Hi all...
Thanx much to Co. Leg. Pete Wassell for agreeing to co-sponsor the nine resolutions below drafted by yours truly for March...
But just because there are two co-sponsors doesn't necessarily 100% mean that these resolutions are going to be on the agenda for Mar. 5th Committee Day-- or pass that day if they do get on to the agenda-- or, for that matter, pass at the Mar. 10th full board mtg. of our County Legislature!...
So-- if any of these below interest you, send a letter now to countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us, k?...
[yes, we county legislators do most definitely read those emails you send; they do have an impact, folks]
Here are the nine Pete W. has agreed to co-sponsor with me for March (now need more co-sponsors):
1. Overall impact assessment on groundwater contamination in Dutchess as Toxics Targeting can do.
[see http://www.ToxicsTargeting.com ; http://www.RealMajorityProject.blogspot.com ]
2. For campaign finance reform law the Poughkeepsie Journal has twice strongly editorialized for.
[see http://www.petitiononline.com/cleangov ; http://www.DutchessDemocracy.blogspot.com ]
3. For bipartisan committee to consider joining lawsuit being developed by Election Transparency Coalition of NY, urging other counties to join effort, as is now under consideration in Nassau County, to send copy of Dec. '08 resolution to every state legislator in NY urging them to amend Election Reform and Modernization Act of 2005, and to send copy of Dec. '08 resolution to every Congressional representative in NY, providing them with background material and asking them to work to make clear that lever machines are allowed under the Help America Vote Act.
[see http://www.re-mediaetc.blogspot.com ; http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/ny_levers_petition ]
4. For NYS and Dutchess BOCES to make sure that schools serving children with special needs here in Dutchess County and across state should be fully funded and reimbursed from NY and school districts.
[see http://www.petitiononline.com/goridge -- over seventy folks now signed on; join us!]
5. For Green Homes Green Jobs program to weatherize a million homes across NY in five years.
[see http://www.CenterforWorkingFamilies.info ]
6. For millionaires' tax statewide to ensure enough state funding to avoid county tax hike; 84% for this.
[see http://www.ABetterChoiceforNY.org ; http://www.FiscalPolicy.org ; recall http://www.petitiononline.com/stopcuts -- progressive state tax necessary to stop county tax hikes and budget cuts on local level]
7. For H.R. 676, national single-payer bill supported by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation, and dozens of others in Congress.
[see http://www.PNHP.org ; also see http://www.petitiononline.com/onepayer re: NYS possibilities]
8. For Dutchess County's own Pete Seeger to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.
[see http://www.NobelPrize4Pete.org ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger ]
9. For the Bigger Better Bottle Bill in New York State (including Dutchess County).
[see http://www.nypirg.org/enviro/bottlebill/ ]
Ball's in your court, folks!...(scroll down just a bit to see text of seven resolutions submitted)...
These nine can die on the vine or wither away, depending on if you get involved...
Get involved-- send a letter now to countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us today!...
[pass it on]
Joel
489-5479/876-2488
p.s. Re: issue/resolution #3 above-- recall-- fact is that a whopping 1500+ across NY agree w/Andi Novick, Election Defense Alliance (me too) to endorse the following statement:
"The following New York residents are opposed to concealed vote counting on software-driven voting systems and support the litigation to declare this practice unconstitutional, insisting on their right to a secure, transparent voting system, which our lever machines provide."
Recall-- among 1500+ endorsers from across NY, Dutchess supporters locally include the following:
Rhinebeck's Jeffrey Antevil, Svend Beecher, Clare Brandt, Maretta Callahan, Beverly Canin, Patricia Carroll-Mathes, Meg Crawford, Jane Curran, Debi Duke and Steve Rosenberg, Joanne Engle, Jeannie Friedman, Joanne Gelb, Guy and Mary Hathaway, Barbara Hugo, Joel and Kate Kopp, Nina Lynch, Michael Mazzarella, Susan Nagel, Carl Parris, Steve Sansola, Klara Sauer, Ellen Silverstein, Warren Smith, Linda Souers, Ward Stanley, Janeth Thoron, and Barb Whan; Clinton's Bronwyn Bevan, Stewart Kahn, Ann Scibenski, Doug and Elizabeth Smyth, Marian Thompson, and Phillippa Weiland; Hyde Park's Joan Grishman and Doris Kelly; Poughkeepsie's Jim Beretta and Doreen Tignanelli, Fred and Alice Bunnell, Rosemarie Calista, Jim Doxsey, Jacquie Efram, Richard Hathaway, Kurt Hornick, Gary Kenton, Carolann Koehler, Pat Lamanna, Donna Lenhart, Joanne Lukacher, Gerald Mahoney, Doug McComb, Carol Miyake, and Karl Volk; Beacon's Tom Baldino; Milan's Jose Reissig; Fishkill's Dori Dangerfield; East Fishkill's Richard Dennison and Lena Smolon; Wappinger's Rich McHugh, and Red Hook's Doris Soroko
[click on this link to see all 1500+ names from across NYS on board in support of Andi's lawsuit; see:
http://www.electiondefensealliance.org/nypetition/signatures.php?pageNum_Recordset_levers=0&totalRows_Recordset_levers=581 ]
Recall as well these two recent articles on this (issue now more timely than ever, amigos):
"County May Petition To Stick with Levers" by John Mason (Feb. 2nd Register Star)
http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2009/02/02/news/news02.txt
"Old Lever Machines May Count Vote Again" by Nancy Dooling (Binghamton Press-Sun Bulletin 1/25)
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090125/NEWS01/901250341/1001 ]
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WHEREAS, according to Hyde Park native Walter Hang, President/CEO of Toxics Targeting, there are now over 600 different leaking gas stations and leaking underground bulk petroleum storage tanks in Dutchess County with spills that haven't been cleaned up to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's own standards, and
WHEREAS, according to the Dutchess County Health Department, MTBE was found in places like Stanford, Washington, Pleasant Valley, and LaGrange along with other communities across Dutchess County in 2005 or 2006 long after MTBE was banned in January 2004, and
WHEREAS, the Dutchess Beat reported Feb. 2nd 2007 that, "An inquiry with the DOH [Dutchess County Department of Health] turned up records of MTBE contamination in untreated public water supplies in the towns of Beekman, East Fishkill, La Grange, Pleasant Valley, Stanford, Wappinger, and Washington during 2006. Hyde Park and Amenia have also appeared on lists of water supplies contaminated since 2000," and
WHEREAS, according to the Chronogram, "according to the DEC's database of reported hazardous spills and identified 27 incidents of MTBE-containing spills/leaks in Dutchess County over the past two decades, 22 of which affected groundwater"; this was confirmed by Freedom of Information Act request of the NYS Department of Conservation in 2004, and
WHEREAS, according to a front-page article by Erika Rosenberg in a February 2003 Poughkeepsie Journal, "less than 12 percent of MTBE spills cleaned to the state's own standards; a total of 2,286 MTBE spills have been reported to the state since 1985 and 262 have been cleaned to the standards, according to Toxics Targeting," and
WHEREAS, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported September 14, 2003 that "there have been 60 spills involving the gasoline additive MTBE in Dutchess documented by the Department of Environmental Conservation, according to the Ithaca-based environmental company Toxics Targeting; of those, only 15 have been 'closed' by the DEC, leaving 45 that have not been cleaned up to state standards," and
WHEREAS, Sen. Chuck Schumer released a statement in October 2003 that "there are 36 MTBE spills to clean up in Dutchess County, at an average cost of $500,000 per spill, or a combined total of $18 million," and
WHEREAS, according the Albany Times-Union, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation has found serious MTBE contamination of groundwater repeatedly across Dutchess County-- in Beacon, Beekman, Billings, East Fishkill, Fishkill, Hyde Park, LaGrange, Millbrook, Pawling, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Stanford, Wappinger, and Wassaic, and
WHEREAS, according to Citizens Campaign for the Environment, "since MTBE has been found to be highly soluble in water (up to 20 times more soluble than other gasoline constituents), the contamination spreads quickly throughout the aquifer and is difficult to remediate; additionally, MTBE has the ability to travel far from the sites where it is first released and can dissolve in water, volatilize, and then redissolve in rain droplets," and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature allocates $30,000 or less to a company like Toxics Targeting to perform a complete and total impact assessment of groundwater contamination in Dutchess County.
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WHEREAS, the Green Jobs/Green Homes NY campaign is a partnership between leading environmental, labor, workforce development, affordable housing and community development stakeholders led by the Center for Working Families to support the creation of a state program to perform one million green residential retrofits (that both increase energy efficiency and lower environmental impact) in five years; based on rough estimates, reaching this goal will result in energy savings of 30% per home, or $1.1 billion per year across the state, and
WHEREAS, the cheapest, greenest power is the power never generated, the power we don't have
to make, transmit or buy because we no longer need it; buildings are major users of energy in New York State; they consume nearly as much as business and industry combined; this is not just because we don't turn off lights; it's because our homes are not energy-efficient, and
WHEREAS, basic retrofitting can save more than 30% a year on energy costs; small-scale state programs, through NYSERDA, achieve these levels of success; private companies are increasingly financing retrofits, too, since energy savings provide reliable high returns; retrofits like air-sealing, installing boiler controls, and replacing oversized water heaters have been proven to save around 30% a year, between $1100-$1500 on a household's energy costs, and
WHEREAS, the New York Independent System Operator, which oversees the state power grid, reported that the average price of electricity has jumped almost 22% in one year, New York homes are energy-guzzlers; New York ranks fourth in the US for residential energy consumption; forty percent of our fossil fuel CO2 emissions are produced by New York's home energy use, including 19% from using energy in our homes and another 21% from generating just the portion of electricity that powers our homes, and
WHEREAS, a 2006 report from the US Energy Administration showed that buildings account for 38% of the state's carbon dioxide emissions; they contribute directly to warming through the "heat island effect", the increase in local temperatures created by buildings and other objects that hold the sun's heat; in New York City, for example, buildings and pavement can raise temperatures by seven degrees or more, and
WHEREAS, in addition to these environmental impacts, residential structures alone in New York account for 16% of our total energy use; New York already pays more for energy than any state but Hawaii and Connecticut.; this year, as costs hover at historic levels, the average New Yorker's household energy bill will top $3,700, or about 7% of median household income, and
WHEREAS, although retrofits make good financial sense, and though global warming poses growing dangers, we have not invested in green retrofits on a mass scale; residential units and larger facilities can be upgraded to reduce heating and cooling needs, electric consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, "heat island effect" and stormwater run-off; a large scale retrofit program would provide home energy audits to everyone who wanted them; then it would subsidize a range of site-appropriate upgrades: insulating walls, switching energy-guzzling appliances and light bulbs to Energy Star models, incorporating green building materials, installing a live green roof, or looking at alternative power sources where feasible; costs would be recaptured over time, as consumers saved on energy bills, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that our state legislature pass and our Governor sign into law Green Jobs/Green Homes legislation as described above, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor David Paterson, State Senators Vincent Leibell and Stephen Saland, and Assemblymembers Greg Ball, Kevin Cahill, Joel Miller, Marcus Molinaro, and Frank Skartados.
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LOCAL LAW NO. OF 2009
RE: CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW
BE IT ENACTED by the County Legislature of the County of Dutchess as follows:
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
CANDIDATE -- Any person seeking election to any county position, as defined by the New York State Election Law, within the County of Dutchess, including any political committee formed for the sole purpose of electing one or more candidates, as defined herein.
DONATION -- The transfer, to a candidate, of any tangible or intangible property, including but not limited to cash, check, money order, ticket or admission to social, artistic or sporting event, use of office space, equipment or postage, whether temporary or permanent, and any other real or personal property for the purpose of obtaining election to any position as defined in Section 1 of this chapter.
ELECTION -- The calendar year in which any primary, general or special election takes place.
INDIVIDUAL, CORPORATION, OR OTHER ENTITY DOING BUSINESS WITH THE COUNTY -- Includes those individuals or organizations appearing on the county's vendors list; or those who are acting as contractor or supplier for which role they are paid county funds. However, this definition shall specifically exclude unions, individual employees and their immediate family who are not beneficial owners of more than 10% of a corporation or other entity doing business with the county, employees of local governments and individual members of any union, if employment or membership is their only business relationship with the county.
SPEND -- Transfer any tangible or intangible property, including but not limited to cash, check, money order, ticket or admission to social, artistic or sporting event, use of office space, equipment or postage, whether temporary or permanent, or any other real or personal property for the purpose of obtaining election to any position, as defined in Section 1 of this chapter.
SECTION 2. PROHIBITED ACTS.
A. Donations
1) No individual, corporation, or other entity doing business with the County of Dutchess shall make a donation, in the aggregate, of more than $100 to any candidate during any primary, special or general election campaign.
2) No candidate shall knowingly accept any such donation in excess of $100.
SECTION 3. VENDOR'S LIST
A. The County Executive shall, on a quarterly basis, direct the Dutchess County Director of Purchasing to compile a list of names, based on the county's records, listing those individuals, corporations or other entities doing business with the County of Dutchess, as defined in Section 1 of this chapter. This list shall be available for public viewing in the office of the Dutchess County Board of Elections and be easily accessible on the Dutchess County website
SECTION 4. PENALTIES FOR OFFENSES
Violation of this chapter shall be punishable, for the first offense, by a fine of not less than $250 or three times the amount illegally contributed, whichever is greater, and each subsequent violation shall be punishable by a fine not less than $500 or four times the amount illegally contributed, whichever is greater, to be enforced through a civil procedure by the County Attorney.
SECTION 5. COMPLAINTS
Any complaints of alleged violations of this chapter may be made to the Dutchess County Board of Elections, which shall notify the County Executive and the Chairman of the County Legislature when it has received a complaint of alleged violation of this chapter. The Board of Elections shall then proceed to investigate whether in fact this chapter has been violated and shall make a determination. If the Board of Elections determines that this chapter has been violated, the person or committee who allegedly violated this chapter shall be given 15 days, after notice by the Board of Elections, to return the money or correct the violation. If said party fails to do so within 15 days, after notice by the Board of Elections, the matter shall be referred to the County Attorney's office for enforcement of a civil proceeding to collect an appropriate civil penalty, which will be payable to the County of Dutchess.
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This local law shall take effect immediately upon full compliance with all the requisite statutes and laws applicable to its adoption and promulgation.
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WHEREAS, over and over again year after year electronic voting machines, both touchscreen and optical scan, continue to malfunction; just last year thousands of phantom votes were reported by Sequoia voting machines in the Washington, DC September primaries, and
WHEREAS, in Upshur County, West Virginia, this past Election Day optical scan ballots had to be recounted after it was discovered that machines were double-counting early ballots, and
WHEREAS, in Palm Beach, Florida just this past November, re-scans of 262 rejected ballots revealed different results each time they were scanned; the very same thing also happened in Oakland County, Michigan as well, and
WHEREAS, there are many election commissioners all over New York who continue to strongly support being able to keep using lever voting machines in their counties, and
WHEREAS, the Dutchess County Legislature passed a resolution in December 2008 requesting the New York State Legislature and the New York State Board of Elections to enact laws, rules, and regulations that specifically authorize the continued use of lever-style voting machines, and
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature form a bipartisan committee to consider joining the lawsuit being developed by the Election Transparency Coalition of New York, and urging other counties to join the effort, as is now under consideration in Nassau County, and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature send a copy of the December 2008 resolution to every state legislator in New York, urging them to amend the Election Reform and Modernization Act of 2005, and be if further
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature send a copy of the December resolution to every Congressional representative in New York, providing them with background material and asking them to work to make clear that lever machines are allowed under the Help America Vote Act, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution itself be forwarded to Governor David Paterson, New York State Senators Stephen Saland and Vincent Leibell, Members of the Assembly Greg Ball, Thomas Kirwan, Kevin Cahill, Joel Miller, and Marcus Molinaro, and Frank Skartados, Co-Executive Directors of the New York State Board of Elections Todd Valentine and Stanley Zalen, and New York State Board of Elections Commissioners James Walsh, Douglas Kellner, Evelyn Aquila, and Gregory Paterson, and Dutchess County Board of Elections Commissioners David Gamache and Fran Knapp.
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WHEREAS, there are schools serving children with special needs across New York that are not fully or adequately funded and reimbursed from the state and school districts, and
WHEREAS, this is counterproductive, as children truly are the seed corn for a successful and prosperous society and a future of workers and taxpayers, and
WHEREAS, if we do not make sure this destructive trend is reversed, a new generation of children with special needs will grow up without the tools they need to succeed in our economy, and
WHEREAS, the taxpayers of Dutchess County and New York State will unfairly bear the brunt of paying higher taxes for increased services for children with special needs when they grow up if we do not do everything possible now when we can to make a difference in their lives and make sure all children are fully educated to become independent, productive, working taxpayers, and
WHEREAS, because of the 2004/2005 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, local school districts no longer have the responsibility of providing related occupational therapy, speech therapy, and similar services; the funding of those services is now the responsibility of the school districts where private schools are that special needs students are attending, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that our Governor, state legislature, New York State Department of Education, New York State Education Department's VESID (Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities), and Dutchess County Board of Cooperative Educational Services make sure that schools serving children with special needs here in Dutchess County and across the state should be fully funded and reimbursed from the state and school districts, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor David Paterson, State Senators Vincent Leibell and Stephen Saland, Assemblymembers Greg Ball, Kevin Cahill, Joel Miller, Marcus Molinaro, and Frank Skartados, New York State Education Commissioner Richard Mills, New York State Education Department VESID Regional Associate William Bulman, and Dutchess County Board of Cooperative Educational Services District Superintendent John Pennoyer.
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WHEREAS, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported last December 25th on a Quinnipiac poll showing that 84 percent of New Yorkers support a millionaires' tax, including over 70 percent of registered Republican voters; this confirms many other polls last year with similar results on this issue, and
WHEREAS, the Wall Street Journal has reported that 98 percent of small business owners make less than $250,000 a year; according to the Small Business Administration, "businesses with fewer than 20 employees account for 90 percent of all U.S. firms and are responsible for more than 97 percent of all new jobs, according to a new report by the Small Business Administration," and
WHEREAS, Dutchess Outreach, Interfaith Impact of NYS, Interfaith Alliance of NYS, NYS Child Care Coordinating Council, NYS Community Action Association, NYS Coalition Against Domestic Violence, NYS Alliance for Retired Americans, NYS Senior Action Council, NYS AFL-CIO, Hunger Action Network of NYS, MicroBizNewYork, Nutrition Consortium of NYS, Capital Area Council of Churches, Albany Presbytery, Faith and Hunger Network of NYS, FOCUS Churches of Albany, Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, Inc., Lutheran Statewide Advocacy, Regional Synod of Albany, Reformed Church in America, Office of Justice and Peace, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Environmental Advocates of New York State, Citizens Environmental Coalition, and Citizen Action of NYS, all support a millionaires' tax, and
WHEREAS, unless our state's tax system truly becomes more fair and progressive, there will not be enough revenue from the state to Dutchess County and all municipalities to avoid draconian budget cuts or punishing local property tax hikes, and
WHEREAS, middle class New Yorkers now pay twice as much of their income in state and local taxes than do millionaires according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and top state income tax rates for the wealthiest have been reduced from 15.375% to 6.85% over the last 25 years according to the NYS Division of Budget, and
WHEREAS, a Princeton University study showed that an increase in New Jersey's top income tax rate in 2004 did not adversely affect the number of high earners choosing to live there, and the tax increases on high-income earners put in place in 2003 did not have the negative impact on the state's economy, or on the number of high-income taxpayers in the state, that Governor Pataki predicted in vetoing the Legislature's budget bills, and
WHEREAS, in fact, the number of high-income returns grew steadily from about 245,000 in 2002 to an estimated 430,000 in 2007, and employment in the state increased each year that the temporary surcharge was in place; the wealthiest New Yorkers (over $200,000) also saw their incomes increase 108% between 2003-2008; those below $200,000 only saw an increase of 15% over the same time period, and
WHEREAS, according to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, "it is better for state's economy to increase taxes on the wealthy rather than to cut spending on goods and services purchased locally," and 120 economists from across New York (including many from Dutchess County) wrote to the governor in December telling him "economic theory and historical experience (shows) it is economically preferable to raise taxes on those with high incomes than to cut state expenditures," and
WHEREAS, high earners typically spend only a fraction of their income in any given year, saving the rest; on the other hand, state spending employs workers, provides services and puts money in the hands of New Yorkers in need, all of which put money in circulation, priming the economic pump, and
WHEREAS, Gov. Paterson's budget proposal shows that the top 5 percent of New York taxpayers had 59 percent of all income in the state in 2006, one and a half times the combined income of everyone else; if one puts this together with the income numbers from 2002, and with the budget's projections for 2009, a curious picture emerges, and
WHEREAS, even allowing for some slippage in high incomes in the recession, all of the income growth between 2002 and 2009 will go to the wealthiest 5 percent; the other 95 percent of households taken together will have about the same income this year as in 2002 (without adjusting for inflation); the incomes of the top 5 percent will have doubled over that period, a $200 billion income gain, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that our state legislature pass and our Governor sign into law legislation reforming our state's tax system to make it more fair and progressive, increasing taxes on millionaires to avoid cuts to crucial services here in Dutchess County and local property tax hikes, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor David Paterson, State Senators Vincent Leibell and Stephen Saland, and Assemblymembers Greg Ball, Kevin Cahill, Joel Miller, Marcus Molinaro, and Frank Skartados.
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WHEREAS, Rep. Maurice Hinchey and over forty other members of Congress support H.R. 676, legislation for single-payer national health insurance, a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private, and
WHEREAS, a national system of single-payer health insurance would save countless county tax dollars now spent on Medicaid; currently, the U.S. health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate; despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations ($7,129 per capita), the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality and immunization rates; moreover, the other advanced nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while the U.S. leaves 47 million completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered, and
WHEREAS, the reason we spend more and get less than the rest of the world is because we have a patchwork system of for-profit payers; private insurers necessarily waste health dollars on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay, and
WHEREAS, doctors and hospitals must maintain costly administrative staffs to deal with the bureaucracy; combined, this needless administration consumes one-third (31 percent) of Americans' health dollars, and
WHEREAS, single-payer financing is the only way to recapture this wasted money; the potential savings on paperwork, more than $350 billion per year, are enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying any more than we already do, and
WHEREAS, under a single-payer system, all Americans would be covered for all medically necessary services, including: doctor, hospital, long-term care, mental health, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs; patients would regain free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care, and
WHEREAS, physicians would be paid fee-for-service according to a negotiated formulary or receive salary from a hospital or nonprofit HMO/group practice; hospitals would receive a global budget for operating expenses; health facilities and expensive equipment purchases would be managed by regional health planning boards, and
WHEREAS, a single-payer system would be financed by eliminating private insurers and recapturing their administrative waste; modest new taxes would replace premiums and out-of-pocket payments currently paid by individuals and business; costs would be controlled through negotiated fees, global budgeting and bulk purchasing, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that Congress pass and our President sign into law H.R. 676, legislation for single-payer national health insurance that would save $350 billion per year, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to President Barack Obama, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, and Representatives John Hall and Maurice Hinchey.
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WHERAS, Pete Seeger, born May 3, 1919, lives in the hamlet of Dutchess Junction in the Town of Fishkill in Dutchess County with his wife Toshi after purchasing land there in 1949, living there first in a trailer, then in a log cabin they built themselves, and eventually in a larger house, and
WHEREAS, Pete Seeger is an American folk singer, and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival; a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 50s as a member of The Weavers, most notably the 1950 recording of Leadbelly's "Goodnight, Irene" that topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950; in the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a pioneer of protest music in support of international disarmament and civil rights and, more recently, as a tireless activist for environmental causes, and
WHEREAS, Pete Seeger cofounded the environmental organization Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in 1966; this organization has worked since then to highlight pollution in the Hudson River and worked to clean it; as part of that effort, the sloop Clearwater was launched in 1969 with its inaugural sail down from Maine to South Street Seaport Museum in New York City, and thence to the Hudson River, and
WHEREAS, as a song writer, Pete Seeger is best known as the author or co-author of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" (composed with Lee Hays of The Weavers), and "Turn, Turn, Turn!", which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement and are still sung throughout the world, and
WHEREAS, on August 18, 1955, Pete Seeger was subpoenaed to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee; alone among the many witnesses after the 1950 conviction and imprisonment of the Hollywood Ten for contempt of court, Pete Seeger refused to plead the Fifth Amendment (which asserted that his testimony might be self incriminating) and instead (as the Hollywood Ten had done) refused to name personal and political associations on the grounds that this would violate his First Amendment rights, and
WHEREAS, Pete Seeger was one of the folksingers most responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" that became the acknowledged anthem of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement; a longstanding opponent of the arms race and of the Vietnam War, Seeger's banjo is still emblazoned with the motto "This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender", and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2007, Pete Seeger, his sister Peggy, his brothers Mike and John, his wife Toshi, and other family members spoke and performed at a symposium and concert in honor of the Seeger family, held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where Pete Seeger had been employed by the Archive of American Folk Song 67 years earlier, and
WHEREAS, Pete Seeger is still actively performing and recording; on September 29, 2008, the 89-year-old singer-activist, long banned from commercial TV, made a rare nationwide appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, singing "Don't say it can't be done, the battle's just begun... take it from Dr. King you too can learn to sing so drop the gun"; in September 2008, Appleseed Recordings released his first studio album in twelve years, and
WHEREAS, on January 18th this year, Pete Seeger joined Bruce Springsteen, grandson Tao RodrÃguez-Seeger, and the crowd in singing the Woody Guthrie song "This Land Is Your Land" in the finale of President Barack Obama's Inaugural concert in Washington, D.C., and over 25,000 people have signed on to a petition for Pete Seeger to be awarded with the Nobel Prize for Peace, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that Dutchess County resident Pete Seeger be awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace by the Norwegian Nobel Committee and Norwegian Nobel Institute, and that the New York State Legislature, Congress, and President Obama make the same request as well, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Norwegian Nobel Institute, President Barack Obama, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, Representatives John Hall and Maurice Hinchey, State Senators Vincent Leibell and Stephen Saland, and Assemblymembers Greg Ball, Kevin Cahill, Joel Miller, Marcus Molinaro, and Frank Skartados.
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WHEREAS, New York's Returnable Container Act, better known as the Bottle Bill requires a five-cent refundable deposit on beer and soda containers sold in New York; the bottle bill has been New York's most successful recycling and litter prevention program, and
WHEREAS, since the law was enacted in 1982, more than 90 billion bottles and cans have been returned and recycled through the bottle bill; more than six million tons of plastic, glass and metal have been kept out of our landfills and incinerators; there is less litter and broken glass in our streets, parks, playgrounds and beaches, making them safer, cleaner, and more attractive, and
WHEREAS, over 600 groups, businesses, and local governments support the Bigger Better Bottle Bill,
including the Poughkeepsie Journal, Daily Freeman, New York Times, Adirondack Council, Adirondack Mountain Club, Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Alliance for a Toxic-Free Future, American Environmental Health Studies Project, American Farmland Trust, American Lung Association of New York State, American Water Resources Association, Appalachian Mountain Club, Association of Towns in New York State, Audubon New York, Center for Working Families, Citizen Action of New York, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Citizens' Environmental Coalition, Conservation Alliance of New York, Consumers Union, Container Recycling Institute, Ducks Unlimited, Empire State Consumers, Association, Environmental Advocates of New York, Environmental Defense, League of Women Voters of New York State, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, New York Conference of Mayors, New York Conservation Council, New York Farm Bureau, New York League of Conservation Voters, New York Parks and Conservation Association, New York Public Interest Research Group, New York State Association of Counties, New York State Conservation Council,
Trout Unlimited, Riverkeeper, Scenic Hudson, Sierra Club, and the Trust for Public Land, and
WHEREAS, the Bigger Better Bottle Bill would make our communities cleaner and increase recycling by updating the bottle bill to include deposits on non-carbonated beverages such as bottled water, iced teas, and sports drinks, which weren't included in the original law because they barely existed back in 1982; today, more than 3 billion non-carbonated beverage bottles and cans end up in the trash or polluting our state's rivers, beaches, and neighborhoods each year because they don't have a deposit, and
WHEREAS, the Bigger Better Bottle Bill would also generate new funding for local environmental needs by requiring beverage distributors to transfer any unclaimed deposits to the state; currently, beverage companies are keeping an estimated $140 million a year in unclaimed deposits from bottles and cans that are not returned; the unclaimed deposits from an expanded bottle bill could exceed $218 million a year. New York is out of step with many other states, which require beverage companies to return unclaimed bottle deposits to benefit the public, and
WHEREAS, Governor Paterson has again included the Bigger Better Bottle Bill in his proposed state budget for 2009-2010; this year, as New York State faces an unprecedented $15 billion budget shortfall, state law-makers will be faced with difficult choices.; passing the Bigger Better Bottle Bill should be an easy one; it would be indefensible for lawmakers to make deep cuts to education, social services, and environmental protection, but let the beverage companies continue to keep the public's unclaimed nickel deposits, and
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that the New York State Legislature approve the Bigger Better Bottle Bill in the 2009-10 state budget, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Governor David Paterson, State Senators Vincent Leibell and Stephen Saland, and Assemblymembers Greg Ball, Kevin Cahill, Joel Miller, Marcus Molinaro, and Frank Skartados.
###################################################
[re: need to end pay to play in Dutchess w/campaign reform: recall below info sent out on this Jan. 14th]
New info re: pay-to-play in Dutchess-- time to end with campaign finance reform!....
[email dedicated to memory of late Co. Leg. Duane Smith-- who fought local fight for campaign reform]
Miss the "Promises of Reform Deferred" editorial from yesterday's Times?...
[see http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/opinion/13tue3.html?ref=opinion ; http://www.BrennanCenter.org ; http://www.citizenactionny.org/cleanelections/ ]
It referred to state legislature/Gov.-- but it could just as well have referred to our County Legislature...
The fact is that even the Poughkeepsie Journal has twice run strong editorials calling for an end to de facto pay-to-play here in Dutchess County-- endorsing drive I began in 1998 for our county to follow Rockland County's example and pass a local law for countywide campaign finance reform (a $100 limit on campaign donations to county officials/candidates from companies doing business with the county...
[click on http://www.petitiononline.com/cleangov to read two PoJo editorials and see much, much more on this-- and sign on if you agree w/44 others locally that 2009 should be year finally that we do this!]
[of course, we could also still use a county-level local version of state-level Project Sunlight initiative [see http://www.petitiononline.com/sunlight ; also http://www.OpenBookNewYork.com ]
Newspaper headlines these days may be filled with talk of pay-to-play re: Richardson, Blagojevich; see:
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990104005 ;
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_WELCOME_TO_WASHINGTON_ANALYSIS?SITE=NYPOU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-01-05-17-03-40 ...
But again-- need for reform ain't just limited to Bill R. and Rod B., friends...see:
"Still Broken: NYS Legislative Reform 2008 Update"; see Jan. 5th Daily News editorial here too:
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/still_broken_new_york_state_legislative_reform_2008_update/ ;
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/01/05/2009-01-05_defiantly_bad_new_yorks_legislature_stub.h ; this past Sept. NJ Gov. Corzine expanded laws against pay-to-play w/Executive Orders 117, 118:
http://www.wileyrein.com/publication_newsletters.cfm?id=16&publication_id=14022 ;
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12262007/news/regionalnews/new_push_to_curb_nj_pay_to_play_431806.htm ; Connecticut ban on campaign contributions < contractors and lobbyists also recently upheld:
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/federal_court_upholds_ct_pay_to_play_ban ...
Ball's in your court, folks-- send a letter to us all @ countylegislators@co.dutchess.ny.us!...
Note as well-- just about all names below are the very same names I found involved in de facto pay-to-play here in Dutchess when I started digging thru public records on this over a decade ago-- and what has changed?....(not too much, frankly-- only now local newspapers NEVER seem to report this)...
[....so...feel free to contact local newspapers to ask them why they have continued for years now to ignore our annual July 4th Declaration of Independence from Special Interests update reports on this!...
Pass it on....
[...let us know asap if you'd like to join us for a press conference on this soon to press publicly for this...]
Joel
489-5479/876-2488
http://www.DutchessDemocracy.blogspot.com
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Seven up-to-date examples of de facto pay-to-play here in Dutchess:
[donations info < http://www.elections.state.ny.us/ContributionSearchB.html ; other info < Comptroller]
[note-- Dick Noel did this as well for us when we parsed thru vendor list annually in late 90's too]
A COLARUSSO & SON INC-- $ 2,383,068.43 of our tax dollars in county contracts in 2008
[$2500 donation to County Exec 4/19/07; county G.O.P. committee got $750 donation 12/13/06; see:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Colarusso&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=ALL&OFFICE_IN=ALL&county_IN=ALL&AMOUNT_from=&AMOUNT_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=N ]
[note-- Colarusso & Sons are located in Hudson-- not even Dutchess County-- why else the donations?]
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CHAS. H. SELLS INC d/b/a WSP SELLS-- $138,056.91 of our tax dollars in county contracts in 2008
[$1000 to County Exec 4/1/07; $1000 to County Exec 2/3/06; see:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Sells&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=ALL&OFFICE_IN=ALL&county_IN=ALL&AMOUNT_from=&AMOUNT_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=N ]
[again-- Chas. H. Sells are located in Westchester County-- you tell me why they give so much money]
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MEYER CONTRACTING CORP-- $1,635,328.25 of our tax dollars in county contracts in 2008
[$2500 to County Exec 7/10/07, $821 to him 10/20/07, $1000 to him 4/4/07, $1000 to him 2/12/06; see:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Meyer+Contracting&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=ALL&OFFICE_IN=ALL&county_IN=ALL&AMOUNT_from=&AMOUNT_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=N ]
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MARSHALL & STERLING INC.-- $1,483,314.26 of our tax dollars in county contracts in 2008
[$750 Dutchess County G.O.P. Committee 12/13/06; see:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Marshall+%26+Sterling&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=ALL&OFFICE_IN=ALL&county_IN=ALL&AMOUNT_from=&AMOUNT_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=N ]
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VOSBURGH J PAUL ARCHITECT PC-- $423, 287.02 of our tax dollars in county contracts in 2008
[$2500 to County Exec 10/14/06; $1000 to County Exec 11/4/07; see:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Vosburgh&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=ALL&OFFICE_IN=ALL&county_IN=ALL&AMOUNT_from=&AMOUNT_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=N ]
[note-- Vosburgh has been intimately involved w/bond Steinhaus has long been pushing; coincidence?]
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BOTTINI FUEL OIL MORGAN FUEL & HEATING CO DBA-- $314. 241.13 in county contracts in 2008
[$1000 6/10/08 to Dutchess G.O.P. Comm.; $1000 to County Exec 11/4/07; $1000 to him on 7/21/07--
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Bottini+Fuel&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=ALL&OFFICE_IN=ALL&county_IN=ALL&AMOUNT_from=&AMOUNT_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=N ]
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CHAZEN ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES INC-- $45,701.69 of our tax dollars in county contracts in 2008
[$1000 donation to County Exec 4/14/07; $1000 donation to County Exec 2/26/06; see:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us:8080/plsql_browser/CONTRIBUTORB_COUNTY?NAME_IN=Chazen&position_IN=ANYWHERE&date_from=&date_to=&CATEGORY_IN=ALL&OFFICE_IN=ALL&county_IN=ALL&AMOUNT_from=&AMOUNT_to=&ZIP1=&ZIP2=&ORDERBY_IN=N ]
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From http://www.petitiononline.com/cleangov ....(sign on now, folks-- make 2009 the year this happens!)
[below was originally put together in '05-- but now obviously as pertinent as ever; Steinhaus, running for re-election against Ruggiero in '07, used pay-to-play to his advantage re: donations-- fact]
Now, more than ever, it's time for us to pull together to break the stranglehold grip that special interests have over our government at federal, state, and most importantly, the county level.
Public records at our county's Board of Elections and Comptroller's offices show that 43 different companies (including ten from outside our county) have given donations to top public officials and/or the Republican party-- and "coincidentally", it seems, have received literally millions of our county tax dollars in contracts.
In fact, over the last ten years ten companies from outside our county have given $30,000 to the Dutchess County Republican Committee, G.O.P. Legislative Fund, and our County Executive-- and received more than $13 million in county contracts.
The Poughkeepsie Journal has editorialized strongly twice over the last five years that our county should follow the example of Rockland County and pass a campaign finance reform law on the local level-- a $100 limit on campaign contributions to county officials or candidates from companies who do business with the county. Our County Legislature should delay no longer on this.
Incredibly, over and over again over the last five years Dutchess County Republicans have stated that it is "illegal" for our county to have a similar law-- even though Rockland County's law has been on the books now for well over five years, and no one has legally challenged it.
We need reform badly-- in 2003 our County Executive outspent his only challenger (the intrepid Fred Bunnell) by more than $260,000. Bunnell had less than $20,000 at his disposal, yet won over 40% of the vote-- one wonders at knows what the result might have been if our county had enacted campaign finance reform earlier. We can afford to wait no longer on this.
Look at the 1999 race for Dutchess County Executive. Steinhaus outspent hard-working citizen activist Irv Miller by about 8 to 1 then; Miller raised $14,000 (exactly the amount Steinhaus "just happened" to take in over 6 years from 7 county vendors who "just happened" to get $11 million in county contracts over that same period (from 1995 to 2001).
The Poughkeepsie Journal ran a detailed front-page story on some of this by Mary Beth Pfeiffer Oct. 31, 2003: "Corporate Donors Boost Steinhaus"-- "Twenty-three donors who gave $1000 or more to County Executive William Steinhaus's reelection campaign were paid more than $3.1 million last year for everything from road construction to plumbing supplies, a review of campaign reports and county spending shows."
Note-- the resolution I submitted last year on this was the exact same one, verbatim, as the one Duane Smith submitted four years ago-- with one important addition. Given the fact that we've been made aware last year of how public records show that the CEO of Castagna Realty (John Gutleber of Setauket) gave our County Executive a $2000 campaign donation on 11/12/03, and Castagna Realty itself (based in Manhasset) gave him $1000 the year before (11/29/02)-- and Castagna Realty is handling the real estate transactions for the so-called "Castagna Commerce Park" to be constructed in Pawling...and the fact that the "footprint" for those three buildings was the only property in Pawling added to our county's Empire Zone this year-- not one of Pawling's struggling small businesses was (perhaps they weren't able to cut Mr. Steinhaus $3000 checks)-- we've added language in the resolution addressing this as well.
One may wonder why our county's Board of Ethics doesn't seem to think any of this is a conflict of interest. Perhaps this is because one of the members of our county's Board of Ethics, Allan Rappleyea, is actually a member of a law firm that contributed to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund last year (Corbally, Gartland, and Rappleyea LLP), and got thousands of dollars in county contracts last year as well (see below for much more on this).
Thanks to County Legislature candidates Fred Bunnell, Richard Dennison, Vicky Perry, and Ron Ray for coming out to our July 1st press conference for Rockland-style campaign reform, along with Richard Carlson and Kathy Stewart. Note as well-- Kerry Mitras, Democratic Candidate for Dover County Legislator also indicated that he supported the press conference, but wasn't able to attend, and the Democratic Caucus of our County Legislature has been pushing since 2000 for our county to have campaign finance reform since Tyner helped bring together the Dutchess County Task Force for Campaign Finance Reform with former County Executive Lucille Pattison in 1998.
Two hundred years ago Thomas Jefferson warned his contemporaries of the "excesses of monied interests" deterring elected officials from truly serving the public. Unfortunately, it seems two centuries have passed without much progress on this issue.
Enough is enough. We deserve county government of, for, and by the people-- one person, one vote-- not one dollar, one vote. Period.
*************************************************
Ricardo McKay, the Rockland County Legislature Attorney, sent this to us last year:
"I have checked with our County Attorney and there have been no lawsuits against Rockland County challenging the legality of the Rockland Campaign Finance Law.
Secondly, the City of New York has passed a Campaign Finance Law. That law has a detailed analysis of the power of a County to adopt it's own finance law. Please review that law for the authority you have asked about.
Next I would note that the opinion of the Controller's and the Attorney General's offices are not law. They are their opinions only.
Lastly I would point out that Rockland's law is addressed to the issue if whether a party can be a contractor with the County. It has now restriction as to ones ability to support financially any candidate of their choosing. If one wants to contract with the County, the County has the desire to avoid conflict of interest and the appearance of inappropriate conduct. The desire of the State to set contribution limits is not so great that it can prevent the County from controlling who can contract with it."
McKay cites five different lawsuits over the years that support the right of New York City, Rockland County, Suffolk County-- and yes, Dutchess County-- to pass local campaign finance laws...
Specifically, these: Resnick v. County of Ulster, La Cagnina v. City of Schenectady, Baldwin v. City of Buffalo, Adler v. Deegan, and Procaccino v. Board of Elections (see below)...
They're in this piece McKay sent us-- "A Symposium on Ethics in Government: The New York City Campaign Finance Act" by Jeffrey Friedlander, Stephen Louis, and Laurence Laufer (from the Winter 1988 issue of The Hofstra Law Review)...
"Section III. Local Legislative Authority and the Interaction with State Law
The New York City Corporation Counsel...concluded that the City has the authority to adopt a system of public campaign financing. Article IX of the New York State Constitution establishes in state law the principle of local home rule. That article sets forth several bases of local legislative authority which support enactment of the New York City Campaign Finance Act. Specifically, article IX provides, "In addition to powers granted in the statute of local governments or in any other law,...every local government shall have the power to adopt and amend local laws not inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution or any general law relating to its property, affairs, or government..." Not only is this broad authority granted to localities by the people and the legislature, but the Constitution also provides in article IX that the "rights, powers, privileges and immunities granted to local governments by this article shall be liberally construed."
The New York City Campaign Finance Act falls within the scope of the city's "property, affairs, or government." This is clear from the purposes of the law: (a) to help ensure the ethical conduct of city officials by reducing the political influence of large contributors; (b) to give candidates a fair chance to express their views to the electorate; (c) to keep voters informed of local campaign issues; and (d) to increase public confidence in the electoral process.
The courts of the state have held that a local law may relate to the "property, affairs or government" of the locality, notwithstanding the fact that it pertains to the electoral process.
* In Resnick v. County of Ulster, the New York Court of Appeals, relying in part on the "property, affairs or government" provision, rejected a challenge to a county law requiring that vacancies in the board of supervisors be filled by vote of that body's remaining members.
* In La Cagnina v. City of Schenectady, the Supreme Court, Special Term, for Schenectady County upheld a local law prescribing how a proposal being voted on in a referendum was to be stated on the ballot.
* Baldwin v. City of Buffalo is especially significant. There the Court of Appeals upheld against constitutional challenge a local law altering the boundaries of local election districts within the city of Buffalo. The court held that "the State has no paramount interest" in a change in the law pertaining to local elections and the locality may therefore change ward boundaries pursuant to its authority over its "property, affairs or government." This reasoning applies to the public financing of local campaigns as surely as to the alteration of ward boundaries.
The fact that the state legislature has regulated some aspects of the financing of local elections does not necessarily imply that city authority to act in this area is preempted. In interpreting the home rule provisions of the state constitution, the Court of Appeals has long recognized that many matters of public concern may affect state interests while also relating to the "property, affairs or government" of a locality. In such areas of overlapping interests, state and local laws may coexist.
* In Adler v. Deegan, for example, Chief Judge Cardozo noted that the enactment of the Multiple Dwelling Law, a special state law establishing minimum structural standards for apartment houses in New York City, did not exclude construction activities from the City's "property, affairs or government." The state's interest in safeguarding public health, embodied in the Multiple Dwelling Law, did not, in Judge Cardozo's view, diminish the city's interest in regulating the density and structure of buildings, embodied in the City's Zoning Resolution. The two enactments could thus exist side by side in an area of "concurrent jurisdiction."
* Regulation of the electoral process as it affects local elections is similarly an area of joint state/local interest and jurisdiction. In Procaccino v. Board of Elections, the court recognized this concurrent concern in considering a state law pertaining to the conduct of primary elections for certain local offices in New York City, stating that "the elective process delineated in [the statute] is of concern both to New York City insofar as it affects the City, and to the State, insofar as control over the elective process and its conduct resides in the legislative power...The court's statement in Procaccino applies equally as well to campaign financing in local contests, which implicates both the city's interest in good government and the state's interest in ensuring fair elections as the basis of a democratic policy. The Election Law and the new City law may thus coexist in the same regulatory area...
Current state law restricting campaign contributions does not contain, and the relevant legislative history does not provide, an express statement that the state legislature intended to preempt local laws providing optional public financing of local election campaigns...
An examination of the history, scope and purposes of state laws pertaining to campaign contributions and expenditures demonstrates that existing state law does not preempt the local campaign finance law. The state campaign contribution and receipt rules set forth in article 14 of the Election Law do not constitute a comprehensive and detailed regulatory scheme which is indicative of legislative intent to occupy the entire field of campaign financing. To the contrary, the scope of article 14 is relatively narrow, focusing on only one aspect of campaign financing-- campaign contributions by private persons and entities..."
**********************************************
LARGE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS/CONTRACTS FROM OUTSIDE OUR COUNTY...
Question: Why would these nine companies from outside our county be giving such large donations to powerful people in our county government-- besides their receiving literally millions of our county tax dollars annually in contracts with our county government?
[Again, please note-- all this below is from public records at our Board of Elections office and our county Comptrollers' office.]
1. Peckham Industries (of White Plains) gave $2000 to our County Executive in 1996 and 1997 and got $224,000 in county contracts in 1997, 1998, and
2000, and $214,000 in county contracts in 2004. They also gave $1500 in 1999, $1500 in 2001, and $1100 in 2003 to the Dutchess County Republican Committee, and $550 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund. (Note-- Ronald Peckham of Liverpool, N.Y. also gave $1000 to our County Executive on 7/7/03.)
2. A. Colarusso & Son, Inc. (of Hudson) gave our County Executive $1000 on 12/14/02 and $2500 on 11/4/03, and got more than $700,000 in county contracts in 2003, and $346,000 in county contracts in 2004.
3. Reclamation, Inc. (of Kingston) gave our County Executive $1000 in 1997 and got $1.3 million in county contracts in 1998, 1999, and 2000, and $157,000 in county contracts in 2004.
4. Highway Rehab Corporation (of Patterson) gave our County Executive $3000 in 1995,1999, and 2002, $1000 on 6/14/03, and got $429,000 in county contracts in 1996, and $218,000 in contracts in 2004.
5. Charles H. Sells, Inc. (of Bedford Hills/Briarcliff Manor) gave $3000 to our County Executive in 1999 and 2000 and $1000 on 4/30/03, and got $140,000 in county contracts in 1999 alone.
6. York Hunter (of Kingston/NYC) gave $4000 to our County Executive in 1998 and
1999, and received over $2 million in county contracts in 1997, 1999, and 2000 (largely for work on Dutchess Community College classrooms and renovations on the county's fire training building).
7. Progressive Transportation Services, Inc. (of Horseheads) gave
our County Executive $1000 in 1999 (besides $1000 given previously), and got
$7.3 million in county contracts in 1998, 1999, and 2000.
8. Bank of New York (of New York City) gave our County Executive $1000 in 1995, and got $47,000 in contracts in 1996 and 1997.
9. Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher (of New York City) gave our County Executive $1000 on 12/20/04, and got $8960 in county contracts in 2004.
10. Bennett, Kielson, Storch, Yabhon, and DeSantis gave $1350 on 6/24/99
to the Dutchess County Republican Committee $920 on 10/25/99 and $300 to
the G.O.P. Legislative Fund. They also gave the G.O.P. Legislative Fund $580 over the past three years ($190 on 10/23/02, $100 on 3/21/03, $100 on 9/15/03, $90 on 3/18/04, and $100 on 11/19/04); interestingly, each time no address was recorded on those finance disclosure statements- while all the addresses for other contributors were recorded. They got $55,000 in county contracts in
2000, and $74,000 in county contracts in 2004.
LARGE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS/CONTRACTS FROM WITHIN OUR COUNTY...
11. Marshall & Sterling gave the Dutchess County Republican Committee
$3000 in 1999, $800 in 2001, and $500 in 2003, and got $2.6 million in county contracts in 1998, 1999, and 2000, and $1.5 million in county contracts in 2004.
12. The Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation gave the G.O.P. Legislative Fund $45 on 3/11/04, and got $1.1 million in county contracts in 2004 (and a no-questions-asked policy on our county's Empire Zone as well).
13. VanDeWater & VanDeWater gave $2500 on 5/24/99 and $1000 on 6/16/03 to our County Executive, $1000 on 10/12/00 and $500 on 8/14/99 to the Du. Co. Rep. Comm. They also gave $1025 to the Du. Co. Rep. Comm. in 2001, $1175 to them in 2002, $1100 in 2003, and $950 to them in 2004. They gave $515 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund (on 9/9/03, 3/18/04, and 9/29/04 in total). They received $21,000 from the county in contracts in 1999 and 2000.
14. Herb Redl gave our County Executive $3000 in 1995 and 1997, and got
$277,000 in county contracts in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000, and got $11,000 in contracts in 2004.
15. Hollowbrook Associates gave our County Executive $1000 in 1995, $2500 in 2002, and $1000 in 2003, and has gotten at least $55,000 a year in county contracts for many years, getting $63,000 in contracts in 2000 and a pledge from our County Executive for $55,000 a year for the following four years-- this is $15,000 more each year than what the Fishkill building would have cost the DMV; former County Clerk Dick Anderson wanted to make this move to save tax dollars and have after-hours drive-through service, but our County Executive and his Republican allies blocked it.
16. Montfort Brothers Quarry gave $1000 to our County Executive in 1995; they have been noticeably silent about their plans to destroy beautiful and historic
Fishkill Ridge by turning it into a mine. They also gave $1750 in 2000 to the Dutchess County Republican Committee and $690 in 1999 and $550 in 2001 and $190 in 2003 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund. Montfort Brothers also got $3571 in county contracts from the county in 1999 for highway and construction materials. Southern Dutchess Sand and Gravel gave the G.O.P. Legislative Fund $400 on 8/29/01.
17. Clove Excavators gave $2700 to our County Executive in 1995, 1997, and 1999, and got $2.6 million in county contracts in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2000, and got $791,000 in county contracts in 2004.
18. Perreca Electric gave our County Executive $5000 in 1995, 1999, and 2002, $2500 on 4/23/03, $2500 on 12/13/04, and got $104,000 in county contracts in 1996 alone.
19. C.B. (Don/Richard) Strain gave $2000 to our County Executive in 1995 and 1999, $1000 in 2003, and received $4.2 million in county contracts in 1996, 1999, and 2000, largely for work on Dutchess Community College classrooms. They also got $331,000 in county contracts in 2004.
20. C.J./Jean W. Patrick Real Estate gave $3000 to our County Executive in 1995,
1997, and 1999, $1000 on 4/26/03, $1000 on 12/12/04, and got $287,000 in contracts in 1996, 1999, and 2000, and $164,000 in country contracts in 2004.
21. Bottini Fuel gave our County Executive $2000 in 1998 and 1999, and got $241,000 in county contracts in 1997, 1998, and 2000.
22. Star Gas gave $250 in 1999 to our County Executive and got $55,000 in contracts In 1999 and 2000, and $10,000 in contracts in 2004.
23. Morris Associates gave $2000 in 1999 and $2500 in 2004 to our County Executive. They received $6000 in contracts in 1999, and $15,000 in county contracts in 2004. They gave $500 to the Du. Co. Rep. Comm. in 1999, $900 to them in 2001, $1100 to them in 2003, and $155 in 2000, and $225 in 2004 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund.
24. Freedom Ford gave our County Executive $1000 in 1995 and got $40,000 in county contracts in 1998, and $24,000 in county contracts in 2004.
25. Arthur Fried gave our County Executive $1000 in 1995 and got $132,000 in county contracts in 1998.
26. McCabe & Mack gave our County Executive $3500 in 1995 and 1999 and got $71,000 in county contracts in 1998 and 2000, and $92,000 in contracts in 2004.
27. Bottini Fuel gave our County Executive $2000 in 1998 and 1999 and got $241,000 in county contracts in 1997, 1998, and 2000.
28. James Sedore and/or his accounting firm gave our County Executive $6000 in 1995, 1997, and 1999, another $1000 on 6/12/03, and got $20,000 in county contracts in 1997 and 1998, and $10,000 in county contracts in 2004; they also gave the County Republican Committee $1350 in 1999, $400 in 2001, $950 in 2003, and $50 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund in 2003.
29. Meyer Contracting gave our County Executive $1350 in 2000 and $2500 in 2003, and got $3.5 million in county contracts in 1998, 1999, and 2000, and $1.1 million in county contracts in 2004.
30. Paul Vosburgh gave our County Executive $4000 in 1995 and 1999, $2500 on 6/17/03, and got $497,000 in county contracts in 2000, and $56,000 in county contracts in 2004.
31. Dutchess Quarry gave our County Executive $200 in 1995,$2500 on 12/20/04, and got $458,000 in county contracts in 2000, and $647,000 in contracts in 2004.
32. Sucato Builders gave our County Executive $200 in 1999 and got $11,000 in county contracts in 2000.
33. Package Pavement gave our County Executive $500 in 1999 and got $7000 in county
contracts in 1998.
34. Cerniglia & Swartz gave our County Executive $500 in 1999 and $2500 in 2003 (and $3500 that election cycle, besides), and got $70,000 in county contracts in 2000, and $2800 in contracts in 2004.
35. Royal Carting gave $400 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund in 2001, $100 in 2003, $1000 to the Dutchess County Republican Committee in 2000, and received $97,000 in county contracts in 1999, and $102,000 in county contracts in 2004.
36. H. G. Page gave $150 in 1999 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund and got
$22,000 in county contracts in 1999, and $7000 in county contracts in 2004.
37. Blacktop Maintenance Corporation gave the G.O.P. Legislative Fund $90 on 3/11/04 and got $366,000 in county contracts in 2004.
38. Liscum, McCormack, and VanVoorhis gave our County Executive $1000 on 6/18/03, $490 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund in 2004, and got $16,000 in county contracts in 2004.
39. Chazen Engineering gave our County Executive $2500 on 5/7/03 and $2500 on 12/19/04, and got $3200 in county contracts in 2004 alone.
40. New York Communications Company (NYCOMCO) gave $2500 to our County Executive on 4/18/03, and got $382,000 in county contracts in 2004.
41. Prudential Serls gave our County Executive $2500 on 5/3/03 and $2500 on 12/20/04, and got more than $12,000 in county contracts in 2004.
42. Red Wing Properties gave $1000 to our County Executive on 6/19/03, and $45 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund on 3/11/04, and got $27,000 in county contracts in 2004.
43. Corbally, Gartland, and Rappleyea LLP gave $50 to the G.O.P. Legislative Fund on 9/29/04; they got $4300 in county contracts in 2004.
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Finally-- again-- join 44 folks below who have signed on to http://www.petitiononline.com/cleangov !...
Name
Comments
Address; Zip Code
44.
Joan Grishman
We are living in the results of bought govt..
Hyde Park, NY. 12538
43.
Edward Shaughnessy
I support the Clean Government Petition
P.O. Box 21, Millbrook, New York, 12545.
42.
Mark
I agree with petition
206 Spackenkill Road Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
41.
ilana nilsen
Do something that would make children proud
329 Camby Road, Verbank 12585
40.
julia widdowson
let's clean up our county now!
339 North Mabbettsville Road, Millbrook, NY 12545
39.
Cheryl K. Morse
We need to clean up county AND local government
P.O. Box 645, Amenia, NY 12501
38.
Vincent Martinez
-
12522
37.
Jessica
Will this ever be rectified
118 sodom rd staatsburg
36.
Natalie Embree
Let's clean it up!
8 Vista Drive, Poughkeepsie, 12601
35.
Joseph Rouleau
Voters demand clean elections and instant runoff voting.
200 Oakwood Ave, Troy, NY 12180
34.
Sean J. McDermott
I am a former Rockland County resident (now living in Dutchess) and Clean Government Works
12570
33.
Marian G Thompson
The practice of awarding contracts to corporations based on their campaign contributions to incumbents invites corruption, should be illegal and costs taxpayers more money if bids submitted are irrelevant in choosing the winners of contracts. The practice can also affect the quality of work completed.
1413 Hollow Rd, Clinton Corners, NY 12514
32.
Joni Handley
It's time to put democracy ahead of moneyed interests. Let's clean up our elections so we can clean up all levels of our government.
47 Partridge Hill Rd., Hyde Park, NY 12538
31.
Joseph Cosentino
Let's end the corrupt dictatorship and get back to a democratic society.
12590
30.
Doreen Tignanelli
A limit seems reasonable.
12603
29.
Richard Anderson
Run on your qualifications, not on how much influence you can peddle.
18 West Marshall Dr, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
28.
Thomas Baldino
We don't want monied interests out side our government influencing governmental decisions.
19 North St., Beacon, NY 12508
27.
Ric hard Anderson
It's Time to Clean Up County Government
18 West Marshall Dr, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
26.
David Sloman
I support this petition!!
12603
25.
Ted Ferris
Do the right thing
12585
24.
Chelsea Warburton
Government by the People and for the People
98 Lattintown Road, Newburgh, NY 12550
23.
Charles Warburton
Government by the People and for the People
98 Lattintown Road, Newburgh, NY 12550
22.
Jennifer Warburton
Power to the People!
98 Lattintown Road, Newburgh, NY 12550
21.
Anne Gayler
Please do the right thing.
148 Prospect Road, Monroe, NY 10950
20.
Jonnie Leinweber
Changes in current policy regarding political contributions is desparately needed! I agree wholeheartedly. But mostly, everyone needs to voice their opinions about this, it is our consitiutional right!!! Did I hear that England gives free airtime to all political candidates? This seems to suggest to me that ALL candidates have a fair chance of being heard, not just those with the most money.
12550
19.
Patrick Speno
I am in favor of the DCCGP
10 Ladue Rd Hopewell NY 12533
18.
Ken Thomas
Government BY the people ! This means all people not just the greedy wealthy!
12550
17.
Michael Cashdollar
reform Dutchess county govenment!
Saugerties, NY
16.
Frank Carbone Jr.
If it's happening in Dutchess co. -- it's happening elsewhere. Contributions should be strictly limited to individual voters. Businesses/owners should be completely restricted.
Newburgh, NY 12550
15.
Mark Wetzel
Family court & county wide corruption reform needed now! I love you, Gregory & Ashlan!
Pitman, NJ
14.
Adrienne Bradford
Reform family court now! I lost my children in Dutchess County Court because the system is totally whacked out.
Saugerties NY
13.
Victoria Fleming
With the corruption in the government, we have criminals & con artists from other states moving here. It makes me fearful for my children's future.
Poughkeepsie 12601
12.
Catherine Watters
County funds are not meant to be private slush funds for campaign contributors from outside the county. Let's get honest and keep the sunshine on this issue!
Rhinebeck 12572-1325
11.
William A. Sepe
An idea whose time has come
65 Gifford Avenue Apt #1, Poughkeepsie 12601
10.
Margaret Von Vogt
enough already
12603
9.
Richard R Carlson
Elected officals should not be rented out.
12590
8.
Dr. Duane W. Smith
It's an outrage that Dutchess County government is for sale.
12601
7.
bill costine
quid pro quo, government for sale in dutchess!! and cheap too!!!
108 rombout ave, beacon NY, 12508
6.
Douglas C. Smyth
Dutchess County needs a Rockland County-style ethics and campaign finance law. Incumbents should not have their campaigns subsidized by the contractors they approve for work in the county.
12580
5.
Douglas McComb
Government of the corporations, by the corporations, for the corporations, equals extortion.
37 Hornbeck Ridge, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
4.
Guy Hathaway
Public financing of all candidates for election is an idea whose time came long ago. For truly "representative government", it is the taxpaying voters who should be represented, not special interests.
12572
3.
Vicky Perry
Contributions to political campaigns are a legitimate form of citizen participation, but the financial strength of contributors should not permit them to be a controlling influence on elections.
62 Old Post Rd. , Red Hook NY 12571
2.
Richard M. Anderson
Good government depends on not accepting political contributions from those who do business with the county.
18 West Marshall Drive, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
1.
Richard Dennison
The American Republic cannot continue to exist without clean elections.
12533
