A New Beginning, By Gary Bischoff

A New Beginning
By Gary Bischoff, Ulster County Legislator

Election day is over. This was a historic election at both the national and local level. President Elect Barack Obama inspired millions of voters, many voting for the first time. There is a feeling that change is in the air. Americans have answered the question of whether they want a black man as president of our country with a resounding Yes. The election of Barack Obama is much more than an example of breaking through a racial barrier. It is a triumph of our ever-more-inclusive democracy. Mr. Obama benefited from an energized electorate that included a broad spectrum of America. Young voters went 2-to-1 in Mr. Obama’s favor on Tuesday. They were also an important part of the Democratic campaign ground game. I would like to see our inspired young voters and new voters stay involved as citizens. There are many opportunities to work with various civic organizations including the League of Women Voters, political party committees as well as more activist organizations like Citizen Action, Democracy Now, Code Pink, Women in Black, The Saugerties Committee for Peace and Social Justice and many others.

The presidential election was also a triumph over the politics that try to divide this country. There were comments by candidates and their surrogates about “real America” supporting the McCain-Palin ticket. I prefer to think of Saugerties and Ulster County as being part of “real America” even though we voted overwhelming for Obama-Biden. Note that the Obama-Biden ticket received 61% of the vote in Ulster County and 57% of the vote in Saugerties.

This election represents a chance for renewal. There is a great deal of optimism in America. From conversations and emails with relatives and friends in Ireland, Canada and Germany the election of Senator Obama has been greeted with an outpouring of good will and great expectations in other countries. On election night there were a lot of gatherings around the world of people celebrating, both spontaneously and organized. Locally, Ulster County Democrats gathered at the Holiday Inn in Kingston. There are photos of the event on my web site www.gary4ulster.com.

The challenges facing our new president are immense. The economy in this country, and worldwide is in dire need of repair. Millions of Americans don’t have health care coverage. Internationally, we need to bring the adventure in Iraq to an end, and extricate ourselves from a quagmire in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I am hopeful that people will rally behind our new president in a bipartisan spirit of cooperation and help him succeed so that we all benefit. While many are optimistic, we need to realize that these problems will not be solved overnight.

We also made history here in Ulster County. By a large margin, voters elected Mike Hein as the first ever Ulster County Executive. Mr. Hein will take over on January 1 as Ulster County enters a new era with a new charter form of government, which was approved by voters in 2006. There will be two new elected positions, County Executive and Comptroller. At this time the race for Comptroller is still undecided. Mike Hein’s old position of County Administrator is eliminated in the new structure. The executive will appoint and remove department heads, supervise, direct and control the administration, structure and organization of all departments. The executive can reorganize, combine, separate or eliminate county departments and functions. The executive is responsible for the day-to-day operation of all county departments. In addition to being responsible for the entire county government, the executive will be the face and voice of Ulster County. The executive is the chief elected official and has a much larger role that we previously had with a Legislature Chairman, or state officials. Mike Hein will make an excellent County Executive. I have full confidence in Mike and I am looking forward to working with him.

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Gary Bischoff
Ulster County Legislator
District 4
Representing Saugerties, Ulster and Town of Kingston