the same time but in different places far from each other to ensure that you can’t make both, even though you have a civic obligation, or a personal interest in attending both. Pretty clever, right?

Well, it’s up to you, citizens, residents to stop that despicable violation of your rights! Tell them to coordinate village of Ravena, town of Coeymans, and RCS Central School District board of education meetings so that you can attend all or any of them, if you’d like. They must be on different days, at least!

On Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Both the Ravena Coeymans Selkirk board of education meeting and the Coeymans town board meeting are both taking place at 7:00 p.m. Pretty stupid, right.

Why you need to be there, and you should have the opportunity to be at both:

RCS high-school principal Tom DiAcetis, Superintendant Alan McCartney’s Education

First of all, ALL VETERANS, PARENTS OF VETERANS, SUPPORTERS OF VETERANS, and all members of veterans committees in local government (Did you hear that, New Baltimore? Mr Guthrie and others?) must attend the RCS board of education meeting on Tuesday October 14, at 7 p.m. at the A.W. Becker elementary school. You must put Mr Tom DiAcetis, Mr Alan McCartney and the entire board of education on notice that their scandalous conduct concerning the National Guard and our Armed Forces will not be tolerated. Demand the resignation of Tom DiAcetis and Alan McCartney. Denounce the RCS board of education for their anti- military bias. Don’t take any prisoners and don’t accept their mealy-mouthed, pablum-puking lies and stupid excuses. Don’t let them off the hook this time. They’re accountable so make them accountable. NOW!

Colonel Chris Gibson

Mr Chris Gibson, Congressman for the 19th Congressional District, and Mr Paul Tonko, Congressman for the 20th Congressional District represent us in this RCS Central School District. Both need to be held accountable and both need to proactively investigate the RCS scandal perps, DiAcetis and McCarntney, and both need to reprimand the RCS board of education for the RCS anti-military scandal that embarrassed this community nationwide! Gibson and Tonko are up for re-election and Gibson, at a recent New Baltimore Republican Club meeting assured residents and voters that he would have his office investigate immediately. He assigned his top aid, Kevin Cumm, to head the investigation. Question: Did he do what he promised to do, or did he dishonor his office, his district and his uniform? Same should be asked of Paul Tonko!

The Town of Coeymans town board is meeting at the same time, on Tuesday, October 14, 2014, at 7 p.m., in the Coeymans town hall. Anyone who is not at the RCS board of education meeting should make every effort to be at the Coeymans town hall meeting. You need to find out about the pending lawsuits challenging the half-baked rezoning done by the town of Coeymans (started when Tom Dolan, Tom Boehm and Dawn Rogers had the majority on the town board. Don’t let them fool you into thinking it was all done by Flach and his new majority, like they’re trying to do!)

“DoDo Cop” Darlington sharing some misinformation.

Former Coeymans police chief Gregory Darlington abruptly jumped ship like the rat he is. He abandoned his department, his staff, the town of Coeymans and us! Gregory Darlington should not be honored by the town of Coeymans for his dishonorable conduct and his selfish, irresponsible abandonment of his post. If Darlington didn’t have enough respect for this community, who paid for his fat ass, to tell us directly of his plans, this community doesn’t owe him a thing! (While we’re paying him a fat pension check, we think he’s going to be moonlighting in a second job,  hired by our impotent race-card flasher Albany County District Attorney Pudenda David Soares. Then DoDo Darlington can sit next to his wife, who is a secretary in Soares’ office. Nice and cozy!)  If Darlington could do that to the Coeymans police department, this community has to seriously reassess the situation and seriously consider eliminating the Coeymans police department and turning over law enforcement to the professionals, the Albany County Sheriff’s department and to the New York State Police. Save Coeymans more than $a million$ in tax money that can be invested in things we really need in this community. You’re paying twice, three times for law enforcement in Coeymans. Let’s see if we can get some leadership and pay only twice. (Let the Albany County Sheriff’s department or the New York State Police rehire the Coeymans police department staff, retrain them, deploy them if they’re really needed.)

Albany County has a highly sophisticated 911 emergency response system in place, and it’s paid for with your tax dollars! Coeymans has a bunch of insiders using antique equipment that has to be updated. Be smart and tell the Coeymans town board to eliminate the dispatchers and save almost a $half-million dollars$. We’re paying twice for the same service. We’re duplicating services. There are some who want to continue this stupidity and they come out to give their idiotic reasons why. But the voice of reason shouts out for them to shut up and get the facts. Tom Dolan, Tom Boehm, Mary Driscoll and others are blowing misinformation out their butts. Tell the town board of Coeymans to eliminate the dispatchers (Let Albany County re-hire them if they’re really needed.)

No fatalities. YET!

Again, we have to address the dangerous situation existing with the Port of Coeymans heavy truck traffic, and we need some real facts and explanations about the Carver Companies bridge and what the town is doing to ensure our safety and the safe movement of traffic into and out of the hamlet of Coeymans on Rt 144.

We also want to know about all the jobs that were promised. How many have been created so far? How many are actually going to be created?

We want to know why our quality of life is all of a sudden declining with the added truck traffic, the dust, the increase in noise pollution in our community as the result of the re-zoning and the increased activity in the Port and the surrounding area. Mr Masti, who is neither a native of the area nor a blue collar worker, has published his desire to keep Coeymans blue collar. Why is that? (Masti and his kind have to go!) But these are questions Ravena-Coeymans residents have to ask.

That’s why you have to make every effort to attend the Coeymans town board meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2014, at 7 p.m. in the Coeymans town hall! Our local elected officials don’t seem to be able to make good decisions on their own. They need your help. Tell them what you want and Get the Facts!

We suggest you make a couple of phone calls, send a couple of e-mails. Get your family, friends, neighbors activated and attend one of the meetings or organize yourselves so that some of you attend one and the others attend the other meeting. Show your elected officials that you can shake things up and put their feet to the fire, so they do what’s best for US!

But Only If You Speak Up! We deserve better!

The Editor

 

Barbara Finke, Interim New Baltimore Town Clerk, For Example…

Blown Away!

A short time ago we wrote that this country is no longer a two-party democracy. No, we’re not suggesting it’s even a multi-party country because the two major political parties, the Republican and the Democratic, are no longer unified nor are they much different. The many minor political parties are either whack-jobs or simply different flavors of the mainline parties. In other words, our politicians from both parties are practically indistinguishable in their double-talk, and they can be distinguished only by the self-serving personal agendas, pretty much power and greed. These characters can’t even be trusted to stay in one party and they move from one side of the aisle,  blown by whichever wind is coming through the window.

There Can Be Only ONE “Best” for the Country

Big Problem for our Elected Officials
Epidemic Incompetence from the Local to the National Level.
And it starts locally!

Elections are just around the corner: It’s time to start asking questions.

There can be only one “what’s best for the country,” and there can be only one truth but somehow our politics has been stuffing any number of “bests for the country” and many versions of the “truth” down our throats for a couple of decades now. Why haven’t we choked on the lies yet? Well, we can look locally for one of the answers to this question and to the national problem. We’re too stuck on ourselves and have lost any sense of community. Instead we rally behind empty slogans like, “It’s for the kids!” and then bitch and moan when our elected officials start picking our pockets. Ever ask yourself why that is?

The POOF! Phenomenon: Here’s another farce of our so-called democratic process. On the campaign trail, our candidates for public office tell us everything we want to hear. They sugar coat everything, promising anything. Then they disappear. POOF! They’re elected and then conveniently forget everything they said. Why is that? Here’s why: We don’t hold them accountable! We don’t take them by the scruff of the neck and shout their own slogans and empty promises into their hairy ear holes! That’s why.

Single-candidate Elections? And while we’re on a roll, how is it that our mainline political parties can’t come up with at least two candidates on a ballot so that we voters have at least the illusion of choice. How dare our political parties not put up a candidate to oppose the incumbent or a candidate who is running unopposed! Where’s the choice when there’s only one candidate and that candidate is unopposed. How is it that at the very least the two mainstream parties can’t cough up a candidate.

Our System is Just a Logrolling Contest.
Just Two Lumps on a Log.

We are fortunate to have some correspondence that clearly illustrates much of what we are talking about. It’s very obvious when we take a local example and trot it out for the public to read and make their own decisions.

North Korean Election Practices in New Baltimore. We are experiencing that little embarrassment in New Baltimore, where the current appointed, interim New Baltimore town clerk, Barbara Finke, is apparently being run by the Republicans with Independence Party endorsement, unopposed by the democrats or any other political party. But is this good for the town and its residents? Isn’t running one candidate endorsed by all parties what they do in North Korea?

Barbare Finke was an absolute dud when she was on the New Baltimore town board during the O’Rorke dictatorship, and she frequently sat like a little mouse while the lunatics had their way with the town. When she decided not to run for town board again, and the previous town clerk was forced to resign, Finke was appointed by supervisor Dellisanti and his board majority to be interim town clerk. Was this all planned in advance, we have to wonder?

Our elections have become farces for the political parties! Now, the office of town clerk is basically an administrative/file clerk office; it doesn’t require a hell of a lot of smarts in a town like New Baltimore. So maybe it’s a custom-made job for someone like Finke but why don’t we get a choice? Finke apparently will run for election to be New Baltimore town clerk but if voters don’t have a choice in another qualified candidate, it’s like Finke is being appointed to an office that the law says should be elected. Smell a rat?

During these past several months that Barbara Finke has been the appointed New Baltimore town clerk, we have asked her several times to tell us what she’s been up to and what improvements she’s been making in the New Baltimore town clerk’s office. Finke refused to respond to our several requests. In fact, when she and board member Jeff Ruso were wandering around New Baltimore hamlet collecting signatures on Finke’s Independence Party ballot petition; Finke does not have the Independence Party line, though (What happened, Barb, Jeff? Apparenty you guys pissed off George Acker, Greene County Independence Party Chair, and they threw your petitions out?), they were again asked to provide some positive press for themselves: Send us an e-mail telling us what improvements you’ve made in the New Baltimore town clerk’s office. Their response: 0

Editor’s Note: When we hear the line, “She’s been working really hard!” we say that can mean one of two things: Either she’s working real hard but spinning her wheels because she hasn’t a clue what’s going on. Or she’s working real hard and getting a lot done. Well, the fact that Ms Finke and her keepers were unable to or declined to provide any information on what’s being done, innovations, improvements, changes, etc. means only one thing: The wheels are spinning but there’s no progress!

What’s even worse is the fact that Finke doesn’t appear to realize that she’s on “probation” these past couple of months, and you’d think she’d be doing back-flips to make a good impression. Nope. Not in New Baltimore!

You’ll recall a couple of weeks ago we announced that US Congressman Gibson was rumored to be appearing in New Baltimore (See our article: Beware: Residents Are Asking Questions). So a resident contacted the town of New Baltimore through the clerk’s office–after all, the interim clerk, Barbara Finke, is a member of the Republican party (Anonymous New Baltimore board member: “Republicans appoint Republicans!”) and also a member of the New Baltimore Republican Club and works with Jeff Ruso, town board member and president of the New Baltimore Republican Club–since Finke would certainly know about the visit of a US congressman to the area. Wouldn’t she?

So a New Baltimore resident [name is unimportant] sent an innocent email to the New Baltimore town clerk asking about Gibson’s alleged visit:

“Good morning:
Can you confirm that Congressman Chris Gibson was in New Baltimore on Thursday, September 4, 2014.
Where was he and at what time?
Where and when was his visit announced?
Thanks very much for your PROMPT response.”

And it’s a legitimate question for a resident to ask, isn’t it? Does the New Baltimore Town Clerk have any information on the congressman’s visit. Pretty fair question, isn’t it? Well, not according to Barbara Fink. So Barbara Finke, helpful little public servant that she is, writes back to the resident:

Barbara Finke’s Notion of Service.

“Thank you for your recent email.  The information you are requesting would be better addressed by the office of Congressman Gibson as they would be aware of his schedule.

This is an official email account of the Town of New Baltimore and it is improper for receipt of this type of email via this town account.

Thank you,
Barbara Finke”

Nice response, right? If that’s the way Ms Finke is responding to residents as interim town clerk, even before she’s actually elected by voters (= appointed by default), dare we even speculate on her arrogance when, if she’s actually elected to be New Baltimore town clerk? Wouldn’t it have been nicer if she simply lied and said something like, “I’m sorry but I have no information on a visit by Congressman Gibson. You might want to try contacting his office for his schedule”? Yeah, that sounds better, doesn’t it?

The resident responds to Fink with the following:

“Dear Ms Finke:

Excuse me, Barb, but if a member or member of the town board of New Baltimore is (1) phoning residents to announce the Congressman’s visit and (2) the Congressman’s visit is taking place on town of New Baltimore property or public property it seems to me that the acting town clerk of New Baltimore (YOU!) would be informed and would be able to answer responsively. Moreover, if an elected official, the Congressman, is visiting the town of New Baltimore, it would seem appropriate that the board–and the town clerk would be so informed–and would want the residents of the town to be duly informed. I may be wrong, but that would be a reasonable assumption. Unless there were (1) some sort of miscommunication in town hall, (2) some sort of discriminatory or unethical practices going on, (2) inappropriate use of town properties, or (3) you may want to inquire with your supervisors, Dellisanti or Ruso, who may be able to inform you on what’s going on in the town.

How is it that the phrase “[Possible Spam}” occurs in the subject line of your response? The original e-mail was sent from my personal e-mail to a single addressee, your town e-mail. How can that be “possible spam”. You may want to revisit your e-mail settings on that account to avoid future problems. I’ll address this in another forum at some convenient time in future.

While you may be correct about Congressman Gibson’s office being aware of his schedule, I may be correct in assuming that you might be aware of what’s going on in the town of New Baltimore, where you are town clerk.

I am aware that the email is “an official account of the Town of New Baltimore”, and as a resident/taxpayer in the town of New Baltimore, I have every right to avail myself of its use for good faith inquiry and business. Your comment is entirely out of order and unappreciated. Moreover I don’t need you to provide that sort of information, just the information I requested is all I require or your statement simply that you do not have that information, or more apparently, that you are too arrogant to provide it.

And PLEASE don’t lecture me on your opinion that “it is improper for receipt of this type of email via this town account.” I doubt very much that you would survive a debate in town or municipal law with me so I’d advise you to be more prudent in your feeble attempts at burocratese. Know your place! Your pedantry is not appreciated.

That having been said, please be assured that I am not impressed by your performance nor by your presumptive arrogance, and that fact may not bode well in an election. You would do well to accept some tutelage from your father-in-law. Your response is totally inappropriate and if that sort of response signals what your response would be IF elected to be town clerk, you might as well resign now.
Thank you for your attention.”

New Baltimore town board member Jeff Ruso, who is also president of the New Baltimore Republican Club, got involved and wrote back.

Damage Control. Pick up the pieces and continue playing your games.
(He’s giving you the “Sign of the Anus” Mr Ruso.)

“I wish these message were to me instead of others, I can clear things up.
1. I organized the meeting for Sept. 4th.  It was a Rep. Club event.
2. I sent an email to a number of people in the town.  It was not town business and I kept it on my personal account as a result.
3. Mr. Gibson was not there, and there were no plans or expectations of his being there.  A representative of his campaign was indeed there.
The club meetings are seldom well attended.  The most frequent topic for those meetings is to plan for our major events i.e. corned beef dinner.  We do occasionally have an outside speaker, maybe once a year.  
If there are other questions I would be best to clear them up.
Jeff”

To which the resident responded:

OK. Let’s Play Whack-a-Mole.
You’re the mole!
(Did that hurt, Mr Ruso?)

“Nothing really to clear up…now. should have been cleared up before it happened. But stuff starts to happen when:

• Fragmentary information or inaccurate information gets out w/o clarification
• No information gets out officially, but gets circulated “on the street”
• No official statement is published on an event
• Public servants/interim appointees to elected offices get drowned in their own egos and become arrogant (pissing off potential supporters)
• The pubic is left in the dark have to find their own answers and draw their own conclusions
• Political party offices are held by sitting elected officials; the water gets murky and interests get ambiguous etc.

When you write things like: “I wish these message were to me instead of others…” I really have to wonder what is going on in your head. How in hell is the public supposed to know who the “me” is? How in hell is anyone supposed to know it’s a “Republican club” event? How in hell is anyone supposed to know if it’s Chris Gibson, a Chris Gibson aide, or Shirley Temple or Barbara Walters who’s going to appear? If the events are poorly attended have you ever asked Why? and What can be done to improve attendance (really not an issue in the seminal problem)?

It seems that the much-mouthed “transparency” has become a bit obscured, doesn’t it? Now I don’t want to be the one to tell you “elected officers” how to govern but perhaps a short announcement in one or two of the local rags might have pre-empted any misunderstandings?

Perhaps a more forthcoming, polite, professional response by the interim town clerk might have been more appropriate?

Perhaps complying with commitments might be more conducive to dialogue.

You guys need to address residents’ concerns and stop the politics, LISTEN, and pay attention to yourselves; otherwise it’s going to backfire badly. If this keeps up you will not enjoy my support. Ms Finke has already overplayed her hand and is about to pay the piper at a high cost of political capital squandered. I sure hope you have a viable candidate in the wings.

Maybe the problem is that we were given to expect a lot, maybe too much. Maybe the board and its members just aren’t up to doing better than most of their predecessors. Again, maybe a bit of self-reflection might be the prescription; like the Desert Fathers taught: “Pay attention to yourself” ; in other words, take a critical look at yourselves and many of the problems can be eliminated.

In the meantime, you’ll be on stage and under scrutiny just like surrounding communities. Seems to get them moving…

Just trying to be helpful.”

So, the lesson is this: We have to constantly remind our elected officials that they are public SERVANTS. We have to constantly remind them that the are where they are because WE put THEM there. We have to constantly remind them that they are paid with our tax dollars and if they don’t behave, they’ll be out on their dumb arses! It also becomes a problem when a sitting board member is also a sitting officer of a local political club. Remember our comments in an earlier essay to the effect that a candidate may run with political party endorsement but once elected he or she serves everyone, not just his party. Do you think these guys and gals have forgotten that fact. We haven’t and November’s approaching real quick and we won’t let them forget it either.

Maybe if more residents responded like the resident above, the community might be in a far better way than it is when residents just sit on their hands.

Hello! Anybody out there?!?
The Editor

This is not the end.

Those in National Politics would benefit from taking this message to heart…and maybe to Washington, too!
Stay tuned for upcoming installments on local politics and elections!