When an election is as close as the one on May 5, you just KNOW there's at least a few people wandering around in a daze, kicking themselves thinking they could've been that ONE vote. I've reviewed the voter rolls and there are surely a few local noteworthies who are doing exactly that. Who do you think feels the worst for skipping out on election day?
Shari Osborn (who was at Village Hall an hour after the polls closed, presumably for a secret and illegal meeting with the Mayor and Trustee Gallucci, who were also sneaking around the building)
Don Kerr
Guy Kempe
Ray Curran
Eric Roth
Dawn Elliott
Valerie Erwin
Linda Welles
Karl Budman
Charlie Karsten
Judy Mage
Dave Holt
Susan Holt
Dorothy Jessup
Judy Swallow
Amos Sunshine
Steve Stanne
Donna Smith
Steve O'Shea
Amanda Sisenstein
Jamie Levato
More to come... I have omitted named of people who forgot to change their registration to their current village addresses, but you know who you are. Seriously?? Change it. Jeez.
When Kimbiz vacates his seat in the near future, these are probably the very individuals who should be responsible for leading the movement to appoint Pete Healey to that vacancy and ensure his reelection in the anticipated special election next year.
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How about taking some personal responsibility for your own last-second write-in campaign (to the extent that you condoned/encouraged it, please enlighten us) and that of Jason West? It may be rather presumptuous to assume that everyone who wrote in you and Jason also voted for Healy. And, of course, there's Healy himself. If he can't be bothered to vote for himself, why should anyone else?
ReplyDeleteI can say with absolute confidence that everyone who voted for me also voted for Healey. I can also say with almost complete certainty that everyone who voted for West voted for Healey. I've gone over the names and it's not all that difficult to figure out who voted for who.
ReplyDeletePeople should be allowed to vote for the person they want representing them and I am certainly not going to discourage anyone if one of those people is me.
The Jason West write-in disgusted me personally, but if that's who some people really believed was best for the job, then more power to em.
The point is people have fought for the right to vote and it is what supposedly differentiates our government from those we look down on. I voted and I wish all of our local, high-profile personalities could say the same.
Brittany, will you gay marry me? 'Cause I love you.
ReplyDeleteI am ashamed. I thought the election was over before I left town to attend a conference in Phoeniz AZ. I had no idea that there was a stealth write in campaign being waged by Kimbiz, nor had other write-in candidates announced their interest in entering the race. I also had no idea that the two announced candidates on the ballot did not campaign, and planned no GOTV. So, this was a surprising, unexpected result. I gather than if I had cast a vote for Pete, and Pete had bothered to vote for himself Pete would have been re-elected. Maybe we all ought be more serious about elections in the future.
ReplyDeletePete didn't vote for himself?
ReplyDeleteI know a couple of people who voted for West and not for Healey. I also know of someone on this very list who said that they would not have voted for Healey, so you really can NOT assume anything, no matter how certain you think you may be.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you, however, that is is very important for people to vote, ESPECIALLY those with lots of political clout in this town. There is no excuse not to vote. If you don't like who is running, you can always right in your own candidate. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the results. It's disappointing to see elected officials not voting.
Finally, Kimbiz did campaign very hard, while Healey said himself that he did not spend 5 minutes or 5 dollars on his campaign. All candidates should have campaigned harder, and not assumed that anyone was a shoo-in.
Maria, that's why I said *nearly* everyone who voted for West voted for Healey. Not everyone. Pay attention. Also, I know you're relatively new, but nothing is being assumed. After you're a little more experienced you'll learn who supporters are and how to identify and target voters, categorizing them based on their likely selection. I've got this data going back nearly 10 years for New Paltz, so it's not so much an assumption as a rough science. Thanks for your wisdom and advice, though.
ReplyDeleteI certainly didn't assume anyone was a "shoo-in." You should talk to your buddy Rachel about that.
Note to candidates: It's just not enough to get 100(+/-) signatures on a petition. Make an effort, bother to campaign. Write letters, send emails, make phone calls. Walk the neighborhoods, get on the porches and find out what voters and even non-voters are thinking. Share your thoughts with them. Make the case in person that you deserve the public trust. Don't take anything for granted: ask me for my vote.
ReplyDeletePete Healey says,
ReplyDeleteI lost by one vote in an upset that was a surprise to everyone. Patrick only squeaked by with three extra votes, and he had the backing of the only major party committee in New Paltz. A dozen members, including the chairs, of village government boards- planning, zoning, ethics, historic preservation, even one sitting village board member- didn't bother to show up at the polls. Candidates should not have to call them in order to get them to show up at the polls on the right day!
I didn't campaign partly because during the month of April I worked long hours on a budget that was the most difficult that many people had seen in a long time. We kept the increase under two per cent. I mistakenly believed that counted for something.
I thought that Greens would support me, but one of them at least voted for her DOG, just like last year. Others apparently preferred to return Jason West to office, and voted for him instead of me.
There are also those who constantly tell other people how to conduct the public's business, and then THEY don't show up at the polls!
I reached out to the student write-in candidate several times and received nothing much in return. I believed that my public and vocal support for his right to campaign and my insistence on his inclusion even as a write-in candidate was the right thing to do and might even garner support from at least some of "his people", those who take seriously the political process and who understood that there were TWO seats up for election, not just one. But I was mistaken. But I would do that part pretty much the same the next time as well, since basically it was the fair and democratic thing to do, even if in the end the shortsightedness of the other campaign left me out in the cold.
There's plenty of "blame" to go around, and it isn't found in one place. And I'm not crying myself to sleep about it either.
The political culture in this town and in the country as a whole is, as I've said for decades, not a healthy one. This election shows many of the symptoms of the disease, and maybe we'll walk away from it beginning to consider some real curative remedies.
As for me, I would have voted for Peter Healey and Patrick O'Donnell. That's because I know them both as good people, from personal experience. Some years ago, I worked with Peter on redistricting, and Patrick helped me install my kitchen floor. Neither of them asked me to actually vote for them, and only Patrick bothered to ask me to sign his petition. It is important to keep citizens involed in the polictal process.
ReplyDelete