General political
Ruff times
My dog, Golden Doodle Danny, and I were considering the current nastiness, even ugliness, in the behavior of some candidates and politicos — Ciarlante and Roberti Jr. come to mind with a defensive contribution from Myers — but we had different reactions. I thought that it makes Saugerties look bad; Danny thought it made dogs look relatively good.
Meyer Rothberg
Saugerties
The civility ticket
I am a lifetime resident of Saugerties (66 years) and the candidates running for local public office this year are some of the best in a long time.
Greg Helsmoortel for town supervisor: Can’t get much better than that; accomplished a lot in his previous term, basically lost because he campaigned clean and was defeated due to a string of fabrications by the Republican Party.
Marjorie Block and Bruce Leighton for Town Council are both community-oriented with a deep sense of love and compassion for Saugerties. Marjorie’s devotion to the Saugerties Historical Society is legendary.
Doug Myer has done an excellent job as highway superintendent and certainly deserves to be re-elected.
Chris Allen and Beth Murphy are two outstanding candidates for the County Legislature.
Notice all the candidates I am supporting are running on the Democratic line. In the past I had voted for a mixed bag, but the infighting in the local Republican party recently reminded me too much of national politics and I want my elected officials to concentrate on governing not infighting. Therefore I am voting the straight Democratic line and urge all voters who are interested in seeing Saugerties prosper do the same.
Wesley Finger
Saugerties
Hire the right people
I’d like to urge all Saugertesians to get out and vote this election The good governance of our town and Ulster County depends on you. Remember – Democracy isn’t what you have, it’s what you do!
We elect a candidate to actually work hard for us! Ideally, we want that person to be intelligent, to have vision, and to be able to think outside the box to craft solutions.
Each of us has the responsibility to hire the best person to do the actual the job, not hire someone just because we know them or their family, or because they have lived here for generations. Isn’t that a kind of cultural nepotism? It’s definitely not good management.
Well, this year, we the people have an incredible opportunity to “hire” some truly superior employees!
For Ulster County Legislature we can put Beth Murphy to work for us! We can unleash Beth’s energy and creativity on a legislature that has a sorry reputation of lack luster performance and watch her light some fires!
Both Beth and Mary are good people, but Beth has the vision and connections and drive to make others rise to her level of responsibility and get real work done on the county level, for a change! She is the candidate for the job any good employer (all of us) would choose to hire, hands down.
There is no choice for town supervisor. We have to elect Greg Helsmoortel to get the town and the Town Board back to functioning as a working unit again for the good of us all. Greg has proven himself again and again, and after these last two years, we really need our town government to work smoothly and with cohesive, efficient, and honest vision again.
The lastest kerfluffel involving Kelly Myers, in which she falsely accused Beth Murphy of taping the pre-Board meeting without a thread of evidence, was revealing. After spreading the accusations on social media and initially defending her statements when confronted by Beth at a Town Board meeting, Kelly finally admitted she didn’t know whether it was filmed. Someone who makes false accusations is not suited for the job of town supervisor.
Doug Myer has not only proven himself to be an efficient, honest and excellent manager of his staff and the regular operations of the Highway Department, but he is also capable of managing the multiple layers of accounts for FEMA business and other grants. The job is never going to be as simple as it was in Bernie’s days.
Doug has thoroughly accomplished the work needed, and he has saved us money – almost unheard of in these days of tighter and tighter budgets. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to re-hire such a superior employee!
Bruce Leighton is a very intelligent and truly decent person and deserves our support. I have been impressed with his clarity and fearlessness in standing up for the principles of ethical and good government in these last two contentious years on the Town Board. His ability to express himself with honesty and integrity is needed now more than ever.
These are the candidates I know, and I hope I’ve expressed why I believe it is important to vote for them.
Susan Weeks
Saugerties
Ciarlante’s response to letters in last week’s paper
Helsmoortel accuses me of calling the comprehensive plan committee “communist.” The claim is false and a review of my letters and statements prove it. The people who have worked on the plan did so in good faith and are upright patriotic citizens.
Greg Helsmoortel writes that I think the UN is going to take over our life in Saugerties. My response is that Helsmoortel himself signed Saugerties onto the International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives in 2009. Published literature is replete with documentation of the problems associated with ICLEI and its association with the United Nations. Just read the literature by Democrats Against Agenda 21, Rosa Koire, Tom Deweese, or Lynn Teger.
Barry Benepe says I “oppose making our roads safer.” Nothing is further from the truth. I have gone on record against contracting with an outside agency calling itself “Complete Streets” because we already have the wherewithal to make our roads safer. We do not need to pay “Complete Streets” which is seeking our money to redesign our streets, curbing, eliminating parking spaces to force people to walk. Their bill will be directly or indirectly laid on the taxpayers’ backs. If this program is about painting, curbing, and striping roads, as Barry claims, we already pay New York State DOT and our road crews for this service. Complete Streets has the stench of another NGO trying to sell to a captive audience (the taxpayers).
Will Myers’ accusations that I am spreading false information about the Glasco water meters. My focus has been on the huge financial impact and lack of transparency with Glasco Water District residents. While I am concerned about possible health effects, I am not a physical health expert so I have refrained from making health related statements.
Gaetana Ciarlante
Candidate for town supervisor
Editor’s note: This is a rebuttal letter, covering only issues raised in last week’s paper. See first letters section for the candidate’s regular letter.
Heidcamp: It wasn’t personal
I’ll make this response to Will Myers’ (husband of Kelly Myers and treasurer of the Saugerties Republican Party) unprovoked, personal attacks on Gaetana Ciarlante and me, brief: Will Myers, you have it all wrong. Not supporting your wife had nothing to do with any frivolous lawsuit filed against me, it had all to do with your wife Kelly Myers being an incompetent leader. I know you tried to make the frivolous lawsuit the center of your wife’s campaign as I have a copy of the e-mail with attached lawsuit that you sent to Republican Chairman Joe Roberti just before it “mysteriously” showed up in the Kingston Freeman. Talk about puppet master, I’m beginning to wonder who wears the shoes in your family.
George Heidcamp
Saugerties
