You can lay off all the secretaries you like. That won't change the inherent structural issue of budget growth. To cut expense, a business man needs to find where most of the expense is. Turning off the lights and lowing the stat' won't solve it. Dumping a handful of clerks and such makes for slower service and little savings. Who gets the salaries, the benies', uses the gas, insurance, etc? That has to be determined. However my tax bill showed a county tax more than twice as high as my town and highway, and I am still trying to figure out what my household gets for the misnamed "State and Federal Mandate Fee" which IS the county tax bill. When will there be a tea party about that gang? ...curiously I suspect never.
couldn't agree more with ya......just a bunch of smoke a mirrors....no T-bone to be had.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
EDITORIALS No winners in Rotterdam’s political game
It looks like Rotterdam’s never-ending game of political tit for tat has picked up right where it left off. As one of its first orders of business New Year’s Day, the town board’s new Democratic-Conservative majority — which, ironically, may have resulted from voters’ disgust with the Republicans’ mud-filled fall campaign — voted to dismiss the entire Industrial Development Agency board, many of whose members had been appointed by the previous Republican administration. Then the board repealed a resolution that had been passed just two days before the end of the year by lame-duck Republicans transferring ownership of the long-vacant Curry Road shopping plaza to the IDA as part of a plan to create affordable senior housing at the site. (Why? No reason given.) It was certainly understandable for the Democrats to want to get rid of town attorney Gerard Parisi, who was allied with the Republicans and helped spread one of the ugliest rumors in local political history about the Democrat-Conservative’s supervisor candidate, Frank Del Gallo. Except they didn’t exactly get rid of him by firing him: In another “in your face” move just before the end of the year, the Republicans appointed the Democrats’ nemesis to fill a town board vacancy created by Michael DellaVilla’s resignation. At the same meeting, they also voted to put Dan Brudos, a planning commission member whose term expired last May, back on the commission — and Brudos claims he didn’t even know they were doing it! The new board quickly reversed that appointment, too, on New Year’s. The Democrats apparently think, as the Republicans do, that they’re going to have the last word; that when voters restored them to power last November, it was a permanent renunciation of their opponents; that the Republicans will never again get a chance to return these various nasty favors. Of course this is lunacy, and while hardly uncommon in politics, it’s especially disturbing to find the new board meddling with a not overtly political outfit like the IDA. Politicians from both parties need to grow up and declare a truce. If they don’t agree to stop the sniping and the dirty politics and the wholesale housecleaning that takes place every time there’s a shift in the balance of power, it’s only going to ensure that more of these shifts take place. Stop the vicious cycle and all the destructive tearing down before there’s nothing left to tear down.
The Democrats apparently think, as the Republicans do
EXACTLY!!! They ALL do the same. They are ALL power grabbers! Funny, isn't it, how the dems campaigned on how nasty the rep leadership was and how they were going to be DIFFERENT! Well take a look at town hall now.....It's run by the 'dems in red'.
That is why the NNTP garnered 17% of the electorate! They clearly did not want 'politics as usual'! Well, let's see what the electorate that supported the NNTP can do in the next election cycle!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Bumble from what I've seen the NNTP is seeking power, they were upset they didn't get the Republican endorsement so they went out and created their own party. Now that they failed at winning the election, they are trying to exert force on the Republicans and have purportedly already forced one public official to switch parties. I'd say that is politics as usual. The worst part is the NNTP is carrying out politics as usual under a guise of change. This is pretty much the same as Obama campaigning on the message of change and doing the exact opposite of what he said in the campaign. They should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of the peoples' desire for change and exploiting those people for the personal benefit of the NNTP members!!!!
Bumble from what I've seen the NNTP is seeking power, they were upset they didn't get the Republican endorsement so they went out and created their own party. Now that they failed at winning the election, they are trying to exert force on the Republicans and have purportedly already forced one public official to switch parties. I'd say that is politics as usual. The worst part is the NNTP is carrying out politics as usual under a guise of change. This is pretty much the same as Obama campaigning on the message of change and doing the exact opposite of what he said in the campaign. They should be ashamed of themselves for taking advantage of the peoples' desire for change and exploiting those people for the personal benefit of the NNTP members!!!!
I wouldn't say they formed the NNTP because they were upset they didn't get the Republican endorsement. My understanding was, 3 out of the 4 candidates for the NNTP were political new comers, and angry with the direction of the Town, County, and New York Sate. They tried to get involved and enter politics through the traditional means, by asking for an endorsement from one of the two major parties. The party they chose was the Republican Party, which once stood for smaller government and fiscal conservatism, which was the common thread that ran through these 3 candidates. There may have been other motive behind Mertz running, but you can't take that away Brad, Mike, and Brian. These new comers needed somebody that understood politics and election law to help them get their voices heard. It just so happened that the Republican Party unendorsed that very person that had the knowledge to help them. In all actuality, if Mertz received the party endorsement, these three other candidates may have never been able to get a ballot line. Or maybe they still could have, we'll never know.
Continue to miscalculate the voters discontent for BOTH political parties. Continue to question their motives. The way I see it, the recent poll numbers dropping for the Democrats tells me that there are many more people on both ends of the political spectrum that feel this discontent. As it becomes more evident everyday, the two major parties have failed us, because as we are finding out, both parties were working for the good of their party, not the good of the people. These discontent voters will end up somewhere to have there voices heard, they will not be shut out of the process by the two major party bosses, and that's a fact that both parties are having trouble dealing with. The NNTP getting candidates on the ballot this year was an eye opener for many because they didn't think there was getting around the two parties that controlled the topics of public discourse. Welcome to a new dawn.
Bumble from what I've seen the NNTP is seeking power,
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......'We the people' are seeking the power. The power to put our town, county, state and country back in OUR hands. Not the party bosses or the special interest groups. Not the tax and spend corrupt parties. Clearly not politicsas usual.
And these NNTP guys laid it all on the line for 'we the people'!!!
If the rep party thinks this was all about them, then one would assume the reps to be egotistical at best. It never was and still isn't about the rep party. GET OVER YOURSELVES!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
would these be the same we the people that insured slavery would continue to exist in order to protect their pocket books? Yes,I'm sure the NNTP is as pious as those men... Our founders created an amazing government, the likes of which had never been seen, but that doesn't mean their interests were entirely pure...
Every person who runs for office is looking for power, GreenLantern. It's all a matter of what they are looking to do with such power when and if they are able to fight hard enough to get it. The candidates who ran under the No New Tax Party saw how the major parties were not representing the people appropriately.
They did, in fact, attempt to get endorsements by other parties, both the Republican (Mertz and O'Connor) and the Conservative (McGarry and Littlefield). When they were not successful with the parties straight out endorsing them, they went about going to the people. They went door to door asking for signatures of Republicans, of Conservatives, as well as unregistered voters, successfully getting onto the ballots for the primaries in the Rep and Con parties, and getting their own ballot line for the November election.
In my opinion, Mr. O'Connor was lucky enough to have voiced his concerns for the townspeople and his neighbors in his area many times in the past, bringing him a name good enough, as well as spreading the message of conservatism to people in order to knock off the endorsed Republican in the primaries. After not winning in the primaries (round 1, if you will), they decided that it was not time to throw in the towel and instead concentrated on getting ready for the actual election (round 2).
They made an impressive showing, only not being successful enough as they were going into a gun battle with a knife, as far as financing went. I expect that this past November is a small showing of what is to come in the future. I hope that these 4 gentlemen decide to push forward in a future battle. In fact, I believe that when the next battle ensues, there will be more than these 4 in the battle, and it will probably take more of an area than just the town of Rotterdam and the western part of Schenectady County. I hope that future battles will include not just Rotterdam, but also Princetown and Duanesburg, and spreading outside of the District 4 area. If the Republican Party can't work hard enough to find candidates to put up for the County Legislature in the City of Schenectady or anyone for the City Legislature, maybe people will come out when they hear the stance of the No New Tax Party.
Now, I'm not saying that they're going to win any position that they attempt to pursue on the first try, but I bet that there will be more of a chance of someone with conservative values getting in to office if there is actually someone with those values on the ballot. Pretty hard to win if you're not on the ballot, but things have been won that way before too. It's just a matter of time until things can get turned around and I say now, thank you to the candidates from the No New Tax Party for their hard fights in 2009 and I look forward to supporting you and those you will support in the upcoming elections.
would these be the same we the people that insured slavery would continue to exist in order to protect their pocket books? Yes,I'm sure the NNTP is as pious as those men... Our founders created an amazing government, the likes of which had never been seen, but that doesn't mean their interests were entirely pure...
Please tell me what self serving interests Brad, Brian, and Mike gain by investing their time and money in order to hold elected office. If you know of some personal motive or scheme to why they joined the political arena please tell us. Do they stand to make money, or get friends and family government jobs, or maybe negotiate a contract with a municipal union? The only thing I see that drives them is that they believe that their ideas of government are better than those ideas coming from any of the major or minor parties.
I've been sitting back the past few days taking in all of the statements that some on this board are making in an attempt to discredit John, Michael, Brian and me and silence the voices of those who supported us. In reading the posts from greenlantern and black spidey, both of whom arrived on this forum together, I question their motives for spreading the mistruths that they have from their positions of anonymity. My assessment is that they are both involved in political committees, but of which party? They both (or perhaps it is the same individual with two accounts) appear to be concerned about the awakening of the people across the nation who have found that their rights, freedoms, and wealth are being seized by a corrupt government; one that is working to seize absolute and authoritative power.
Certainly, there are disgruntled Republicans who continue to resist taking responsibility for the losses in Rotterdam and in the Schenectady County race. They blame the No New Tax Party candidates and attempt to discredit them by trying to link them to the Democrat party or Conservative party "leadership". Or, our new posters could be operatives from within the Democrat party who now view the NNTP as their greatest threat locally. As such, they may view it as politically or personally advantageous to widen the divide between the Republicans and the NNTP. I don't know if they are Republicans, Democrats, Conservatives, or even, perhaps, the local media scooping for a story. I do know that they are dishonest, deceptive, and wrong.
To the suggestion that I sought to benefit personally by my run for office, I will state that I had publically committed myself (on my web site) to donate 1/2 my salary as a County Legislator to the volunteer fire departments and volunteer ambulance corps who have responsibility for areas in District 4. The other half would be used to repay my campaign debt and to support other not-for-profits whose efforts I support. I own no business that will benefit from PILOTs, IDA or Metroplex funding. Unlike some who may sit on the boards of economic development organizations to obtain sponsorship or funding for their projects, I have no need to accept this form of public assistance. I have a full time position in private industry and thus have no interest and too much pride to accept a patronage position.
From this point forward, if those who post to or read this forum have questions about my past campaigns, I welcome you to call me (281-9182) to discuss. I will be pleased to talk with any who call me, identify themselves, and with who I can conduct a discussion in a mutually respectful manner. I will respond to those who post here under their name, but no longer commit to respond to those hide behind their position of anonymity and "flame". This behavior is what led to the defeat of some.
Finally, my future plans are mine. If and when it becomes appropriate to share those plans, I will do so publicly and openly. Until then, I have "bigger fish to fry". LOL. That cracks me up!
Wow Brad!!!! Sock it to 'em! Mischief-makers at the very least. You're already a winner. And so are your running mates--well not so much Mertz--although he used to be one.
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