With no offer from Giuliani Partners, C. Scott Vanderhoef decides he wants to keep his job

C. Scott Vanderhoef, after discovering he had no other job options, has decided to seek a fifth term as Rockland County Executive.

Vanderhoef told The Journal News today that he will run for re-election, and plans to make a formal announcement at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Blauvelt Firehouse.

Orangetown Supervisor Thom Kleiner has already announced that he will run for the office.

Vanderhoef, a Republican, has served since 1994 and is in his fourth four-year term.

Kleiner, a Democrat, has served as Orangetown supervisor since 1997 and is in his seventh two-year term.

The job pays $137,765 for 2009.

But I'm thinking his resume can't be fixed, even to keep his current job. He took five terms to put this county in jeopardy, I don't believe he'll be able to fix it in one term.

This puts Rockland County Dems in unique position where we can point at the Republican candidate and sneer, "Tax and spend," "tax and spend." Read More......

Gillibrand softens up this critic

My diary that appeared on LotH a little over month ago echoed the frustration that many New York progressives have about Governor Paterson's pick to replace Hillary Clinton as our junior Senator.

However, a string of events led me to attend the very fundraiser that I once objected to. And yesterday, I met Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

And hell froze over.

I thought my email and diary about this fundraiser would reach perhaps 100-200 people. I was not prepared for the 800-plus email responses that I got from places as diverse as Wyoming County, Scenetady, Rochester, and Watertown. I guess I hit a nerve.

At the core of my grievance was the impression that Gillibrand's fundraiser was marketed as a town-hall style Q&A. As I'm a fervent believer in the public's free and unfettered access to politicians (especially to a newly appointed Senator) I did not find this acceptable. I am told now that the event was always meant to be advertised as a fundraiser and a young, wet-behind-the-ears local politician was credited with incorrectly ballyhooing it in an email to his constituents.

Gillibrand eventually righted this misperception by holding several public events on this same day, including greeting people in the heat at the Nyack Street Fair. Along with the unveiling of the "Sunshine Report" on her Senate Web site, I think she took two big progressive steps.

Rosina Rubin, the host of the event--who eventually held it at her beautiful home--gets a lot of credit for mending fences. She invited me to be her guest at the fundraiser. After debating with myself over whether I would be viewed as a hypocrite, I sheepishly accepted. I prevailed upon myself to have an open mind when I attended.

Gillibrand met a nice-sized group, took several questions from a moderator, and then took questions from the audience. The first thing you'll notice about Sen. Gillibrand is that she talks real fast even while thinking on her feet. After you get used to her oratorical overdrive, you start to appreciate the amount of information she can exchange in a short period of time.

While she talks fast, Gillibrand isn't prone to sales pitches when discussing politics; she's measured, analytical, and concise. There's also no straw-man arguments, no dogma, nor stroking the audience; she's a policy wonk if there ever was one.

I listened to her speak to several concerned members of the audience on gun control and she allayed many concerns and was especially adamant about closing the "gun-show loophole." In fact, Gillibrand systematically addressed every one of my concerns, and she dismissed rumors about herself circulated by some news outlets, such as the one about sleeping with two rifles under her bed.

Beyond that, Gillibrand impressed me with her dedication to repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax and the unfunded No Child Left Behind.

Gillibrand also discussed, in length, criticism of the Food Safety Modernization Act. She assured us that she would not be interested in voting for the bill if it contained requirements that would hurt small and organic farms. Sen. Gillibrand says that she hasn't found anything in the bill, so far, that point in that direction. And, I must say, she seems to be really on top of agricultural issues.

I had my own question about some contradictory evidence concerning the feasibility of cellulosic ethanol, but decided that it was too technical and esoteric to discuss in front of a group. I informed Senator Gillibrand, who met me before I left, that I'd send her my question by email. She seems truly interested in discussing the topic and I'm pretty sure that she'll respond.

All in all, I am much less worried about Sen. Gillibrand than I was a month ago. And credit goes to those on The Albany Project who kept repeating that she is an impressive individual. She certainly does not deserve the derisive label "Tracy Flick" that some of her more nasty critics have tagged her with. (I detested that name calling when I first read it on Politico.)

We've got a little more than a year to the State Democratic Primary and that's plenty of time for Democrats to get to know Sen. Gillibrand. I'm not jumping into her corner just yet, nor am I saying we should forgo a primary, but I do hope to continue to be impressed.
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Another progressive falls for Gillibrand

From NY1 News:

A prominent member of the Kennedy family says Kirsten Gillibrand has been doing a great job as US Senator.
Robert Kennedy Junior made the remark after having lunch Monday with the freshman Senator.

Kennedy's father once held the Senate seat now occupied by Gillibrand.

The two dined following a joint appearance at a news conference, in which they unveiled a proposal to fund environmental education programs for schools.

"She's been great. She's been taking direction from the environmental community and she's, we've found it very, very, very easy to work with her and she's going to be a great Senator," said Kennedy.

I'm not totally shocked considering that RFK Jr. had pledged his support to Hillary Clinton while the other notable members of the clan were supporting Barack Obama. Hillary never espoused the progressive values that RFK Jr. did on Ring of Fire, so that was one odd couple.

And while I contend that RFK Jr. is one of the best progressive minds out there, his picks for candidates don't often match his ideology. I can see him giving the "home state" endorsement to Hillary, but we're talking about intrastate politics now. Maybe Gillibrand is using hypnosis.

I'll find out Sunday as I am meeting Senator Gillibrand (yes, you're reading this correctly). Now that the Senator has decided to meet Rockland County constituents at the Nyack Street Fair at 1 pm on Sunday, has implemented the "Sunshine Report" for political transparency, and is now talking about closing the gun-show loophole, I figure why not give her a shot (and yes, I was comped at this $100 $50 a head event).

Call me a hypocrite if you would like, but I've got some really pressing questions to ask her about alternative energy, anyway.

If I come back blathering about how great Gillibrand is, you guys will have to decide whether its mind control or not.
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Richard Kavesh to run for Nyack mayor

Nyack Village Trustee Richard Kavesh will announce tomorrow that he will join the race for Nyack mayor.

Kavesh, a social studies teacher who works in the Bronx, will join fellow trustees Denise Hogan and Marie Lorenzini in the race to replace retiring Mayor John Shields. Rockland World Radio proprietor Richard Quinn has also announced that he will run.

This brings the field of mayoral candidates to at least four (and that's just on the Democratic side). Marianne Olive, owner of Olive's nightclub, has also reportedly said she is running, but she has not made a formal announcement.

Kavesh unabashedly calls himself a liberal. He is a member of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Democratic Committees of Nyack, Orangetown, and Rockland.

Nyack is such an overwhelmingly Democratic village that the Democratic primaries are, as a rule, more significant than the general election. Read More......

County Legislature votes to put a hold on foreclosures

By a vote to 15-0, the County Legislature has shown that it does have a heart. In these, the most difficult financial times since the Great Depression, our county can't afford to adopt Rick Santelli "tea bag" politics. Therefore this legislation, which triggers a county tax payback program for some 500 homeowners facing foreclosure, allows those caught in hard times the opportunity and the time to save their homes.

Typically, 30 to 40 local property owners face such a devastating predicament, but the mortgage crisis and overall downward economy appear to have fueled a dramatic increase, county officials said.

So, this number has increased by 1666 percent. This demonstrates that, even in a relatively rich county like Rockland, times are unbelievably tough.

[The] Legislature has amended a 1995 local law to enable more property owners to participate in a pay-back program for that purpose.

"Truthfully, we don't want to take anybody's property," said County Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills. He is chairman of the Legislature's Budget and Finance Committee.

The existing law required property owners to come up with 20 percent of what they owed overall. Vanderhoef proposed lowering that requirement to 5 percent. He also proposed giving property owners three years, instead of the two years called for in the 1995 law, to finish paying off their overdue tax bills.

I am not a fan of Vanderhoef by any means, but I'll give him credit when it's due. Along with the voting members of the Legislature (Republicans John Murphy of Orangeburg and Patrick Moroney of Pearl River were absent for the vote) this is a good idea for all of us. Keeping properties off the foreclosure roles keeps our own property values higher. Beyond that, it also keeps the county from a nasty, time-consuming, and expensive business.
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Legislator's free-tuition program for vets wouldn't make living in Rockland more affordable

Beware of County Legislators making proposals for the sole purpose of scoring cheap political points. The legislation Frank Sparaco is proposing would have a negligible effect on the quality of life in Rockland, since vets only make up a very small percentage of our young-adult population.

Federal veterans' tuition assistance gets a boost come Aug. 1, but a local elected official hopes a smaller gesture will keep Rockland veterans at home.

County Legislator Frank Sparaco, R-Valley Cottage, wants to explore the possibility of free tuition for veterans who have served during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who opt to attend Rockland Community College.
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He hopes the gesture will send a message to veterans that they are wanted here and will encourage some to become volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps members.

"I find that the people in my generation, or even younger people, are incapable of living in Rockland County and are moving out in droves," Sparaco said. "(The free tuition) might be an incentive to return to Rockland, to stay in Rockland, to grow roots in Rockland."

Sounds great? I don't think so.

If Legislator Sparaco wants to keep young people in Rockland County, why doesn't he work on lowering county taxes and providing more affordable housing, so all young people can stay here.


While I support our veterans, I seriously doubt covering tuition for vets at RCC is going to make a big dent in the quality of life for the great majority of Rockland County residents; it's just "feel good" legislating and political posturing.

If Sparaco really wants to support the troops, how about putting them in front of the line for low-income housing or provide them tax rebates for all upper education and vocational training for the great variety of programs in the area

From my perspective, Sparaco is painting the rest of the County Legislature into a corner: "Support the Troops, or else." Let's call it what it is: a dirty trick by Sparaco to try to out the Democrats in the Legislature as being "anti-troops." I hope others in the County Legislature are brave enough to point this out and propose more effective and meaningful legislation to keep young people in the area during lean times and shore up our tax base going forward.
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Top economist on Moyers: US economy collapse due to massive fraud

In an explosive interview on PBS' Bill Moyers Journal, William K. Black, a professor of economics and law with the University of Missouri, alleged that American banks and credit agencies conspired to create a system in which so-called "liars loans" could receive AAA ratings and zero oversight, amounting to a massive "fraud" at the epicenter.

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Gun Nut afraid of Obama "Gun Ban" kills 3 Officers

The gun ethusiast who lied in wait and killed three police officers this weekend told those that knew him that he feared that "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon." Wingnuts are dangerous without guns, adding firearms to the mix is deadly. I fear that this isn't the last sad event we'll see like this in the upcoming months.

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