According to the report made public on September 24 by the Ulster County Legislature’s bipartisan special committee investigating the planning and construction of the county jail, the entire project from beginning to end was rife with violations of appropriate procedures; favoritism for cronies of and those who gave money to the controlling Republican party and its leadership; and circumvention of supposed safeguards of the public money and the public trust too numerous to mention in this letter. It is certainly telling that when you look at the names implicated in pulling all of this off and hiding it from oversight until brought to light by this committee what you find staring you in the face is the leadership of the Republican party during the course of this expensive debacle: former Legislative Chairman Ward Todd; former Legislative Chairman Daniel Alphonso; former Legislative Chairman Richard Gerentine; and their hirelings.
Does anyone really believe that this information would ever have come out, or this committee would ever have been appointed and allowed to do its job, if the Republican Party, which perpetrated these shameful acts and will do everything now to shove it under the carpet, was still the majority party? If you do, then I have a bridge and a season ticket to the Brooklyn Dodgers to sell you. The only reason any of this has surfaced is that the Republican Party no longer controls the County Legislature and can hide it all under majority rule. So, unless you want the same old gang to have the opportunity to do the same things in future don’t let them back in power. Vote Democrat or Independent and keep the Republican Party in the minority.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Ulster County Special Committee's findings on the Jail Debacle, from Kenneth Goldberg
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Democrats Unite For Victory in Red Country
As an Ulster County Democratic Committee (UCDC) member, you may be aware of some of the issues within the Party that have arisen over the past year. The enclosed literature will give you an understanding of how a group of UCDC Executive Board members and other County Democrats plan to address these issues and bring unity back to the Party. I ask you to carefully read this material, talk to other Democrats about it, and - via email - please let the members of the Reform Democratic Caucus (RDC) Steering Committee know your thoughts by emailing: reformUCDC@hvc.rr.com.
The RDC will be holding a fundraiser in collaboration with Dave Donaldson, Chairman of the Ulster County Legislature. The purpose of this joint fundraiser is to promote unity within our Democratic Party by supporting the elections of our Democratic Legislators, and that of Jonathan Sennett as our next Ulster County District Attorney. All proceeds will go to their campaigns.
By becoming a supporter of the RDC’s efforts and its “Unity Event,” we all can show that we can disagree and still stand together as a Party for traditional democratic values of fairness, openness, transparency and accountability.
On behalf of the Reform Democratic Caucus Steering Committee, we look forward to hearing your ideas about bringing democratic values back to our Party and to seeing you at the fundraiser on Oct. 6th.
Sincerely,
Phil Schacter
Chair, Pro Tern
RDC Steering Committee
Attachments
Reform Democratic Caucus Brochure
Unity Fundraiser Flyer
Monday, September 10, 2007
Saugerties Democratic Committee News by Mike Harkavy
By Mike Harkavy
Have Some Say…Vote Row “A”
You are invited to a buffet hosted by Gary Bischoff, Josh Boughton, Bob Cappiello and Bonni Nechemias, the Saugerties Democratic Party candidates for the Ulster County Legislature. You can meet and greet our legislative team at New World Home Cooking (1411 Rt. 212, Saugerties) on Sunday, September 16th between 2-4p.m. Contributions are $30/person or $55 for couples. Please RSVP to Bob Cappiello at 246-1308, by September 15th.
Team Saugerties is off and Running
Well over 100 supporters of all political parties joined Greg Helsmoortel, candidate for supervisor, Leeanne Thornton & Fred Costello, candidates for town board, and Jim Uhl, candidate for highway superintendent, this past Saturday at Leeanne & Larry Thornton's Washington Ave. home to kick off their 2007 campaign. Even two rainstorms with thunder and lightening at the beginning and end of the fundraiser didn't dampen people's enthusiasm. "It was amazing," said Leeanne. "As soon as the first storm ended, the phone started ringing with people asking if the party's still on. I said it sure was, and folks kept arriving for the next three hours. It was a real special day for Greg, Fred, Jim and me, and we are so appreciative of the support we've gotten." Guests munched on hot dogs from an old fashioned cart, popcorn, roasted peanuts, cracker jacks, and all sorts of homemade desserts. As the sun returned and the afternoon heated up, there was plenty of beer, wine, sodas, and iced teas to keep everyone cool. The talented Bobby Ferris was on hand to entertain, and he even coaxed the candidates onto the backyard stage to join him in a rousing rendition of "Take me out to the ballgame", with guests joining in. And when the rains came again a little after 5 p.m. many of the guests huddled under the tents, and just kept the party going. It just goes to show that when you
Photo's from the event:
Jim Uhl, Fred Costello, Leeanne Thornton and Greg Helsmoortel
Jim, Stacey and Tracey Uhl
Front Row Joan Authenreith and Nancy Wolfe; Back Row Leeann Thornton and Fred Costello
Greg and Thomasine Helsmoortel
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Show Me The Money, By Gary Bischoff, Ulster County Legislator
Legislative Happenings
By
Show Me The Money
The hearings on the Ulster County Jail cost and schedule overruns reminded me of the line from the movie Jerry Maguire – “Show me the money”. As most people know, the Ulster County Jail was opened almost three years late and a total cost of more than $95 million, far more than the $53 million projected cost, and the $71.8 million cost when the project was approved. The hearings were set up to find out why the jail project spun out of control. The hearings are well organized, making it obvious that the Investigation Committee did a lot of preparation. The committee consultant, John Mavretich is very knowledgeable about the history of the jail project and has assembled many documents dating back to 1987. His questioning is tough, but fair and took the audience, press and the committee through a time line, document by document that revealed the what seems to be at this point the root causes of the problems with the jail. Here is a list of some of the most significant revelations thus far:
- Documents show that all firms awarded major contracts contributed to a Republican fundraiser. Show me the money!
- An architectural firm (Crandell Associates) submitted the winning proposal after illegally being given a competitors proposal. Why? See item 1.
- That same architectural firm performed a needs assessment to determine the size of the facility. Remember that the architect fee is a percent of the total jail cost. Why? See item 1.
- There were notes that indicate that officials knew that the first construction manager (Barry, Bette & Led Duke) was guilty of a $10,000 extortion payment scheme in
- The job of construction manager (Bovis Lend Lease) was not given to the lowest bidder. Why? See item 1.
- There was no appointed oversight committee even though the legislature passed a resolution in 1987 mandating that major projects have one.
- Bovis did not do a required constructability review due to pressure from
- There was a memo from Arlene Kerans, the former the county purchasing agent stating that she was concerned with the relationship of vendors to politicians. Why? See item 1.
- Arlene Kerans identified an architectural firm that had a record of innovative thinking, but officials denied them access to the sheriff department. Why? See item 1.
- The architect (Crandell Associates) was not licensed. Why? See item 1.
There will probably be more facts discovered as the hearings proceed. But it is distressing that the root of many of the problems has to do with political donations, favoritism and corruption by the then Republican majority. The hearings are not over and it is difficult to draw conclusions, but it is clear at this point that a lack of transparency, ineptitude and party politics cost
In order to give citizens as much information as possible, we have supporting documents and links on my web site www.gary4ulster.com.
eccxray@verizon.net or 845-246-6858
Dying to Serve? from Angela Morano
from Angela Morano:
Don't miss Dying to Serve? on the Montel Williams show Friday, Sep 7.
Military personnel and exposure to depleted uranium; the Defense Department's policy on anthrax vaccination for service members.