Two Books, Two New Paltzes

As Co-Chair of “Two Books, Two New Paltzes” (I’m not sure which I’m representing because I live in both New Paltz and New Paltz), I am happy to introduce our book selection for 2010, “A Tale of Two Cities.”

Many of you are familiar with Dickens’ original tale, but our version has a twist. I would like to share a brief excerpt from the opening of the book, which I’m sure you will find relevant to our current circumstances.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and then it got even worse.

It was the age of secrecy, it was the age of foolishness.

It was the epoch of intimidation, it was the epoch of incredulity.

It was the season of lies, it was the season of darkness.

It was the spring of zeal, it was the winter of despair.

We had everything before us, we had nothing before us.

We were not going direct to Heaven, we were all heading direct the other way. (Perhaps to Gardiner?)

In short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

There was a Supervisor with a large community center on the throne of New Paltz; there was a Mayor with a large firehouse on the throne of New Paltz. In both New Paltzes it was clearer than crystal that things in general would be done as they demanded.

It is extraordinary how Dickens’ words, written over 150 years ago, still carry so much resonance today.

Anyone interested in “Two Books, Two New Paltzes” can search for our group on Facebook. In addition, I encourage everyone to attend the upcoming Local Government Efficiency Advisory Committee meetings, so that in the near future we can actually have “One Book, One New Paltz.”

I'm not dead yet!

Legislative Barbie is not dead, yet. Just terribly, overwhelmingly, beautifully busy. Soon. Promise. <3

Security Solutions for NY's Historical Records

Please distribute.

To Preserve and Protect: Security Solutions for New York’s Historical Records

Theft of historical documents plagues records repositories. With careful planning, awareness of warning signs and proactive security solutions, organizations can reduce the window of opportunity for historical record theft. Archival security expert Mimi Bowling will provide a full day of interactive curriculum on archival security,
preparing participants to take immediate action to strengthen their local security programs. Participants will receive a certificate upon completion. There is no cost.

Topics include risk awareness; insider theft; facility design and security technology; security of information systems; working with vendors and contractors; research room management and design; developing institutional security policies; procedures and post-theft response; additional topics as requested by participants.

Representatives of NY’s historical records community, including archives, governments, libraries, museums, historical societies, schools and non-profits will be given first priority. Additional seats are available for security personnel and law enforcement representatives working with these organizations. Out-of-state representatives and others interested in the topic are also encouraged to register.

September 13, 2010 (Monday)
Ontario County Safety Training Center
Canandaigua, Ontario, NY

September 14, 2010 (Tuesday)
Erie 1 BOCES
West Seneca, Erie, NY

October 4, 2010 (Monday)
Utica Public Library
Utica, Oneida, NY

October 5, 2010 (Tuesday)
Roberson Museum and Science Center
Binghamton, Broome, NY

March 7, 2011 (Monday)
Historic Huguenot Street
New Paltz, Ulster, NY

April 11, 2011 (Monday)
Crandall Public Library
Glens Falls, Warren, NY

April 18, 2011 (Monday)
Town of Massena
Massena, St. Lawrence, NY

Metro NYC Region and Long Island Region
Spring 2011
TBA

To register, please email Bturner@mail.nysed.gov or call 518-473-0130. Early registration is encouraged and appreciated; only 25 seats available.

Workshops have been made possible by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board, and the New York State Archives.

Another one bites the dust...

Let's play "Where's Waldo?," New Paltz Times Edition. Somewhere in this week's paper is an incredible tidbit that should be much easier to learn about than it actually is.

No, it's not the Don Kerr nonsense that I will be blogging about this weekend because I can't stand the way people are reacting and I have a few things I need to get off my chest...

No, it's not the coverage of things going on in places other than New Paltz...

In fact, it's not even in the regular paper.

Ok, on to the Alman@c...

Boring hippy artsy stuff...

Cute lil blurb about Memento, one of my favorite movies, but no...

What could it be? Where is this secret surprise?

Looking, looking...

What's this? The college diner is hiring waitresses?

OMFG!

Yes, yet another Village Clerk has said "Peace out!!!" to the crazy village. In the classifieds of this week's Alman@c, there is a teeny tiny little ad at the bottom of the job postings advertising for a Village Clerk.

As far as I can tell, the Village Board has not accepted Carol Robins' resignation during any of the meetings this year. Also, as far as I can tell, Carol was definitely reappointed Village Clerk at the June reorganization meeting. The only other explanation is that she has, finally, had enough and is moving on. I can't imagine even these weirdos would reappoint someone, only to dismiss her a month and a half later (although I will float a conspiracy theory after I fill in the background).

Let's look back...

When Jean Gallucci (Trustee/Deputy Mayor) left her position as Village Clerk-Treasurer, the position was split into two. This was a good thing. Unfortunately, the Village knew what to do with a Treasurer, but never established the funding, autonomy, support, or even job description necessary to have a viable Clerk position.

So the saga begins!

In 2006, the Village hired some woman as Clerk. I don't even know who she was, all I know is she didn't last very long.

In 2007, the Village hired a really smart, super hot and amazing woman as Clerk. She lasted 10 months before finally giving up.

For 2008, the Village Clerk was the former assistant to both Mayors. She was smart and capable and lasted pretty long (about a year and a half), but also decided to cut and run in the end.

For part of 2009 and 2010 (so far), the Village Clerk has been Carol Robins, who had been Deputy Clerk under the former Clerk (the only Village Clerk since the position split to actually have a Deputy). My experience with Carol is limited, but I've always found her to be kind, courteous, professional, and as helpful as she can be given the fact that she is surrounded by a bunch of total psychos who aren't exactly forthcoming, transparent, reasonable, mature, ethical or law-abiding.

The Clerk position requires a pretty specific skill set. The Clerk, in theory, should be acting as Records Management Officer, Chief Elections Officer, and a liaison between the Village Board and the public. What the Village has provided for, thus far, amounts to a secretary and cashier. Will the Village finally take this opportunity to make the position what it should be, or will we have another overpaid counter person who isn't allowed to do anything else, even though he or she may be qualified to do amazing things with the position? I have no doubt that the Village will opt for another temp rather than modeling the position on a professional standard that exemplifies most municipal Clerks across the state.

So...

Who out there can type and make change? Have any experience working in a psych ward? I hear there's a "Clerk" position opening up real soon...

Just In: Patrick O'Donnell to Resign from Village Board

Well, not JUST in, but I was busy baking.

Patrick O(apostrophe broke again god damn when is my student loan money coming in so I can get a new laptop!!!)Donnell is resigning from the Village Board, at some point in the near future.

Why?

He has a work commitment that would prevent him from attending meetings regularly. He can only guarantee that he(apostrophe grr)ll be able to attend 50% of meetings, at best, and feels it is only fair to step down.

Sad to see you go, Patrick, but you(!!!)re doing the right thing.

Think Shari and Jean will follow his lead? Doubtful, but a gal can hope. We will probably end up with one of those dopes as Deputy Mayor now.

In light of the recent developments regarding Kassarole(...)s shady election to the VB, it seems only fair that Pete Healey be appointed to fill out the remainder of the term. God knows it would be HILARIOUSLY AWESOME.

More on this soon...

Ulster County Board of Elections: Shady or Stupid?

Ulster County Board of Elections Commissioners Kathy Mihm and Tom Turco are slated for reappointment at the June 15 Ulster County Legislature Meeting. Unfortunately, I have grave concerns as to whether they're actually up for the job.

There were a series of inconsistencies surrounding the May 5, 2009 Village of New Paltz elections, as outlined below. These inconsistencies were not merely accidents or oversights; they appear to be flagrant violations of the Election Law, enacted by the very individuals who should know right from wrong better than anyone.

For those who are unfamiliar with the situation, the May 5, 2009 election was run by the Village of New Paltz, rather than by the County Board of Elections, which handles many municipal elections across New York State. It was for two Trustee seats on the Village Board. Petitions were submitted on behalf of three candidates: Pete Healey, an incumbent who had won a special election for a one-year term the year previous, Patrick O’Donnell and Brian Kimbiz. If you read the blog, this should be at least somewhat familiar; Legislative Barbie has affectionately referred to Kimbiz in the past (aka Kazmin aka Kaztard aka...).

Healey and O’Donnell were both accepted onto the ballot; Kimbiz was disqualified from a spot on the ballot after his petitions were challenged by Vici Danskin, a decision made by the Ulster County Board of Elections (UCBOE). His petitions were disqualified on a number of violations, including invalid signatures, incorrect or absent dates and details, and his status as a voter registered in Islip, NY. According to Pete Healey, "I never liked the idea of petitions being challenged; anybody and everybody should have the right to campaign, and these petitioning rules aren't made to be fair or democratic. They're made to be unfair and exclusive. So when I heard his petitions had been rejected, I called the Board of Elections to find out why. When I got the answer, I called him. I suggested to him that he could do many things in response to that, including launching a write-in candidacy. When he did that, I went out of my way to make certain that he was included in the only public forum for the candidates. He never returned the call or reached out to me, he didn't show up to the forum, and he didn't seem to have any public campaign at all. I didn't think he was serious. When he petitioned to be a candidate for Village Trustee, he was a registered voter in Islip."

Kimbiz' failure to attend the forum wasn't a fluke. He also nearly skipped a local Green Party candidate interview, arriving 30 minutes late after repeated telephone calls from interview organizers, and has had lousy attendance at Village Board Meetings since his "victory." Some have questioned why Healey did not campaign harder, and whether he felt betrayed by Kimbiz' campaign seemingly targeting Healey after all his help. "Quietly, he joined with some disgruntled landlords, including his own, apparently, to launch this stealth campaign, when he didn't even know how many Village Trustees actually serve on the Board. It's not betrayal; I didn't think he was serious then, and now, after a year in office, it's clear he hasn't taken it seriously," said Healey.

The final canvass conducted by the Election Inspectors on May 5, 2009 reflected a victory for O’Donnell with 95 votes and Healey with 94 votes. Kimbiz received 91 votes and small numbers of votes were recorded for 6 additional write-in candidates. Kimbiz and Village Clerk Kelly Stengel requested a recanvass by the Ulster County Board of Elections.

On May 7, 2009 the UCBOE Commissioners conducted a recanvass of the results. The Commissioners found errors in the counting of write-in votes on the machine paper and of Absentee Ballots, in which three uncounted eligible ballots were discovered. This led to a gain of three additional votes for O’Donnell and Kimbiz. The corrected totals were O’Donnell with 98 votes, Healey remaining at 94 votes and Kimbiz at 94 votes. In addition, the UCBOE Commissioners overruled the decision of Election Inspectors to discount a vote for “Brian Kazmin.” The Commissioners credited this vote to Kimbiz, leading to his victory over Healey by one vote. Healey was not present, as he was working, and O'Donnell requested an additional count to confirm these recanvass results, but was denied by the Commissioners.

Had this been an issue of counting, there wouldn't be much to say right now. But it isn't about the election, or the outcome of the election. It's about the law and the responsibilities of those appointed to uphold, interpret and implement that law. The same can be said for sour grapes. Healey intentionally waited before beginning to investigate the outcome of the election, essentially waiving his 30-day grace period to challenge the final totals in court (but not to initiate an Article 78 proceeding; that option was waived for him by multiple levels of government dragging their feet and playing games). Healey's initial inquiry to the Village Clerk was submitted the first week of July. "The new village clerk (the one who supervised the election in May quit three weeks later, and a new person took over) delayed me seeing the machine paper rolls until the first of September, because she didn't 'understand' my requests for information on the election. As soon as I saw the bogus vote that was counted for Kimbiz, I contacted the Ulster County Board of Elections immediately, but was put off due to the upcoming Primary. I contacted them again after the Primary, and was told to wait until after the General Election. They stonewalled me for several months, tried bouncing me back to the Village, and the NYS Board of Elections delayed my requests for an additional few weeks. I was finally able to collect the information and meet with the UCBOE Commissioners in February of 2010. I've been bounced around between the three for nearly a year, and it continues to this day."

"In the end, it was the reporting of the changes that the Commissioners made in the recanvass that was the problem all along. No one, not the clerk nor the commissioners and not the media, ever said that the Commissioners changed a voted that had been disqualified on election night into the vote that won the election for Kimbiz, or should I say 'Kazmin.' The law states that they are required to file a report on any and all changes they make, and they didn't do it. That's why I'm pursuing this matter. It's because they didn't do their job, and they assumed powers that the law doesn't give them."

That's not all. A detailed 10-page report has been compiled, outlining the various violations occurring at all levels during the course of this election, and the references to relevant portions of the law, court opinions and media coverage. The report has been submitted to the Ulster County Governmental Services, Environmental and Administrative Committee, which has oversight of the Board of Elections. This report will also be provided to anyone requesting it through Legislative Barbie.

Sections of the report include:

1. UCBOE Commissioners empowering themselves with the ability to change votes upon recanvass, which is expressly prohibited in the law.

2. The failure of the Election Inspectors, Village Clerk and UCBOE Commissioners to count valid write-in votes (hint: does Lorin Rotzler = Rebecca Rotzler? We didn't think so, either.)

3. Flaws with "reasonable intent" and "past practice," the stated justification given by UCBOE Commissioners to disregard the law.

4. Roadblocks to access to timely information by the Village Clerk, UCBOE and NYS BOE.

5. Failure of the UCBOE and Election Inspectors to follow prescribed processes.

6. Failure of the UCBOE to compile and provide documentation reporting on the recanvass results, as required by law.

7. UCBOE Commissioners appear to have intentionally hid their duplicitous practice of vote changing from the media, the government and the public.

8. Failure of the Village Clerk to demonstrate specific duties of her position, as outlined in the law and leading to the destruction of permanent government records.

It is my strong belief that while the statute of limitations may have run out to oust Kimbiz, or take these agencies to court for specific FOIL violations, there should be NO restriction on ensuring that the law is correctly interpreted and enacted. It is the primary responsibility of these individuals to serve as caretakers of the election law, safeguarding our elections and ensuring that they meet the most rigorous standards outlined in the law. While the initial circumstances cannot and, in Healey's opinion, perhaps should not be changed, we MUST hold these officials accountable and take steps to prevent such gross abuses from occurring in the future. Healey trusted that the election was conducted properly, and that trust was severely violated. When elections become a game, or worse, an exercise in "because we said so," we are all violated and we all lose. Well, except for Kaz-whats-his-name. He wins.

Ulster County: An Exercise in Inefficiency

On Wednesday, I was scheduled to take a typing test for the second part of the Senior Clerical Series of the Civil Service Exams. I have concerns about a number of things that happened during the exam, but one particular problem stands above the others.

Moments before beginning the exam, an alarm went off in the building and we needed to leave, fire-drill style. Our paper work, including SSNs, addresses, etc. was all left inside, and some left their identification, purses, etc. Once we were outside, the exam monitors proceeded to initiate the process required in such situations. They attempted to contact the alarm company and waited for the Sheriff.

After nearly 40 minutes, the alarm was still running. It was an intruder alarm, rather than a fire alarm as previously thought, on a building that housed classrooms with a number of county-owned computers and other technological equipment.

The alarm company was nowhere to be found, and did not answer the phone calls.

The supervisor of the monitors was nowhere to be found, and did not answer the phone calls.

The Sheriff's department was nowhere to be found, and did not answer the phone calls (even though they are supposed to immediately report to the site of a county alarm).

The individual on shift for the building was also nowhere to be found.

In those 40 minutes, the test was delayed and a number of participants needed to leave, after taking time off work and scheduling sitters in order to come in the first place. In addition, I can only imagine how much county property could've been carted off by the mysterious "intruder."

All of a sudden, the individual on shift for the building appeared at the front door and turned off the alarm. Yes, he had heard the alarm go off, but he had just started his BREAK and didn't return until after his break had finished. Are you freaking KIDDING ME?!?!?!

Of FOUR different responsible parties, NONE responded in a timely manner. In fact, only ONE responded at all, but only after he had finished taking his break.

What was the Sheriff's department doing that was so important that they could ignore the alarm altogether? I can't speak to Wednesday evening, but Thursday evening may give some insight.

On Thursday, I got to the New Paltz Thruway exit around 6:30 pm. At the entrance to the toll booths from New Paltz, there were EIGHT Ulster County Sheriff vehicles that appear to have stopped a man in a minivan. He had two Dunkin Donuts coffee cups on top of the car; either there was something in them that wasn't supposed to be, or some of the officers had brought them along for the ride. Among these EIGHT vehicles was one undercover UC Sheriff vehicle - a beige AUDI. Last I checked, Audis were luxury vehicles; while they've come up with some concept police cars in the past, I am having a difficult time understanding why Ulster County needs vehicles that cost tens of thousands of dollars in order to do their job, which seems to consist of joining SEVEN OTHER OFFICERS in pulling over ONE man. Unless he was Joran Van der Sloot or Osama bin Laden, I can't really see the logic? But this type of high priority incident may indicate why not one Ulster County Sheriff officer could be bothered to show up at the previous night's intruder alarm in Kingston.

Oh, Ulster County. These shenanigans are always so tiresome, and I fear there is far more to come. Stay tuned for some fascinating info on the Ulster County Board of Elections. Teaser: At best, they're completely inept; at worst, they're completely corrupt. I know, I might make Jay Mahler angry again, but maybe instead of getting mad she should make sure that BOE employees do their jobs and actually follow, rather than rewrite, the laws.