ELECTION RESULTS AS EXPECTED

NO SURPRISES after yesterday’s election in Ulster County. What was quite evident was that constituent focused politicians, regardless of party affiliation, get re-elected.

On the national and state level Hinchey, Cahill, Bonacic and Larkin are in touch with the people they represent. They are approachable, engaged and in tune.

On a county level, Sheriff Van Blarcum has become Ulster’s top cop has no nonsense, law and order style that is sprinkled with his folksy down home personality. The public feels comfortable with him and confident in him.

The county’s first comptroller, Elliott Auerbach has crafted his brand as the people’s watchdog. He has pulled no punches and has demonstrated that he is independent and is answerable only to the tax payer.

TRUTH VS FICTION

As the political calendar winds down we are faced with both rumor,innuendo and some modicum of truth that has underscored this campaign season.

Who could have predicted that Town of Ulster Supervisor Jim Quigley (not up for election) would have blown his proverbial cork by leaving an acerbic message on the voicemail of former pal and on again-off again-on again friend of Nick Woerner, blogger Jeremy Blaber.

It seems that Blaber is setting himself up to star in his own reality television show.

Next we have the George Phillips team in the guise of Butch Dener who blew his proverbial cork and stormed out of a meeting with fifty seniors after they got a little frisky when Butch attacked their favorite Congressman Maurice Hinchey.

Seems Butch may be joining Blaber for a cameo appearance on that reality show.

We then find Fawn Tantillo, desperately looking for any job (she took on Kevin Cahill and lost) making a backroom deal with one of the Bernardos and offering either Len or Terry the deputy comptroller’s job if she is successful on beating back Elliott (it’s not my back, it’s not your back) Auerbach on Tuesday.

She too will be doing a walk on with Butch on the Blaber show.

BUTCH BATTERING

FROM THE PUMPKIN PATCH….Scary campaign stories continue to surface this week as we close in on election day 2010.

The first one occurred earlier this week when the senior residents of Woodland Pond shouted down Republican operative Butch Dener, a George (“had enough”)Phillips proponent, at a meet the candidates night. Seems that the group, with canes in hand and wheel chairs revved up, went into attack mode when Dener began his anti Mo rant.

ATTACKING AUERBACH

I HATE THAT ELLIOTT AUERBACH FOR DOING HIS JOB

Fawn Tantillo launched an all out assault on incumbent Comptroller Elliott Auerbach at Saturday’s LWV forum in an effort to try and goad Auerbach in a down and dirty back and forth.

To Auerbach’s credit, he simply allowed Fawn’s caustic rhetoric to simply roll of his (AUER) back and present a fact filled, in depth review of his accomplishments during his first two years as the County’s first comptroller.

It appeared that members of the audience as well as the members of the League of Women Voters were embarrassed by Fawn’s over the top baseless rant.

She blamed Auerbach, for among other things, not attacking the (0% property tax increase for Ulster Co. residents) Executive Mike Hein and accused Auerbach of embarrassing departments including, her own former legislative buddies, by bringing issues of fraud, waste and abuse public. She after all, would want to give each department an opportunity to “duck and cover”. She reminded us that she was the Chairperson of the Jail Efficiency Committee and took a patronage county job a week after quitting the legislature.

Auerbach simply pointed out the successes of his first term including cleaning up the Ulster County Health Department, the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency and the County’s Central Auto Division.

It was almost as comical as the gubernatorial debates with Fawn playing the fool and Auerbach coming off as the consummate political figure.

FREDDY,FAWN and KEVIN, What say you?

08/31/2010-KINGSTON – The Ulster County Legislature is supposed to closely monitor the spending and operations of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency, but it hasn’t, costing county taxpayers almost $32 million over the last decade, County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach said Monday.
10/14/2010-KINGSTON – The board of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency has fired director Michael Bemis amid allegations of sexual harassment and falsifying business records.
Bemis’ termination comes weeks after County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach’s report that said the county legislature had not provided sufficient oversight over the agency.

What does Chairman Wadnola , Legislator Roberts and Fawn Tantillo have to say now?
OUR ASTUTE LEGISLATIVE CHAIRMAN:
In response to the Comptroller, I believe the Legislature has exercised oversight of the RRA
This superficial piece of election year drivel offers no solution at all.

HERE YOU GO KEVIN:
Legislator Kevin Roberts, R-Wallkill, who is chairman of the county Government Operations and Efficiency Committee, called the report election year “posturing” and a waste of Auerbach’s annual salary.
Roberts described the Resource Recovery Agency as one of the “best-run departments in the county” and disputed contentions that it is supposed to be self-sufficient.
AND NOW YOU FAWN (You did chair the Jail Oversight Committee):
Tantillo, a former member of the Legislature, said the report “could have been useful, but not when you hit the legislators over the head with it.” “I probably would have taken it to the Oversight Committee and presented it there, but you don’t get headlines if you do that,” she said.

LEGISLATORS FORCED TO PLAY SHRINKY DINK

We feel a memorializing resolution coming on from the Ulster County Legislature next month naming SHRINKY DINKS as the new symbol for the 2011 legislative year.

The charter driven, new and reduced legislature (23 from 33) has many of the multi-member district representatives squirming in their seats as they get ready to play musical chairs and hope that the music does not stop while they are standing.

Expect some interesting lines being drawn in the districts where there are currently three or four legislators. Expect some major head butting in Saugerties, Kingston, Marlborough and Wawarsing.

Look for Auerbach to do another attendance audit before the year is out.

Can’t wait to see who is sitting when the music stops! We may even see them take on some of the more difficult issues.

WHACKING THE WAD

Seems like the former Chairman of the Ulster County Legislature wants to chime in on Fred Wadnola's laughable letter about the UCRRA. Dave Donaldson, once a candidate for comptroller and from what we hear no fan of Auerbach felt compelled to "whack the wad" with the following letter appearing in the Kingston Times.

Donaldson on RRA

I have attempted to stay out of the fray in regard to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency and the County Comptroller’s report.

Comptroller Auerbach claimed in his report that the Legislature has been lacking in their oversight with the UCRRA since its inception. Although there is validity to the report it certainly doesn’t tell the whole truth.

It doesn’t seem likely the UCRRA will ever be self-sufficient simply because there is no county facility that takes the trash; it is shipped to other counties and that cost (net service fee) is charged to the County. That fact, along with the reality that the agency lacks the power to control the flow of trash generated within the County, makes it impossible to turn a profit, hence higher net service fees. But, as the comptroller points out, the Legislature is charged to monitor the UCRRA’s budget closely to assure the taxpayers pay the lowest net service fees possible.

During the ’90s the Republican controlled Legislature had a laissez-faire oversight. People like former Democrat Legislature Gary Bischoff from Saugerties constantly poured through the UCRRA budget with a fine-tooth comb and attempted to keep the agency on its toes. One such thing Gary pointed out was that the agency’s attorney fees were nothing short of staggering compared to other counties. Charlie Shaw, the head of the agency at that time, would repeatedly cry it was politics and that the Democrat minority was just attempting to discredit the agency. Rather than admitting there may be a problem, the Republican Legislature defended the UCRRA, ignored Gary’s call for better oversight, and kept handing over higher and higher net service fees.

In January 2006-December 2009 when the Democrats controlled the Legislature, I had the honor of serving as the Chairman. We worked with the Republicans as much as they were willing to work with us to make changes that would create what I called “Better Government at a Better Price.” The UCRRA was one of the agencies and departments that were considered in need of better oversight. One of my first acts as Chairman was to appoint Democrat Brain Shapiro from Woodstock to chair the Environmental Committee. One of the committee’s charges was to oversee the UCRRA. Brian worked with Gary Bischoff, the Agency’s Director Mike Bemis, and the UCRRA board to assure all spending was needed while constantly looking for more efficient ways to deliver the service. That diligence brought about the lowest net service fees in the history of the agency, which in turn proves the Comptroller’s point that better oversight of the UCRRA can save money. The Comptroller could have drew attention in his report that the net service fees were the lowest under the Democrat controlled Legislature but instead he attempted to not have an appearance of politics and issued a blanket report to warn what a lack of oversight could do.

The response from the present chairman of the legislature, Republican Fred Wadnola of Ulster, along with various members of the new Republican-controlled Legislature, was nothing more than a resort to the same old tactics of screaming politics and claiming the comptroller is just attempting to discredit the legislature. This was the same argument used when the cost of the jail was being questioned, as it was when the UCRRA was running up staggering bills. It is amazing how things never seem to change.

David B. Donaldson

Kingston